Customer Reviews

As Hot as It Was You Ought to Thank Me : A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I absolutely loved this book!

I used to read a lot of Southern Lit, but too many authors today seem to think that being from the South and putting race in the book somewhere (preferably in a heavy-handed way) makes their books "Southern". In my opinion, Lewis Nordan is one of the few today who do it right. Now I have to add Nanci Kincaid to that list.

This book, is a classic example of the genre. The characters could have fallen straight out of a Welty work. Further, the situations in the small town of Pinetta rang true to me. I had no trouble picturing any of the events happening in the small Southern town I grew up in -- right down to the polite competition between the Baptists and the Methodists. Ms. Kincaid never really played that up, but anyone who grew up in a town like mine could easily identify.

Finally, the book was just plain well written. I was hooked right from the beginning -- a beautiful description of the constant, yet fruitless, quest to find a cool spot in a Southern summer. From there it just got better.

I won't claim that it's another "Mockingbird", but if you like the classic Southern Lit of Welty, Capote, or McCullers I think you'll enjoy this one as well.

I loved this book and am glad I knew little about the plot. I always like the reviews that tell why a book is good or bad without revealing the plot - Robert Daley's review is an example of a good review.
Read this book and also read "Balls" by the same author for great stories that are never predictable and thoroughly engaging.

I enjoyed the first two-thirds of this book better than the end. Initially I was giving it five stars but it slipped down to four by the end since I had already figured out the big revelation by then and we were left -- intentionally but annoyingly-- with loose ends and unanswered questions. (Where was the gun? And don't forget she had to have had the keys. And what about Babygirl's parentage?) I wish the ending could have been more believable and buttoned up more satisfactorily.

Still, this coming of age story had interesting, well-defined characters. It was an effortless, quick read. The writing was well done, full of poetic insight, symbolism, and metaphor. The sultry south was rendered palpably, and clearly hurricanes and snakes are not as devastating as human complexity.

Here are a few bits:

"One man can argue better than a group of them. A group goes silent when a woman insists on something."

"This made mother laugh. She laughed like you get a lawn mower started, just a couple of sputters at first, but then one of those sputters catches, fires up, and soon the motor is roaring. That was how mother got started laughing -- Jewel Langmont too. It was like they went crazy laughing, couldn't hardly breathe, gasping for air like a couple of fish, slapping their hands on the table top... It would be years before I understood the way laughing substituted for crying when women were being watched."

"Maybe all the truth really was, was everybody agreeing on something, like saying it enough made it so."

There was mystery and shrewdness and rich description in this perceptive book that leaves you still thinking about it.

This author certainly knows her stuff! This is one of the best books ever -- Berry and her family have a crazy cast of characters as their neighbors in this half-horse town.

I was hooked on the first page. The story moves, is continually interesting, and FUNNY. This is one of those books that you can't put down and when you MUST put it down, you can't stop thinking about it. Then, you get your housework done and go right back to it!

You can feel the sweat on your own skin, hear the bugs buzzing in your ears, and ride out a hurricane with the characters. The characters are wonderful, each and every one of them.

Ms. Kincaid has a gift and you should open up this book and treat it like a present that has been handed to you on a silver platter. Enjoy it, spread the word, pass it on.

Berry would thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks -- Pam

This book is so well written it blew my mind. Berry's insights were always spot on and believably voiced. Miss Kincaid is an exceptional writer who deserves more attention than she gets. This is a book to be savored like fine wine.
I was a little disappointed in the ending, however. I found it a stretch and not quite believable. Almost like it was written for a shock value, but it felt contrived. That said, I still think this is one of the best books I've read in quite some time.

This is the kind of book that I never want to end. Southern writing at its best. Miss Kincaid definately knows her southern people and southern humor. The characters in this wonderful book will stay with me for a long time. Berry is precious. I wanted to be her friend & help her along the difficult paths that she had to take. Please more like this Ms. kincaid.

I enjoyed this book because I could relate to the experiences of growing up in a tiny town in Florida. The story was never boring for me. I never wanted to put it down. If you want to read a coming of age novel set in the south, give this book a chance. I was bothered by a couple of things in the book, but I did not let it ruin the story for me.

This could be considered spoilers so stop reading if you don't want to know..




# 1. I did not understand why Berry seemed to think it was ok for her brother to molest her. I don't care what anyone says.. It was molestation. He put his hands on her body in a sexual manner. That is not right. Why was that even in the book? I didn't get it at all.

#2. I also did not like when Berry let the older, criminal Raymond take advantage of her. I guess I could understand why she did it.. Her brother abused her. Her Father left. She was looking for love. It just disturbed me.

A perfectly written story about an insightful young girl named Berry growing up in rural Florida in the mid 1950's. Berry's mother seems to be infatuated with the local preacher, her father disappears during a hurricane as does the abused teen-aged daughter of a local family leaving the folks in town suspicous and full of gossip. Berry's best friend is an strange but indifferent hand-me-down dress wearing boy who is taking a turn for the worst and Berry herself falls in love with a handsome young prisoner brought in on the chain gang to help clean up after the hurricane.

This is a poignant, engrossing coming of age story. And as a woman who also grew up in rural Florida, I found Kincaid's descriptions of life as a young girl in the midst of a hot Florida summer to be spot on accurate. The writing is flawless and filled with humor and southern insights and expressions. I couldn't put it down and I was so sad to see it end. I can hardly wait to read the rest of her books.

Beautiful coming of age story. Charming, devastating and all wrapped up in a mystery. The first person narrator, Berry Johnson, is compelling enough and disarming enough that all you want to do is see how the whole mess turns out. Her father disappears, her mother shacks up another man, there's a tornado and then the chain gang comes to town. Berry falls in love with a pretty convict while her hand-me-down-dress-wearing boy neighbor and best friend goes more than a little crazy.

In this novel, a young girl, Berry, begins to experience love, life and loss. Berry evolves from a young child full of exuberance and carefree attitudes to a young woman who learns about intimacy, betrayal and true friendship. Berry lives in a small Florida town, where her father is the principal of the school. Her world is consumed by her friends, her family and her imaginative thoughts of life as she perceives it. When the wife of a local businessman is believed to have had an affair with the preacher, Berry's world is given a small shake. When her father disappears during a hurricane and rumors abound, Berry's perception of her life begins to crack, revealing new possibilities and she is awakened to thoughts and ideas that include a young handsome convict who is on the chain gang/ clean up crew. Berry begins to explore into new areas and even while she does not quite understand it all, she does understand that life and those around her will change and evolve as they grow and that some things just can not be assumed.
The author captures the changing innocence of a young, small-town girl and breathes life into her in an amazing fashion. Berry is a compelling, real, young girl, who at times you just want to rush in and protect from the realities that she seems bent on confronting.