Customer Reviews

Truelove and Homegrown Tomatoes

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Truelove and Homegrown Tomatoes is the wonderful, luscious, bittersweet story of how Imogene Lavender and her two daughters, Loutishie and Jeannete-one actually her niece and the other adopted-cope with life after Imogene's husband, Silas, passes on.

This is a story told with compassion and affection from tow distinctly different points of view-that of Imogene, through the regular text, and that of Loutishie, told through her journal. It chronicles their grieving for their father and husband and the inevitably difficult process of picking up the pieces and moving on. The book elegantly evokes the aspects of Southern tradition, mores and custom that both facilitate and aggravate that process.

Cannon's particularly gifted at characterization. Even minor characters are reverently constructed and rendered so that by the end of the book you feel as if you yourself are in fact a resident of Euharlee, Georgia and privy to all the goings on, habits and secrets and traditions that are common fodder in any such small rural enclave.

The construction of the story is extremely effective, with a short quote from each chapter which acts as an introduction, followed by Imogene's story, followed by Lou's journal.

This is the sort of story that grabs you by the heartstrings and won't let go, even after the book is over. It's a truly wonderful debut.

I can only hope-and pray-- that this is but the first in a long line of novels by Julie Cannon.

Imogene, recently widowed, embarks on a new hair style and a series of new and outrageously unsuitable men, but she's pulled back to home base by three things: her rebellious teenage daughter, her calmer and younger niece, and her garden. Healing of a broken heart comes with time, just as a well-tended garden will once again yield a bumper crop of tomatoes, and just when they are needed most.
Sweet.

What a wonderful view of the southern world. Told with insight and compassion, this a a story book clubs would enjoy.

Any reader from the South will recognize many Southern traditions and truisms in this book. Julie Cannon captures the authentic feel of small towns in the South,and the people who inhabit them. I had the privilege of hearing Julie read an excerpt of her new book 'Mater Biscuit at a local Barnes and Noble. This book continues the story of the characters in Truelove...Needless to say,I have my name on the library reserve list!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Julie Cannon is an immense new talent, along the lines of Lee Smith and Flannery O'Connor. Cannon writes in a conversational, casual tone that fits right in with the classic tradition of Southern literature. The characters and situations ring true to small town Southern life. Kudos to Julie Cannon; may she have a long, vibrant career!

Truelove & Homegrown Tomatoes is a story of faith, hope and appreciation. The novel centers around Imo Lavender who has recently lost her beloved husband Silas to cancer. Now in her 60's, with two girls to care for, Imo struggles to find the strength to go on with life without her husband.

One thing that Imo has always loved is her garden, where she grows the sweetest, best tasting tomatoes-something you can't buy in a grocery store. As Imo tries to pick up the pieces of her life, she finds her garden to be a great source of comfort and inspiration in her life.

Imo's journey at this turning point in her life is a touching story and is a cute, easy read. I would have liked to seen it get a bit more in depth with the characters, but all in all, it was a satisfying and likable read.

Julie Cannon seems to be capitalizing on the rage of Southern writers writing about the homey folks of modern day Georgia, particularly one widowed Imogene Lavender and her "daughters", Jeanette and Loutishie. With the voice of Lou, actually Imo's niece, aiding the recollection of the story, one visits the life of a most unusual family of farm folk with a head of household old enough to be a grandmother, not mother, and a down home association that is strictly green thumb Baptist goodness.

Interestingly enough, Imogene, called Imo, is the hot ticket for the other ladies of Euharlee, Georgia, to find a fella for and match her off in as fast order as possible. To soothe her grief after a 48-year marriage, Imo is encouraged to try all the modern means of meeting a new man, including the big city grocery market version of singles clubs. Of course, those ways are artificial for Imo, and she has troubles enough, what with rebellious teen hormones thriving in her daughter Jeanette who is entangled in an illicit relationship with the immigrant Dairy Queen manager. In addition,Lou stubbornly seeks to waylay any serious attempts Imo may make toward courtship, as she faithfully clings to the memory of Uncle Silas, now deceased.

Within the plotline of contrived courtship and a potential of at least three would-be mates, Imo and her girls manage to produce bumper crops of fresh vegetables to feed the poor of Eurharlee, particularly tomatoes. And a reader who loves fresh vegetables will find the descriptions of vine-ripened fruit too tempting.

What author Cannon is creating in this tale of alternated telling: one chapter third person, the next a journal version of Lou's, is the start of a series of books about Imo and her crew. For the next volume entitled 'Mater Biscuit is due in March of 2004.

If you need a light read with some laugh-out-loud characters and situations, particularly those involving the hard of hearing Fenton Mabry, this book is for you. If you are always longing for a small town read redolent of the charms of Jan Karon's Mitford series, or Fannie Flagg's Alabama and Missouri tales, this book will amuse you. We all know that there are 65-year-old women who head up households after being widowed or divorced, and the next book in the series presents the introduction of yet another female of the family, the 84-year-old mother of Imo who is coming to live with her and her crew. The span of generations is growing in the Lavender farm house. Could lead to fun, maybe even a film version.

The storyline was excellent; finding healing from intense pain and grief through hardwork in the garden and from reaping your own freshly grown produce as the fruit of your labor and love. I thought the characterizations were well-developed and the descriptive writing was beautifully detailed. The style of writing was a bit hard to follow (ex: awkwardly structured sentences) and the story was poorly edited. Still, this was definitely a worthwhile reading, and I related to Imo's feelings of despair in a very personal way so the story resonated deeply with me. The abrupt ending left me feeling quite empty.

In many ways this book mirrored several of our family situations and on several occassions I questioned if my mom had written it. I had hoped it would have been a more laugh out loud book but nevertheless it brought many thought provoking grins to my face. By the end of the book I was glad there was a sequel and enjoyed it as well.

A truly charming book. I could not put it down. An insight into the life of an aging southern lady and her love of gardening. Glimpse into the trials and tribulations of her life. I sincerely hope Julie Cannon has another novel in the works.