I read this beautifully written debut novel very slowly so that I didn't miss any of the lyrical writing and character development. This novel is Southern fiction at its best.
The year is 1989 and Judith Kratt is 75 years old and living in the large family home in Bound, SC
…more with Olva, a black servant who is also her only friend. Judith has decided that she needs to make an inventory of all of the wonderful items in her home. She has no heirs but feels that she is the keeper of the Kratt family valuables and, as importantly, it's stories. "Our memories orient us just like the furniture in the sunroom." As she begins to make a list of items, she ties them to stories in her family history and at the end of every one of the 1989 chapters, there is an ongoing list of items that she's mentioned in her stories. Her memories take her back to the early 1930s when many people are suffering due to the depression. Her father is the big man in town and owns most of the mills as well as a new department store. Judith is 15 the year that the store opens and lives with her parents, sister and brother. A tragic event during this time changes the lives of her and her family forever. As Judith makes her lists in 1989, her past is gradually revealed and she is able to see her life and the effect that her attitudes as a child had on her life and the lives of the people around her. Will knowledge that she gleans from her past help her make changes or will her focus stay only on the physical items in her house?
This multi-layered story about loyalty, loss and family - not just the family that they are born into but the family created by people who love them. So sit down on that porch swing with a large glass of sweetened ice tea and prepare to walk down memory lane with Miss Judith. (less)