I am so happy to be able to share Bette Lee Crosby’s latest novel, Passing Through Perfect.
I love this beautiful cover.
I am a huge fan of Bette Lee’s and I am eager to continue my Wyattsville journey.
I hope you will join me.
MY REVIEW
I would like to start with the cover. Bette Lee Crosby’s cover gives you a glimpse of the story inside. Her sweet, southern charm comes through the pages and wraps around me with loving arms. Passing Through Perfect brought forth so many emotions that I kept my tissues at my side. That is not unusual for a Bette Lee novel. With each novel in the Wyattsville series I say it is the best, but the best one is the next one.
The story includes chapters of the characters thoughts and feelings – Benjamin, Delia, Camella, Sidney and Martha’s. We get an up close and personal invitation to share their lives. The characters had me crying for them, yelling for them, wanting to protect and shelter them from all the harsh realities of life.
The story takes place in Grinders Corner, a small town in Alabama.
Benjamin Church came home from war, to see nothing had changed. Benjamin had thought of being a mechanic. He had learned to repair almost anything mechanical during his time in the service. This is a time in history where the shift was from working for yourself to working for someone else. But, he knew he would be a farmer like his father and his father before him. He is a sharecroppers son and the world did not look kindly on blacks in 1946.
The landowner, Sylvester Crane, is a sorry excuse for a human being.
Benjamen’s dad struggles after the loss of his wife. Sometimes when a mate dies, the other person is not far behind. Do they lose their will to live?
Everything in Grinders Corner is the same for Benjamin, until he lays eyes on Delia.
Delia is a preachers daughter. Her father heads the New Unity Church. She has a zest for life and it was love at first sight for Benjamin. I guess we can see where this is going. He courted her in the proper manner, with courtesy and respect. Ben’s love is strong, gentle and true.
The preacher had a holier than thou attitude and looked down his nose at Benjamin. He didn’t think Benjamin was good enough for his Delia. Don’t a lot of parents think that way, even if their child is grown? Our kids are always our kids and we want the best for them. On the other hand, as kids, our parents are our heroes.
“You made your bed, now lie in it.” Have you ever heard those words?
Bette’s descriptions of the simplest things brings the times and people to life, their sorrow and pain, their joy and happiness. I can picture Benjamin standing in front of the deputy with his weather beaten straw hat in hand and his eyes looking down at the floor.
Bette talks about the sun and heat of the south. If you have not experienced it, you will find it hard to feel the intensity of the suns rays as they beat down on you, the thickness of the muggy air as you struggle to draw breath and the fact that you are soaked to the skin shortly after stepping outside. The heat builds during the day and it is not unusual for there to be afternoon rain.
In the 1940s, bigotry and racial hatred was in your face. Go to the back door. For Whites Only. No Coloreds.
I know it’s coming and I ruefully wait for the hammer to fall. And it does. Tragically.
People sometimes find themselves not really living, just getting through. There is heartwrenching sorrow and despair. Overriding guilt. Life isn’t fair! Is the grass greener on the other side?
“It ain’t the preaching that makes a man godly, its the doing.”
I get to page 91 and tears form in my eyes, but I will not let them fall. SO SAD. We all handle grief and loss in our own way. I am reading through teary eyes, but I can’t stop. With Bette’s writing, I knew this would break my heart, but she will not leave me feeling lost. She will help me find my way. She will show me that people are more good than bad. They will give, even when they don’t have much of their own.
“I can’t be thinking of how much I lost, I gotta be thinking of how much I still got.”
Well, what can I say. I am pretty much teary eyed through the rest of the story.
“Sometimes life provided opportunities to reach out and make a difference, and when that happened a man worth his salt had to step up to the challenge.”
“Are we out brother’s keeper’s?”
The saying – It Takes A Village – answers that question.
“Folks don’t live in PERFECT, they just get to pass through every so often.” What a wonderful statement.
Amazing writing and it stuns me that this genre of book can affect me so deeply. I am more of the action, shoot ’em up, creatures chasing me variety.
Even though Bette’s books end happily, with a warm and comfortable feeling, there are bumps and jolts throughout. My feelings for Benjamin were anger and rage, sadness and despair, happiness and . He was a better person than I. He dealt with his responsibilities in an intelligent, loving and gentle way, sacrificing for others and doing the right thing. You can choose which you want to be – bigoted and angry or laughing and loving.
Very thought provoking and the book will stick with me long after reading it.
5 Stars – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
I received a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
SYNOPSIS
It’s 1946. The war is over. Millions of American soldiers are coming home and Benjamin Church is one of them. After four years of being away he thought things in Alabama would have changed, but they haven’t. Grinder’s Corner is as it’s always been—a hardscrabble burp in the road. It’s not much, but it’s home.
When Benjamin attends a harvest festival in Twin Pines, he catches sight of Delia. Before their first dance ends, he knows for certain she’s the one. They fall madly in love; happily, impatiently, imprudently, in love. It doesn’t matter that her daddy is staunchly opposed to the thought of his daughter marrying a cotton farmer, never mind a poor one.
It’s true Benjamin has little to offer; he’s a sharecropper who will spend his whole life sweating and slaving to do little more than put food on the table. But that’s how things are in Alabama. Benjamin is better off than most; he has a wife, a boy he adores, and a house that doesn’t leak rain. Yes, Benjamin considers himself a lucky man until the fateful night that changes everything.
Author Bette Lee Crosby
Award-winning novelist Bette Lee Crosby shares the storytelling charm of her Southern Mama in tales that are both heartrending and heartwarming. She is best known for her creation of characters that readers find unforgettable.
Passing through Perfect is Crosby’s tenth novel and the third book in the Wyattsville Series that began with the USA Today Bestseller Spare Change. Her work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. Since then, she has gone on to win another twenty literary awards, including the Royal Palm Literary Award, the Reviewer’s Choice Award, the FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal and the 2014 Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal.
Grab your Amazon* copy below:
GIVEAWAY
Betty is offering an ebook copy of Spare Change, which is book #1 in the series- or Jubilee’s Journey, which is the story that really leads into Passing Through Perfect. International. Please leave your email and answer the question:
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
Giveaway from 1/29 – 2/2/15.
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