Customer Reviews

Tell Me a Tale: A Novel of the Old South

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a professional in the publishing business, I feel the Amazon.com reviewers who knocked this book were unfair. Sure, it was slow to get into the story, but worth reading because the author was carefully building a solid foundation for the conclusion. I'm left feeling desolate and saddened by the ending, yet it was fitting for the situation and characters and teaches important lessons to the reader. This book gives one insight into the South and slavery from both the the white and especially from the black point of view. Thank you, James McEachin, for coming up with this unique method of story-telling! Please write more!

And what a tale it is. Years removed from slavery, a teen-aged Moses leaves his caretakers and makes his way to Red Springs, North Carolina. When he reaches his destination, a ramshackled country store, he finds a group of men and while liquoring them up, begins to tell them a tale. As Moses' tale ends, one of the men realizes that this just isn't any old tale but his realization comes just a little too late.

If you can get past the first couple of chapters, you'll find that this is a decent piece of storytelling. I found the story pretty far-fetched, but it's well-written and finely crafted with nifty twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I must admit, it took about two weeks for me to finish this because while I found the story quite interesting, it was hard to read. I didn't find a rhythm or flow to the writing, so I was only able to read a few pages a day. It's pretty solid, though - different from my norm but not something that I would read again.

I have read this book twice - once several years ago and again at this time. The book haunted me with an otherworldly memory and needed to be revisited. I found McCachin's skill as an author and storyteller compelling and very deep. Some passages verged on sheer poetry. The plot unravels in such a way that, just as the reader senses predictability, new surprises arrive.

Good characterization also deserves note. Each person is iconic and simply but well developed. Mildred is the old fearful aristocracy and Archy is the change agent that victimized the South. Ben came forth as the old guard slave, Ms. Pratt the voice of hope, Moses, the new generation of liberated slave, and of course there was the ever present representation of ignorance and hate. The last chapter deserved two readings.

I am hoping that the author continues to write. I am also hoping this book is made into a screneplay. I would love to see it acted out.

Very seldom, there are books that really touch your soul. Even more rarely, there are authors who do that with every book they write. Such is the power of James McEachin and this, his first novel. Very hard to put into words what one finds in this book, but here goes. Poetry, drama, love, loss, violent death, slavery, redemption, vengeance, anger, forgiveness, life. Mr. McEachin has a rare voice, one that is informed by his experiences as a boy growing up in segregated North Carolina, polished by his time as an actor and playwright. He gives full rein to it in this amazing first novel. Highly recommended.

Make no mistake, this is a challenging book. But that is a truism about all truly great books, the ones that stay with you. As for the reviewers who did not like the book, well, I am sorry that it was not for you.

One more thing, once you have finished this, you will want to read McEachin's other books. Be sure and do it, you will be glad that you did. All are different, all are powerful. A truly great American storyteller.

Tell Me a Tale became my favorite book the moment I picked it up, and it earned that praise over and over again with every turn of the page. Mr. McEachin is the most gifted American author alive today.

This gifted writer held my attention, interest, and heart for every page of this novel. I found the valleys and peaks of emotional turbulence as necessary as breathing air. The characters are so real to me that I only pray that no one has to truely experience this to get the perspective that the experience brings. If you've never understood someone trying to explain the "ghosts of the south" just take this journey which Mr.McEachin so skillfully offers and then you'll wonder as I do, "tale"-couldn't possibly be that far from truth, could it?

The book seemed to me to be a morality play with characters that I never cared about as individuals. I did appreciate its attempts to portray the great sorrow that hatred and revenge brings to all participants, but have read much more compelling tellings of that moral.

"Tell Me A Tale" moved me beyond description. The characters, story and scenery drip off the page. The book reads like an epic motion picture. I loved every page, and hated to reach the end.I plan on reading it again. You need to stay on your toes. There's substance in every word.

Truly a great book. Brilliantly written. Not for the boneheaded.

Clever. Sensitive. I can see why Publishers Weekly said it was stunning; Kirkus, "a subtle and richly textured first novel." I enjoyed every word, thought and action. Hope he writes a hundred more like this one