Customer Reviews

Let the Dead Bury Their Dead (Harvest American Writing Series)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
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Don't be fooled by the label of "short" stories. These twelve tales are as packed with brilliance as any long book of fiction. Kenan uses a mystical voice to convey the sometimes sad, sometimes happy, and always intriguing point of view of Southern Americans. A must read for anyone who seriously is interested in reaching a full understanding of the South

I was lucky enough to have Randall Kenan as a teacher for a college fiction class, some seven years ago. I have read books by former teachers which I have not been enthralled with, and then there's Let The Dead Bury Their Dead. Seven years have gone by, and there are aspects of the stories contained in this collection that are never far from my mind. The elderly woman teacher, Mabel, who is going crazy. Mabel, Mabel, Mabel. The woman whose grandson dies, who then meets his lover, and struggles. The woman luxuriating in the bathtub, listening to Al Green sing Let's Stay Together, as she thinks of her young lover. One measure of a book is how it stays with you. I assume I will take Let The Dead Bury Their Dead to the grave.

What can I say? From the first story to the last (my favorite, a mesmerizing tale about a former slave who achieves a mythic quality to his life) this collection of stories is brilliant. It is a consistently inventive, intelligent, and passionate account of the fantastic, mystical, and ordinary lives in a small Southern town. Keep writing, Mr. Kenan. I, for one, await a follow-up to this book.

In these short stories, Randall Kenan makes the people of Tims Creek so real that one expects to take a map and go meet them. These are "real" people with a history, with folklore, with religion, with complex relationships. The stories explore a variety of situations - the hypocritical preacher, the family accepting the sexual orientation of a son, the "perfect woman" snapping under the pressures of "perfection," the double-crossed and financially strapped worker, religious law vs. the reality of a hard-scramble life, new life from a May-December affair ... It is in the selection of detail that Kenan excells - the history of Tims Creek refers to well known gospel hymns that perfectly identify the tone of community. Or the mother proud of her son, a medical research doctor in Salt Lake City who would be more proud if he'd stayed in North Carolina. Or the cadences of a southern preacher in internal dialogue - " Fire. Nostrils. The four winds. Breath. Her breath. Some days atale, some days swwet, some days stinking of fish and onions."

These are stories that stay with the reader, begging to be read and reread.

This collection of shorts helps me remember why I like stories; especially those steeped in folklore and mysticism and myth. "Let The Dead Bury Their Dead" is a collection of stories set in the small town of Tims Creek, North Carolina. The town's lore is revealed through the characters of each story as Kenan explores their lives and history in Tims Creek. The opening story, "Clarence and the Dead", puts the reader on notice that there's nothing ordinary about Tims Creek and its inhabitants. A talking hog and a "touched" child gives us our first glimpse of the people and the town; "On the day Clarence Pickett died, Wilma Jones's hog Francis stopped talking." Soon after learning of Clarence's death, we're given the story of his birth; "They say that day the sun shone while the rain poured . . . the day Estell Pickett died giving birth to Clarence." Entering the world under these circumstances is tragic enough until Kenan puts us in the birthing room. In a voice steeped in the lush sounds and cadence of the south, the scene unfolds - "We all arrived at the Pickett place at the same time as the midwife. We walked in on one of the most hideous sights we can remember seeing or hearing tell of: there lay Estelle on the bed, her legs apart, her eyes rolled back in her head, her body kind of twisted to the side in a pool so deep red it could have been a maroon sheet she was sitting on instead of white; and on the floor squalling like a stuck pig was Clarence, a twitching, pitiful little thing, in a soup of blood and purple mess and s**t."

Kenan's writing never waivers. The voice is familiar. Recognizable, I would think, by any African American of southern roots where family history is passed down through stories shared at family reunions and holiday dinners. Where scuttlebutt is whispered during church services or written in personal diaries and journals. In "The Origins of Whales", Kenan captures this oral rendering of a people's history in the exchange with Aunt Essie and Little Thad. As the picture of Tims Creek emerges, it starts to look a lot like Peyton Place. Secrets are held and scandals are afoot. Beliefs are challenged, faith is tested and when all is said and done, what you're not able to bury, you have to carry.

I'm generally not a short stories fan but this collection is so cohesive there were times that I didn't remember I was reading a collection. I'd highly recommend this read. It was my first encounter with Randall Kenan but he's a name that won't be forgotten and I'm sure I'll read his work again - especially if I can get it at my local thrift shop, this was the $.50 I've spent in quite a while :-). Enjoy!

Surprising this hasn't been reviewed since 2005.

This is an awesome book. Doesn't matter this is written by and about black folks, it is fully accesible to everyone. Its a joy to read and I'm not the fastest reader, but I ripped through this collection of stories and enjoyed the wit and wisdom inside each telling.

Folksy and down home, like a summer day in the country: hearing the cicadas, a porch, rockin' chair, a tall glass of sun tea and this book: perfection.

This author's writing style is mystical and is very entertaining. This book is a rare find. His cleaver use of the english language helps you get in tune with the characters. These short stories are captivating and I guarantee once you have finished you will be craving more!! An author that writes with this much passion and forethought is a rarity. You will not be disappointed.

The narration is like flowing poetry, and really takes you into the character's world! It's hard to put the book down and not want to keep reading more!