Longlisted for the National Book Award and a Washington Post Best Book of the Year
“Gorgeous…A writer of profound emotional depths.” —New York Times Book Review
Since his award-winning debut collection of stories, Last Days of the Dog-Men, Brad Watson has been expanding the literary traditions of the South in work as melancholy, witty, strange, and lovely as any in America. Drawing on the true … Drawing on the true story of his great-aunt, he explores the life of Miss Jane Chisolm, born in rural, early-twentieth-century Mississippi with a genital birth defect that excludes her from the roles traditional for a woman of her time and place and frees her to live her life as she pleases. With irrepressible vitality and generosity of spirit, Miss Jane mesmerizes those around her, exerting an unearthly fascination that lives beyond her still.
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This was such a unique story. I really liked how the clarification of Miss Jane’s “issue” wasn’t revealed until I read the Acknowledgements in the back of the book.
So sad this author has passed, and will no longer gift us with new stories.
More about bird sex than I really want to know.
Spare but carefully chosen words establish an unusual situation lived by
gentle, memorable characters. The story has always stayed with me. And
the setting is rural in the 1800’s.
Rather sad
This is an account of someone that to needed adapt to a difficult birth defect and how it affected her life. Though fictional, I would like to think that the real-life Jane that the story is based on did have a compassionate person in her life that could help her understand her condition.
Loved this book!
Catches you at the start and won’t let you go. You keep hoping the main character gets help. All if the characters are so real and you enjoy following them.
An interesting book focused on an usual topic, congenital deformities of female genitalia. The author paints a mostly inspiring portrait of a distant relative afflicted in this way. Unfortunately, substantial omissions leave those unknowledgeable in embryology and anatomy easily confused about what is irregularly developed. The main character, her generalist country doctor, and the girls/woman’s father are treating gently. Others, such as the mother and sister, aren’t explored in much depth but described unflatteringly. This true story almost certainly had much more nuance than was depicted here.
This was a great book, well written and easy to read. I loved the characters. Not the usual subject, but extremely well done. It made me think of “Out Where The Crawdads Sing.” This certainly deserves a 5-star rating.
Unusual but I admire the strength of the protagonist
Excellent writing. Beautifully described characters. I loved this book, it was tragic but the characters almost jumped off the page and were so familiar. Jane, the protagonist, of course, went straight to one’s heart. Imagine being physically quite different in ways that is not obvious from the outside and being born at a time and place when no medical help is available or possible. The doctor (in a movie, he would be the supporting actor) who wanted so much to help Jane was also constrained with the medical science of the time. I thought, the timing of Jane’s birth as 1915 was especially interesting because what was not available to her in the early 20th century was available in the 1980’s when she was a much older woman.
To me the best part of the story was Jane’s acceptance of herself as she was and the joy she felt in the day to day life and nature. It was such a contrast with the lives led by her mother, father and sister who were physically normal. Great book.
Miss Jane is a wonderful character that exemplifies grace in unfortunate circumstances. She is inspirational and a model for self love and acceptance. Reading it made me feel at peace.
Miss Jane has strong and loving men and stubborn women in her world, who support her as she finds her own way. I wonder if the female characters would have been different if the author was female.
I kept waiting for something to happen. Found it rather depressing
A good premise and a good beginning, but never went anywhere!
This is a book about determination and courage in the face of unusual physical challenges. Jane and her dedicated doctor are a couple of characters you won’t forget.
Was fascinated and intrigued with this story because it spoke of a subject I am interested in. Besides the medical issue, I was very interested in rural life in the south way back when. All the characters are so wonderfully portrayed. I could feel all their ups and downs, physically and emotionally. Totally felt like I was actually there when reading this story. So well done!