Betty

“She was a woman so loverly, mirrors grieved in absence of her.” It is this kind of writing that kept me spellbound to this book, reading long into the night and throughout the day. I will never forget the story of Betty. The colloquialisms throughout the book would make me smile. The horrors took my breath away. This is a very unique story told by Betty as a child growing into womanhood. Nothing prepares you for the next chapter. Surprises abound and there are no easy answers to the difficulties. I felt close to the characters, understanding them through Betty’s eyes. I highly recommend this book, but prepared to be slightly shocked because of the events that happened in the years they took place.

I didn’t realize I’d read over 400 pages until I was done reading this book. And then I wanted more. I loved Betty and her sad little world in the woods. Betty seemed to have inherited the best from both her parents. Dad was a storyteller, a mystic, who knew the Cherokee history and its rich meshing with the natural world. But he had been beaten down by injustice and prejudice. Her mother was probably bipolar but back in the days when doctors (not ambulances) pulled up to the house for emergencies, mental illness wasn’t diagnosed, just worked around. At her best, Mom was caring and creative, once serving her children an imaginary meal when they had no food. Since Betty is half-Cherokee and dark-skinned like her father (the rest of the siblings are fair), she endures taunts from her fellow student, her teachers, and even her mother. But Betty endures. She is made of stern stuff. I can see the Carpenter children playing in the woods, swimming in the water tower, lighting fires in the church and wonder why no one was keeping tabs on them. This is the harsh reality: Dad was probably sleeping off the effects of his homemade brew and the mother may not have cared. But the children could get hurt, I think. And some do. And some, like Betty, survive and grow. The author brilliantly draws us into this Southern Ohio Appalachia, and shows us a beautiful girl, Betty Carpenter, and her wacky, strangely-lovable, dysfunctional family.

Choosing a rating for this one was hard. I both loved and hated this book at times. Because of that, I split the difference and went for 3 stars.

In Betty, beautiful writing stitches a harrowing story full of pretty much every trigger warning that would put people off reading. (I do not recommend reading this one if you are not in a good place with your mental health. Seriously. I don’t say that lightly.)

The first sentence of Chapter 1 is: “A girl comes of age against the knife.” The reader rides the edge of that knife. On one side is unrelenting cruelty, abuse, death, grief, and trauma–sometimes alarmingly casual and seemingly gratuitous–and on the other is the love and care of a father powerless to protect his children from the world into which they were born, who stitches his children’s hearts and his own back together with stories, a gift the titular character inherits. Reading this book is like sifting endless pans of dark, sticky mud in search of the occasional, tiny fragment of a diamond.

Was it ultimately worth it? I think so, for me personally. It felt like honoring the real Betty’s story, and her father Landon’s story, and the stories of their ancestors. Also, the ending was more hopeful and offered more closure than I expected. Still, it’s not one I’ll necessarily be recommending far and wide.

This is a very beautifully written tale of growing up different from even her siblings . It is amazing the resilience of this girl. I cannot stress enough of hiw well written it is. I highly recommend.

Some of the most beautiful writing about tragedy after tragedy in a family set in the 1950-70s. Child abuse in one form or another and racism runs rampant in this heart-breaking story about a biracial (Cherokee and Caucasian) family in Ohio. So sad, so depressing. Maybe not a book for 2020; its been rough enough. Or maybe its perfect? The writing is fantastic either way.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member