The Valley So Low

The Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories is a collection of short stories by Manly Wade Wellman. It is classified as "sci-fi," and falls into the category of ghost and supernatural stories. This author is well-steeped in the folklore of many cultures, as are his protagonists. These protagonists are always contemporary sojourners in the ancient hills of Appalachia: a curious mixture of folklorist, anthropologist, scientist, poet, truthseeker, and hero. They come to research and bear witness. Where there is mystery, they investigate, often with the help of hill neighbor and kin. Where there is evil, they vanquish, usually in the name of the Lord. Evil, here, comes in many forms: ghost, witch, Satan, pagan tree-spirit; some ancient Grendel of the mountains, some would-be succubus; perhaps even an evil, ancient corruption that haunts the ground, reminiscent of the swamp thing of comic-book lore. Wellman's stories have the ring of truth, though of a truth that requires the reader to suspend disbelief and allow for evidence of things unseen. This is due to his story-telling method, which is traditional and straight-forward. He makes only rare use of the familiar suspense buildup to a plot twist at the end. "The Petey Car," "Along About Sundown," and "Rock, Rock" might appear in any Hitchcock collection. The other stories almost defy categorization, but they are powerful and strong. Wellman will appeal to readers of the "old-fashioned" ghost story, to people who like ballads, perhaps. His prose is deep and rich, his stories are strange. If you love them, you'll want more ~ and there are more. Wellman was a prolific writer. Many of the books are out of print and expensive to buy, but might pop up in libraries, especially Southern ones.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

My enjoyment of this book was discolored by the long, long buildup to the real story. The Southern inferiority complex is readily apparent. Sidda, the main character, offers up proof that she has left Southern roots behind to become the very cliché of a sophisticated, "successful" urbanite: she has a good career, is in therapy, has a jaded prior love life, and is in a successful relationship ~ which bothers her enough that she immediately puts said relationship in jeopardy. The mother-daughter conflict is laid out. Sidda has been betrayed by a reporter into airing dirty secrets about her mother, thus alienating her family. Delightful to some, disgusting to others, will be the Jane-Fonda-like depiction of Catholicism, laced with profanity and blasphemies enough. Finally comes the story. The plot device is a trip through the minutia of the Ya-Ya scrapbook. The Ya Ya sisters themselves form a tight-knit, kooky group of long-time friends, but the scraps and letters don't tell all (and can be downright boring). I nearly gave up reading, but decided to skim. Finally, the story does become more absorbing. I found the meat of Vivi's story to be worth reading. That part is spicy, warm, poignant, and insightful, in an Oprah kind of way. The traumas described therein seem very "real," and Vivi is somewhat redeemed; but, lest we come to like her too much, her daughter throws in the obligatory Southern racism. The book has nice moments, though it reads more like a memoir than a novel. Granted, this is not my usual choice of reading material, but the title had given me hope. I was lukewarm about the movie and the book just didn't keep my interest. Still, my opinion shouldn't deter any reader who does love Oprah-like soul searching.