OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Tales from Piney Grove" by Bobby Morrison.]

The book Tales From Piney Grove by Bobby Morrison tells the story of the life of his family of sharecroppers in 1960s North Carolina. Bobby reminisces about everything in his years in Piney Grove from the church that the small community would worship in every Sunday, to the landowner that the sharecroppers were under, to the bullies of the town that everyone despised, to the discussions that the church ladies had with his mother. Everything made up his childhood, but once the textile mills started coming to Piney Grove, everything changed.

This book is an incredible tale of how poor people would make the best of a situation. They knew that they didn't have as much money as the land-owners, but since they were all poor they didn't feel sorry for themselves.If someone had taken them to another area where people really lived differently, they might have realized that their way of life wasn't normal. However, when they were all just a community together, they couldn't complain. Instead, they learned how to have fun within their means. Instead of spending money on expensive refrigerators and freezers, they would go to the local general store to buy cold treats. They also spent a lot of time with each other, hanging out in the summer heat after church at the local dance hall. 

One of the most interesting parts of this book was hearing about the "city slickers" who would come and seduce the young girls who wanted to get off the sharecropping farms. It was a sad thought that these girls would push away the farm boys to try to go after the city boys, even though the city boys were not truly interested in them. However, it was a reality at the time. Most of the women in this story were doomed to have an unhappy life, unlike the boys who at least had a chance at living differently. The women were either doomed to live with an alcoholic husband in a horrible house or they were going to try to find a city boy to help them get out of the South and into a cushy city apartment, even if the city boy was only using her. The men also found help by going into the military to make money differently, but the women couldn't even do this. 

This book was short and fast-paced, but each page revealed another layer of the poverty-stricken South. It gave me knowledge about the type of life that my grandparents lived, and it allows the readers to see a different version of the 1960s America. When people think of the 60s, they think of "greasers" with guys and girls that ride motorcycles, or they think of the Civil Rights movement. They don't think of an area, almost completely cut off from the rest of the world, where people are living in shacks and working for a land-owner, almost as if slavery still existed.

I rated this book 4 out of 4 stars. It had no editing errors, the pacing was excellent, and the story was incredible. There wasn't a single part of the book that I disliked. I would definitely reread this book just to see if I could pick up on more stories and be transported into this historical version of the South again.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or anyone who enjoys success stories about people who started off with nothing and eventually work their way up and out of their bad situation.

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Tales from Piney Grove
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Like BriennaiJ's review? Post a comment saying so!

Tales from Piney Grove
by Bobby Morrison .
this book mad my day..
i enjoyed every line of it

There seems to be a lot of gender discrimination in the late 60's but it also reflected the reality. More than we know, there are things that we do not know. That's the impression I got from this book. Rather than it is called a historical fiction it sounds like a historical non-fiction book. Thank you for this insightful review!

It's so true that the poor make due with what they have, whereas better-off people would be horrified at the same situation. I'm glad you enjoyed this book so much. I may have to look into this one. Thanks for a great review!

This sounds like a great book to encourage people to relate to those with very different ways of living. It also raises the question of: "what would I do?" I think I'd have taken my chances on a city boy, even though many aspects of community life are admirable. Thanks for a thought-provoking review.

I like reading about the South and especially about people overcoming poverty. This sounds like a good book.

I love historical fiction, and your review of this book has definitely piqued my interest! (Especially since it seems to draw heavily on the historical context it's based on.) Thank you for reviewing this, your critique was really detailed and I might just put this book on my reading list

omang1 wrote: ↑10 May 2018, 16:51 Tales from Piney Grove
by Bobby Morrison .
this book mad my day..
i enjoyed every line of it

I am glad that you enjoyed it! I hope that more people get the chance to read this novel.

Sahani Nimandra wrote: ↑10 May 2018, 21:58 There seems to be a lot of gender discrimination in the late 60's but it also reflected the reality. More than we know, there are things that we do not know. That's the impression I got from this book. Rather than it is called a historical fiction it sounds like a historical non-fiction book. Thank you for this insightful review!

Yes, this book was definitely a historical non-fiction novel. It was enlightening, and I'm glad that you enjoyed my review. I wish there were more books like this one, shedding light on the truth of the past.

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 03:41 It's so true that the poor make due with what they have, whereas better-off people would be horrified at the same situation. I'm glad you enjoyed this book so much. I may have to look into this one. Thanks for a great review!

Definitely, try it if you have the time! Sometimes I feel as if the poor are happier without all the things that the better-off people have to try and make themselves happy.

Libs_Books wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 13:28 This sounds like a great book to encourage people to relate to those with very different ways of living. It also raises the question of: "what would I do?" I think I'd have taken my chances on a city boy, even though many aspects of community life are admirable. Thanks for a thought-provoking review.

I think I would have too, but it is unfortunate because the city boy would probably only be trying to use me. I think that if the Grove had kept their sense of community, they could have still been happier even with a little bit of money.

teacherjh wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 15:11 I like reading about the South and especially about people overcoming poverty. This sounds like a good book.

Yes, these kinds of stories are definitely inspirational. Thank you for commenting!

Ginnamassa19 wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 09:12 I love historical fiction, and your review of this book has definitely piqued my interest! (Especially since it seems to draw heavily on the historical context it's based on.) Thank you for reviewing this, your critique was really detailed and I might just put this book on my reading list

Thank you for your kind words! If you do get the chance to read it, I would love to read about your thoughts on it.

BriennaiJ wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 16:19

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 03:41 It's so true that the poor make due with what they have, whereas better-off people would be horrified at the same situation. I'm glad you enjoyed this book so much. I may have to look into this one. Thanks for a great review!

Definitely, try it if you have the time! Sometimes I feel as if the poor are happier without all the things that the better-off people have to try and make themselves happy.

I wholeheartedly agree with you!

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 16:23

BriennaiJ wrote: ↑14 May 2018, 16:19

SABRADLEY wrote: ↑11 May 2018, 03:41 It's so true that the poor make due with what they have, whereas better-off people would be horrified at the same situation. I'm glad you enjoyed this book so much. I may have to look into this one. Thanks for a great review!

Definitely, try it if you have the time! Sometimes I feel as if the poor are happier without all the things that the better-off people have to try and make themselves happy.

I wholeheartedly agree with you!

Maybe the money breaks people away from simple human happiness, and start to connect happiness to material things that do not last forever.