Customer Reviews

River Jordan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Augusta Trobaugh continues to improve with age like a particularly fine vintage wine. Her books get better and better. I am a die-hard fan, no doubt!

What a wonderful book!!! Ms. Trobaugh I hope that you read this so you will know how much I have loved & enjoyed all your books. This one is as good as the others and maybe even a little bit better. The south, with all its eccentric characters, is at it's very best & most beautiful in your books. Your characters are precious & I wish that I knew Aunt Rose & her girls personally, but especially River. Please write more like this.

River Jordan

This read starts out with a woman named Pansy, who is in jail for the murder of her husband. She was beat by him repeatedly and didn't mean for him to fall and hit is head, causing his death. In the end, when someone is dead, someone will pay the consequences. Pansy gets a visit from the Lord, telling her she is to be baptized in the River Jordan. Not sure what this means, Pansy gets freed and goes to live temporarily with Miss Amylee, a position of caretaker her sister Peony has arranged for her.

Then we have Jordan, who's mother is married to the son of Miss Amylee. Jordan has spells where she goes to another land, and they give her castor oil for this.

Gertie is another character, spoiled and just wants to get out of the town. So she goes on a date with a construction worker and you will have to read the rest to find out the best parts of this book!

I did enjoy this book. I gave it 4 stars because I didn't understand why Jordan had the spells, I didn't understand the stepdad and his lack of warmth. It was touched on in the book, but I have felt kind of lacking for a conclusion. A good read though no doubt! ENJOY!!

I loved SWAN PLACE by Trobaugh and thought I'd surely enjoy her new book. While the writing is flowing and superb in its detail, it leaves much of the plot amiss for the reader. At least it did for me.

First of all there are way too many Jordan references. Jordan is a young girl who lives with her mother and stepfather. Their househelper, Peony has the last name Jordan. Peony's sister is named Pansy Jordan but she has a fantastic dream and changes her name to River Jordan because she feels she needs to go there someday. Follow?

Jordan's parents go to Savannah on a trip and she gets to stay with Pansy and AmyLee (her stepfather's mother) which she enjoys. Then Gertie and her beau, Bill, come into the picture and well, the gang heads out of town to help the couple.

All through the story, Jordan has 'spells' and her mother administers castor oil on a daily basis. Her illness is never fully explained and is thought of as imagination. Oh it's just so confusing.

RIVER JORDAN by Augusta Trobaugh
April 24, 2005

This is the 3rd novel by Augusta Trobaugh I have read so far, the first one being SOPHIE AND THE RISING SUN. I just finished reading SWAN PLACE, which I also enjoyed, but this third novel I had a little trouble liking as much. In RIVER JORDAN, there are several stories going on at once, with various central characters. The focus therefore isn't on one main plot line, but on several.

The book opens in jail, with Pansy, a black woman, waiting for her parole hearing when she sees a vision of Jesus coming to her. After this experience, she embraces Jesus as her savior.

In the meantime, Peony, Pansy's sister, is employed by Miss Alice and Mr. Franklin, who are trying to figure out how to deal with an elderly mother that needs to find a home. White Columns, the home where Miss Amy Lee is currently residing, is about to be closed down permanently. Peony thinks that a good idea is to have her sister Pansy, who may be getting out of jail soon, help take care of the elderly woman, Mr. Franklin's mother. Peony thinks that if Pansy can get out of jail, she would be the perfect person to help care for the elderly Mrs. Franklin (Miss Amy Lee).

Jordan, Miss Alice's daughter from a previous marriage, is very unhappy with her mother's new marriage. Mr. Franklin shows no patience for this young shy girl, and Jordan is miserable. She can't seem to do anything right where he's concerned, so she often spends her time away from home. The only person besides her mother she feels she loves is Miss Amy Lee, who she knows is coming home soon.

When Pansy gets out of jail, a lot of lives are impacted by her arrival at her new home. She immediately bonds with her new employer, Miss Amy Lee, who in turn "wakes up" and becomes her lively old self again, the person that Jordan grew to love before she was sent to White Columns. The three of them end up on a great adventure, involving yet another character, Gertie, who is a teenager with such a horrible disposition that I hated this character after getting to know her! Gertie has run off with a new beau, and Pansy takes Miss Amy Lee and Jordan with her to find the missing girl.

There are other various characters in the book that readers will enjoy reading about, including a simpleton named Honey Boy, who is beloved by all in the town and thinks that every day is Christmas Eve.

While I'm not giving this book an enthusiastic recommendation, I still found it enjoyable for its story lines and the interesting characters introduced by Trobaugh. Those who enjoy Southern Lit may enjoy this book, but fans of Trobaugh may agree that this is not her best effort. Still, it is worth reading, and I'm giving this book a 3 star rating.