Going Down South: A Novel by Bonnie GloverMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Going Down South is the story of three generations of women with three generations worth of secrets. Birdie the matriarch of the family is a blue-black woman with a questionable background. Birdie’s daughter Daisy, left Alabama at an early age never to return again, or so she thought. Olivia Jean, Daisy’s daughter changed that with the realization that she is pregnant at 15. Daisy decides that she and her husband, Turk will take Olivia Jean to live with Birdie, whom Olivia Jean has never met. Once they reach Alabama, the plan changes. Secrets are revealed, feelings explained and relationships recovered.
Bonnie J. Glover does an excellent job revealing the personality and history behind each of the three women. While men are very much present in this novel, the role they play is secondary at best. Men are discussed only in relation to one of the three lead characters. While Glover does not talk ad nauseum about the time period in which she is writing, she does a good job of conveying general feelings and social mores of the time.
Going Down South will leave you feeling hopeful. If these three Black Alabama women could overcome all that had to and still find some semblance of peace, then what’s stopping the next woman from doing it. Nothing.
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