Aunt Sookie and Me: The Sordid Tale of a Scandalous Southern Belle

Garvin’s satisfying novel begins as 13-year-old Poppy Wainwright steps off the bus in Savannah, Ga., in August of 1968, sent to live with her great-aunt Sookie, an elderly, “blasphemous heathen with a wicked tongue” living in a decaying mansion in one of the city’s exclusive neighborhoods. Poppy tells readers early in her narrative that she battles unidentified “peculiarities,” and when her addict mother arrives, the household has much to contend with. Nonetheless, Poppy’s loving spirit endears her to several of the town’s residents, including an eccentric ice cream man and the abused wife of a local football hero. Poppy is remarkably resilient, but when her spirits flag, Aunt Sookie is ready to guide her with a heady and hilarious mixture of hard-won wisdom and Southern saltiness (“Men age like a fine red wine, but we women age like buttermilk left in the afternoon sun”). Secondary characters are funny and colorful, and Poppy herself is a clear-eyed observer of her neighbors, with all their faults and foibles. Although this novel deals with some weighty issues (including sexual identity and domestic violence), Garvin’s compassion and light touch make this a highly entertaining and enjoyable novel. [em](BookLife) [/em]