"5.0 out of 5 stars
Great writing and a surprise ending.
May 15, 2015 By idle hands
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
There's an old saying that if you don't know who the sucker is at the poker table, then it's you. In the Auldton Laughing Club, if you've ever lived in a small southern town and don't recognize the characters in the book, then you're probably one of the characters.
There are three things that stand out about this novel. The writing, the humor and the author's complex but very human understanding of race relations in the south. One hates to say it, but most writing today is bad, much of the best is mediocre and only a small percentage of it is better than good. This book is much, much better than good. It's quite clear that the sentences have been crafted rather than typed and that everything is in there for a reason.
Laura's style is elegant without being baroque and in those places where she violates conventional writing rules, it's clearly for a purpose. Although the book deals with some of the same serious themes one can finds in Faulkner, it does so with a much defter hand at humor. It's a sly humor, slipped in just when you're about to look away or said sotto voce, but funny, funny, funny nonetheless. The humor is expressed most frequently as a sort of wryly ironic commentary, but sometimes it's just funny stuff. Given the seriousness of the story elements, the humor provides the kind of counterpoint one needs to bear tragedy. Just like in life.
The real main character in the book is not a conventional hero or heroine, but rather it is the town of Auldton. Every southern town more than 200 years old has a legacy involving slavery and so the main theme, or at least the most frequently recurring theme, is race. It's the discussion of race in which the author really distinguishes herself as a unique voice. The historical and biological complexity of race and race relations is handled here in a way I've never seen before. It's trite to say there are no heroes and no villains, but in fiction it's not common to say that...especially in stories with racial conflict. It's this complexity with makes Laura's characters real and, by the end, believable. Although I know the author well, if I were to guess her race from this book, it would have to be only a guess. The third person omniscient voice in The Auldton Laughing Club gave nothing of her own background away.
I like a good story and this one didn't get really going until after the mid-point of the book. I've purposely left out details of the story line so as not to ruin how it unfolds in the book. It's slow getting there, but the payoff is worth it. If you care about good writing and enjoy a laugh, then you'll need to pick up The Auldton Laughing Club.
Great writing and a surprise ending.
May 15, 2015 By idle hands
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
There's an old saying that if you don't know who the sucker is at the poker table, then it's you. In the Auldton Laughing Club, if you've ever lived in a small southern town and don't recognize the characters in the book, then you're probably one of the characters.
There are three things that stand out about this novel. The writing, the humor and the author's complex but very human understanding of race relations in the south. One hates to say it, but most writing today is bad, much of the best is mediocre and only a small percentage of it is better than good. This book is much, much better than good. It's quite clear that the sentences have been crafted rather than typed and that everything is in there for a reason.
Laura's style is elegant without being baroque and in those places where she violates conventional writing rules, it's clearly for a purpose. Although the book deals with some of the same serious themes one can finds in Faulkner, it does so with a much defter hand at humor. It's a sly humor, slipped in just when you're about to look away or said sotto voce, but funny, funny, funny nonetheless. The humor is expressed most frequently as a sort of wryly ironic commentary, but sometimes it's just funny stuff. Given the seriousness of the story elements, the humor provides the kind of counterpoint one needs to bear tragedy. Just like in life.
The real main character in the book is not a conventional hero or heroine, but rather it is the town of Auldton. Every southern town more than 200 years old has a legacy involving slavery and so the main theme, or at least the most frequently recurring theme, is race. It's the discussion of race in which the author really distinguishes herself as a unique voice. The historical and biological complexity of race and race relations is handled here in a way I've never seen before. It's trite to say there are no heroes and no villains, but in fiction it's not common to say that...especially in stories with racial conflict. It's this complexity with makes Laura's characters real and, by the end, believable. Although I know the author well, if I were to guess her race from this book, it would have to be only a guess. The third person omniscient voice in The Auldton Laughing Club gave nothing of her own background away.
I like a good story and this one didn't get really going until after the mid-point of the book. I've purposely left out details of the story line so as not to ruin how it unfolds in the book. It's slow getting there, but the payoff is worth it. If you care about good writing and enjoy a laugh, then you'll need to pick up The Auldton Laughing Club.