Floatplane Notebooks [Paperback]

Clyde Edgerton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 1990

A Copeland bride planted wisteria by her back porch 20 years before the American Civil War. A century or more later, the family still gathers every May to clean up the graveyard, clip the vine back away from the tombstones and tell stories from the past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his third novel (after Raney and Walking Through Egypt ), Edgerton again demonstrates his ability to reveal character through sharply etched dialogue and wildly hilarious circumstance. He also achieves a deeper resonance in this story of the blue-collar Copeland family of North Carolina. The voices of various narrators produce a composite family portrait that takes the Copelands from the placid summer of 1956 to the Vietnam War years of the '60s. In Edgerton's deceptively simple prose, we learn about such traditions as grave-cleaning day, the annual hunting trip to Florida and Albert Thatcher's ongoing, seemingly doomed efforts to construct a floatplane with aluminum pontoons. Another narrative voicethat of the wisteria vine that overruns the graveyardalso imparts family secrets; this, however, is a labored device that hampers credibility. In all other respects, the novel is absorbing as the voices obliquely reveal family relationships, personality clashes, sibling rivalry and small-town social mores. But the tale becomes gripping and wrenchingly vivid when Meredith Copeland and his cousin Mark Oakley enlist in the military and are sent to Southeast Asia. Here, too, is when the reader discovers that Edgerton is not a predictable writer; he turns our expectations head over heels, showing how circumstances can change character in surprising ways. This is a mature novel in which Edgerton's subtle mastery of his craft is made increasingly clear. BOMC featured selection; QPBC alternate.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Despite their diversity, the Copelands are drawn together twice each year by recurring rituals of family unitythe spring grave cleaning and the winter trip to visit Uncle Hawk in Florida. By skillfully using six different first-person narrators, Edgerton recounts the family exploits between 1956 and 1971 and provides significant glimpses of family history as far back as the Civil War. The book's focus is on the family as an abiding unit, but a single character who does stand out is Meredith. His mischief provides much of the outrageous humor in early chapters, and his war injuries in Vietnam lead to a painful but moving climax. Like Edgerton's two earlier novels ( Raney, LJ 4/1/85; Walking Across Egypt, LJ 3/15/87), this one should have wide appeal.Albert E. Wilhelm, Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam~trade (July 26, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140119868
• ISBN-13: 978-0140119862
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,587,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Clyde Edgerton is the author of ten novels, a memoir, short stories, and essays. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and teaches creative writing at UNC Wilmington. He lives in Wilmington, NC, with his wife, Kristina, and their children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Southern Lit at its Best, June 4, 2002

By 

Winston Smith (Locust Grove, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Floatplane Notebooks (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Floatplane Notebooks" tells the story of the Copelands, a typical Southern family that gathers every year to clean up the family cemetery. Using the narrative structure of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" (a series of single-narrator chapters), the family experiences a devastating event that threatens to unravel the family fabric. In the end, all is well, and powerfully bittersweet.
The story has what is easily one if the funniest scenes I've ever read (regarding a well and a flashlight), and the way the story is resolved at the end is truly touching (the careful reader will see that the two scenes are closely related). Another notable feature is the observations of one of the book's main characters - a wisteria vine. This may seem strange, unless the reader realizes that the vine is essentially the theme of the story, for it represents death (a ubiquitous theme in all great Southern literature). The Copeland family could easily solve the problem of cleaning the family graveyard by just killing the wisteria vine. But, if they do, they then have no real reason to gather every year. This is a family that is united by and finds strength in death.
This is a truly unique and great story, though not appropriate for younger readers. Skilled readers will find much to appreciate. "The Floatplane Notebooks" is Southern Lit at its very best. READ THIS BOOK.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A moving story with memorable characters., March 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Floatplane Notebooks (Mass Market Paperback)

This was one of the few Edgerton books that I had not read. It is an enjoyable story with a bit more sadness than the typical humorous Edgerton tale. The characters are still quirky southerners. The play against brothers reminded me of Jim Harrison's Legends of the Fall - I even pictured Meridith as Brad Pitt (the movie version). The use of all the different narrative voices was creative ( especially the vine) Thinking back I can't believe so many stories were woven together so effectively. I'll remember this story always.-It's one of those.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My All-Time Favorite, September 5, 2003

By 

Noel Sutton (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Floatplane Notebooks (Library Binding)

This is absolutely my favorite book, I truly wish it was my family he was writing about.
Edgerton is by far the best Southern author writing today.