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turquoiseshell's review against another edition
3.0
It was OK. It was all about rich white people in Mobile. I am a white person from Alabama so a lot of it was slightly nostalgic for me in a way that I both enjoyed and resented. The last story, the long one, is pretty good. I feel like he could have just published that one like a novella and it would have been better. The rest sound like they come from an undergrad creative writing class. A lot of telling and not a lot of showing. Cheesy characters. Quick read, some good ideas, not a waste of time, but not life-changing.
yllohann's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. I was intrigued by the setting since I was born and raised in Mobile, AL. I moved to Atlanta in 2005 and honestly never looked back. That does not mean I am not cursed with occasional bouts of homesickness for the Port City. Usually, glancing at Facebook political posts is the remedy but the pangs really hit during Mardi Gras season. Nothing makes me long for the city of my birth like cheap plastic beads, moon pies, and serpentine. Luckily, I came across the book Eveningland by Michael Knight. Eveningland is made up of 7 short stories that take place in and around The Azalea City. Knight takes you to Dog River where a young boy finds disappointment in love, to Fairhope for a 50th birthday party, Dauphin Island where a grief-stricken millionaire works to buy up the entire island, and of course, Mobile, where a wealthy art teacher in a Catholic school ponders matters of faith.
This collection of stories put me right back in the middle of the heat and humidity. I could almost see the Spanish Moss hanging from the oak trees over the water. I really enjoyed reading stories set in Alabama that do not include the typical southern stereotypes. These stories reminded me of the Mobile that I grew up in, Catholic schools and all.
This collection of stories put me right back in the middle of the heat and humidity. I could almost see the Spanish Moss hanging from the oak trees over the water. I really enjoyed reading stories set in Alabama that do not include the typical southern stereotypes. These stories reminded me of the Mobile that I grew up in, Catholic schools and all.
bigborrowedbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
madnoor's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
commensurate's review against another edition
3.0
It was OK. It was all about rich white people in Mobile. I am a white person from Alabama so a lot of it was slightly nostalgic for me in a way that I both enjoyed and resented. The last story, the long one, is pretty good. I feel like he could have just published that one like a novella and it would have been better. The rest sound like they come from an undergrad creative writing class. A lot of telling and not a lot of showing. Cheesy characters. Quick read, some good ideas, not a waste of time, but not life-changing.
saarahn's review against another edition
5.0
A good collection
Story #1 Water and Oil
This is the first story in the book, it begins and is told like an old country song. About a boy and his first love, and his first heart break. His transition into becoming a man, and the inevitability of his future loves and losses.
It was written in a descriptive prose, this was consistent throughout the story. We learn about the boy, through an older man who serves as a narrator for the tale:
'The boy’s name was Henry Rufus Bragg and though he was seventeen years old and would most likely have been offended by my description, there was still enough boy about him that the word remains appropriate. He was handsome but in an unfinished way..... A late bloomer, his mother called him, the last of the model airplane builders, a tender boy, a quiet boy, an odd and earnest boy who, like the keeper of some lost art, memorized old knockknock jokes and repeated them in his head when he was bored.'
I was drawn to the sophisticated style of description. I loved it.
Story #2 Smash and Grab
n this short story we encounter a burglary gone wrong. We learn that Cashdollar is an expert thief, he is quick on his feet and has never had a run in with the law. That is until he is caught by a teenage girl, she knocks him out, and he wakes to find himself taped to a chair, bruised. He learns that she is the daughter of the owner if the house, and she calls the police on Cashdollar. By a weird and surprising turn of events she manipulates the situation for her own benefit.
This story wasn't as descriptive, but it was definitely unpredictable.
Story #3 Our lady of the Roses
A chapter in the life of Hadley, an art teacher at a Catholic school. In some ways, she is lost and confused as ber students. She doesn't necessarily have a plan, and she doesn't so much agree with how religion restricts her curriculum. She's carving her own path in the world, and learns something from a fellow Sister.
Story #4 Jubilee
Kendra and Dean, a middle-aged couple living life, Dean's birthday is fast approaching and Kendra takes care to organise a party for him. Their son will be coming with a date, oh how the years have passed them by. On the night of the party, Dean experiences huge anxiety, everything seems unfamiliar, and everyone seems to be speaking in an unrecognizable language. But they must let the party run its course, see it through to its end.
I liked this story, it really was like a family sharing a small but very important time with a special guest- the reader. It didn't feel like intrusion but, a warm invitation and welcome.
Story #5 A grand old party
A man thinking about shooting his unfaithful wife, or perhaps the man she is with. He gets inside the guy's house, and it goes from there...
Story #6 King of Dauphin island
The story of a man grieving the passing of his wife, while working out the best way to help himself and his daughters find their way, so he heads off to find his way. He sells the house and proceeds to create a new life.
Story #7 Landfall
This story is probably the most complicated to explain, in this book.
There's a family: mother, father, and three kids. Two of the kids have their own kids, Doodle has two girls, and Angus has one boy. Percy is the third child, unmarried and single. The father has passed away, the mother lives alone. She's always crafting chores and tasks to occupy her time, still she mourns her husband's passing.
With a hurricane fast approaching, they all have to get to safety. Relatively easy, except Doodle quickly discovers her mom has suffered a fall in her bathroom which is flooding under a pool of water. She has injured her head severely, and her memory has become impaired. Doodle is alone in figuring out what needs to be done. We then see all the characters try to make the best of such a horrid situation, and deal with it in spite of the unfortunate timing.
With each of these stories, my attention was captured instantly, and looking back on the stories, now, I can say it was also done in a cleverly subtle way.
I received this book through NetGalley.
Story #1 Water and Oil
This is the first story in the book, it begins and is told like an old country song. About a boy and his first love, and his first heart break. His transition into becoming a man, and the inevitability of his future loves and losses.
It was written in a descriptive prose, this was consistent throughout the story. We learn about the boy, through an older man who serves as a narrator for the tale:
'The boy’s name was Henry Rufus Bragg and though he was seventeen years old and would most likely have been offended by my description, there was still enough boy about him that the word remains appropriate. He was handsome but in an unfinished way..... A late bloomer, his mother called him, the last of the model airplane builders, a tender boy, a quiet boy, an odd and earnest boy who, like the keeper of some lost art, memorized old knockknock jokes and repeated them in his head when he was bored.'
I was drawn to the sophisticated style of description. I loved it.
Story #2 Smash and Grab
n this short story we encounter a burglary gone wrong. We learn that Cashdollar is an expert thief, he is quick on his feet and has never had a run in with the law. That is until he is caught by a teenage girl, she knocks him out, and he wakes to find himself taped to a chair, bruised. He learns that she is the daughter of the owner if the house, and she calls the police on Cashdollar. By a weird and surprising turn of events she manipulates the situation for her own benefit.
This story wasn't as descriptive, but it was definitely unpredictable.
Story #3 Our lady of the Roses
A chapter in the life of Hadley, an art teacher at a Catholic school. In some ways, she is lost and confused as ber students. She doesn't necessarily have a plan, and she doesn't so much agree with how religion restricts her curriculum. She's carving her own path in the world, and learns something from a fellow Sister.
Story #4 Jubilee
Kendra and Dean, a middle-aged couple living life, Dean's birthday is fast approaching and Kendra takes care to organise a party for him. Their son will be coming with a date, oh how the years have passed them by. On the night of the party, Dean experiences huge anxiety, everything seems unfamiliar, and everyone seems to be speaking in an unrecognizable language. But they must let the party run its course, see it through to its end.
I liked this story, it really was like a family sharing a small but very important time with a special guest- the reader. It didn't feel like intrusion but, a warm invitation and welcome.
Story #5 A grand old party
A man thinking about shooting his unfaithful wife, or perhaps the man she is with. He gets inside the guy's house, and it goes from there...
Story #6 King of Dauphin island
The story of a man grieving the passing of his wife, while working out the best way to help himself and his daughters find their way, so he heads off to find his way. He sells the house and proceeds to create a new life.
Story #7 Landfall
This story is probably the most complicated to explain, in this book.
There's a family: mother, father, and three kids. Two of the kids have their own kids, Doodle has two girls, and Angus has one boy. Percy is the third child, unmarried and single. The father has passed away, the mother lives alone. She's always crafting chores and tasks to occupy her time, still she mourns her husband's passing.
With a hurricane fast approaching, they all have to get to safety. Relatively easy, except Doodle quickly discovers her mom has suffered a fall in her bathroom which is flooding under a pool of water. She has injured her head severely, and her memory has become impaired. Doodle is alone in figuring out what needs to be done. We then see all the characters try to make the best of such a horrid situation, and deal with it in spite of the unfortunate timing.
With each of these stories, my attention was captured instantly, and looking back on the stories, now, I can say it was also done in a cleverly subtle way.
I received this book through NetGalley.
amysbrittain's review against another edition
4.0
Loved these loosely interconnected stories of families, couples, and randomly crossed paths in and around Mobile, AL. Knight shapes fully realized characters and complex lives within each story. Just loved this.
rdebner's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful collection of short stories. There was something in the tone, or the characters, that reminded me a little bit of Ellen Gilchrist, but slightly darker.
kate_elizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
favorites: Cash and Grab, Our Lady of the Roses, Grand Old Party
(but they're all wonderful, really)
(but they're all wonderful, really)