Mississippi Goddam

Percival Everett was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize for his satirical novel, The Trees (2021). This clever, witty, dark and insightful book is a thought-provoking page-turner that had me gripped from the outset and left me enraged by the unending racism, inequality and injustice which continues to flourish.

In the small town of Money, Mississippi a brutal murder has taken place. A white homeowner is found dead with the body of an unknown young black man. Within days, this scene is recreated several times in Money, baffling local police who are more concerned about their white townsfolk than the black victims. Two special detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) drive up from Hattiesburg to support the investigation, and they realise that the black victim is reminiscent of Emmett Till, a teenager who was lynched in Money decades earlier, and whose murder propelled the civil rights movement. 

The detectives suspect that these killings are belated retribution for the murder of Till. As similar murders start taking place across the country, they realise there are larger forces at play. Ed and Jim have such a wonderful rapport as friends and work partners. Their jokes and sly comments serve to emphasise the absurdity of the Trumpian racism and MAGA revisionist history, and provide comic relief to the dark subject matter. 

The redneck white characters in the novel are hillbilly caricatures - gun-totting, evangelistic, uneducated, KKK enthusiasts. Their casual use the N-word and overt xenophobia is jarring, but illustrates America's failure to understand and reconcile its past. Everett reminds readers of America's dark history of lynching, which continues today. There was no justice for Emmett Till, or the hundreds of others who have lost their lives (before and since) in similar ways.

The Trees is unlike any novel I have ever read and one I will be thinking about for a very long time. 

Revisiting Jane Eyre

The story of the eponymous heroine in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847) is so well known, but can be summarised as follows. Orphaned as a young child, Jane lived with her maternal uncle's family at Gateshead Hall. Her aunt, Mrs Reed, treats Jane poorly, never embracing her as family. Jane is then sent to the Lowood Institution, a charity school for girls, where the children are malnourished, humiliated and harshly disciplined. Jane is a bright girl and a talented artist. She applies herself to her studies and after six years of education, she is engaged briefly as a teacher at Lowood, before going out on her own to advertise her services as a governess.

Jane accepts a position at Thornfield Hall teaching Adele Varens, a precocious French girl. She meets the master of Thornfield Hall, Edward Rochester, and over time a relationship develops between them. The couple aim to marry but this is thwarted when a secret from Rochester's past surfaces. Jane leaves Thornfield and finds a home and a position at Moor House. Jane's fortunes change, but before she can determine what path she will choose, she needs to resolve matters with Rochester.

The first time I read Jane Eyre I was 14 years old, in high school. As a teenager I was captivated by this bildungsroman and the gothic romance of a young governess falling in love with her employer. I re-read Jane Eyre again while in university and had a completely different take on Jane. With only a few years of life experience, I was less interested in the romance and more admiring Jane's quest for autonomy and her determination to make her own choices in life. I also saw Rochester differently, less of a romantic hero, and certainly questionable in his ill treatment of Bertha Mason.

Several decades have past since I last read Jane Eyre. In the intervening time I have seen many film and television adaptations that I thought there was nothing more I could learn. Jane Eyre has always been so familiar to me, that I had not considered it worth reading again until now when I decided to participate in the #BigBronteReadalong2023.

Reading the novel 30 years after my first time was a completely different experience. My appreciation for the precision of Bronte's prose has grown and I took great delight in her descriptions of the places Jane visited and the people she met. Her depiction of the gothic mansion Thornfield Hall, and the spectre of the madwoman in the attic, provides ample suspense and excitement. While I am still troubled by Rochester and question whether her relationship with him should be considered a romance, I found myself absolutely enamoured with Jane. She is a feisty heroine, resilient and self-aware, with a strong moral code. 

This time around I noticed things I hadn't before - the backstory of Rochester's affair with Celine Varens, the challenging journeys Jane took from Lowood to Thornfield and later on to Moor House, and the tediousness of St John Rivers. I was more understanding of the religious undertones, showcasing the best and worst of Christianity. I could also draw in so many parallels to other stories like Dickens' David Copperfield, Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Wharton's The Age of Innocence. 

Revisiting familiar tales at different points in one's life brings new insights. I am so pleased that I re-read Jane Eyre, and I hope to read/re-read many more Bronte novels during the #BigBronteReadalong2023.