July the Seventh (Penguin contemporary American fiction series) [Paperback]

Jill McCorkle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin contemporary American fiction series | Publication Date: September 3, 1985

An unsolved murder at the Quik Pik propels us into twenty-four hours of rich comedy and fast action in the North Carolina town of Marshboro. Two memorable presences are Granner Weeks, a white widow, and Fannie McNair, a black housekeeper. They know that people learn to live by living with each other--in each other's ways and in each other's hearts. "With these JULY 7th and The CHEER LEADER . . . McCorkle emerges as the most exciting young American writer of fiction to come along in years."--Cleveland Plain Dealer.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book big-hearted enough to embrace a whole small town." -- New York Times Book Review

"An absorbing tale...a tumultuous crazy quilt of anecdotes and happenings." -- Chicago Tribune --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jill McCorkle is the author of eight previous books, five of which were New York Times Notable Books. Two stories in Going Away Shoes were published in The Best American Short Stories. Winner of the New England Book Award, the Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature, and the North Carolina Award for Literature, she teaches writing at North Carolina State University and lives with her husband in Hillsborough, North Carolina. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 387 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (September 3, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140082719
• ISBN-13: 978-0140082715
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,872,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm Glad I Kept Reading, February 18, 1998

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: July 7th (Front Porch Paperbacks) (Paperback)

After reading about 50 pages of July 7th I had some doubts about whether I would finish it. A variety of characters were introduced fairly rapidly, and I thought gee this should be one of those books where they list all of the personae on a page before the book begins. I did finish July 7th and really enjoyed it. The author uses a McGuffin of a convenience store murder to establish the story, but the book is really about a group of related people in a small town in North Carolina. While JM has at least one serious message to present, the novel is essentially an intelligent, witty development of her characters during a 24 hour period of their lives. A central event is the birthday party of "Granner" the gift loving matriarch of the clan (She thought it a shame that her birthday and Independence Day didn't coincide so she has her clan celebrate July 4th on her birthday July 7th).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just so-so, August 21, 2001

By 

Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: July 7th (Front Porch Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Difficult book to like, but there is some salvageable material in it. The novel starts with 21-year old Sam Swett, drunk and deserting NYC in a southbound truck. He gets dropped off in a small town of NC, very close to where he grew up. Eventually, many more characters enter the story. All are related to one another by virtue of living in a small town.

July 7th is Granner's birthday, and the scenes at the party are the best this book has to offer. Granner's two children, Kate and Harold, are as different as you may imagine. Kate is pretentious, and cringes every time someone reminds her of her humble origins. Of course, her brother Harold loves to do that every chance he gets. The family dynamics at Granner's party become evident, the reactions are hilarious, and overall extremely accurate.

What i am most disappointed with are the dialogs between Sam Swett and Corky. Sam wants to be different but does not know how, and is a very confused person. Corky is sad, trying to survive a family tragedy. They make a likely pair at the beginning, but the way their relation came to be is too unrealistic, and i was unhappy about the ending of it. There was no reason it should have been so.

Without giving too much of the ending away, i did not like that there was no resolution to the murder, and that Sam Swett, a man of such strong convictions, never pursued truth in this case. What a hypocrite!

This book could use a good proofreader. Although i can understand spelling "going to" as "gonna" to emphasize the personality of certain characters, missing commas are unacceptable.