Heaven is a Beautiful Place: A Memoir of the South Carolina Coast [Hardcover]

Genevieve C. Peterkin (Author), William P., III Baldwin (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In any literary undertaking, to capture the "essence of a place" truly is no easy matter. Baldwin achieves this feat by teaming up with 72-year-old local historian Peterkin to deliver a century's worth of stories about Murrells Inlet, SC. Touching on family bonds, culture, racial relations, war, love, memories, the hurricane of l893, and plantation life, the memoir affords readers a unique perspective of this coastal area. Titled after the popular spiritual, this book candidly depicts the life and times of many residents of the Lowcountry through stories that sing of the joys and sorrows of everyday life. Peterkin's conversational delivery draws readers into her life, and the interest level escalates during the latter half of the book. Although the book is recommended for its value as both a cultural study and memoir, it will mostly appeal to a restricted regional audience.AJo-Anne Mary Benson, Osgoode, Ontario
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570033617
• ISBN-13: 978-1570033612
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Fiction; A Fabulous, Page-Turning Read, March 3, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heaven is a Beautiful Place: A Memoir of the South Carolina Coast (Hardcover)

I was not going to read this book, figuring it was yet another trivial book by a local person with famous connections (Julia Peterkin, a novelist who won a Pulitzer, was the author's mother-in-law). Was I wrong! This is one of the most riveting books I have ever read. Peterkin is a gifted storyteller with amazing stories to tell, stories that are right up there with the best fiction. I want to compare her to Flannery O'Connor, to Nabokov, to Kipling, to Dickens, to any fiction writer whose stories linger with us for the rest of our lives. Yet these powerful stories are true and open a window into recent times. Some of her stories prove that truth is stranger than fiction. They are in turns hilarious, outrageous, tragic, moving and illuminating.

Please, get this book. I don't know Peterkin but I wish I did. I picked up the book by accident and never put it down till I finished. Beg, borrow or steal it, whatever it takes to get it in your hands.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heaven is a Beautiful Place, May 11, 2000

By 

Zane Aveton (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven is a Beautiful Place: A Memoir of the South Carolina Coast (Hardcover)

This book is phenomenal. I was absolutley enthralled with how many interesting stories I could repeat from this book...and then I was surprised to find I was only on page 10! This book is a joy to read-- the most amazing thing I noticed is what happened as I was reading this book--I felt just like I was sitting on the floor in the living room enraptured by the storyteller and I never wanted her to stop.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A WONDERFUL WONDERFUL BOOK!, July 29, 2000

By 

Joyce Chesnut (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven is a Beautiful Place: A Memoir of the South Carolina Coast (Hardcover)

I have just finished "Heaven Is A Beautiful Place", by Genevieve Chandler Peterkin...it is a wonderful, wonderful story of South Carolina history at its best...you are 'right there' with tales Mrs Peterkin tells of Lillie Knox, Zacky Knox, her mother-in-law Julia and Mama...cringe at the ghost tales of Alice Flagg and others...the romance and marriage to Bill, then the birth of their only son, Jim...grieve at the lost of that young son...her faith in God that grew stronger and stronger as troubles came.

It was hard at times to lay the book down, while at other times you could not wait to see what happened.

I am now going to pass my copy of "Heaven Is A Beautiful Place" on to my 89 year old mother, who likes to read, as she says, 'something real'...