Neat Family History Book
Ava's Man by Rick Bragg
Rick Bragg can spin a tale. He makes you see the fleas on a coonhound and feel itchy to boot. Although he's not old enough to be sitting on the front porch with all the kids gathered round, he is the master when it comes to weaving a story that will keep you begging for more.
Bragg grew up dirt poor, and then went on to write for major US newspapers and won a Pulitzer Prize for his story about the black lady who saved all her money and then donated it for a scholarship. He also covered the Susan Smith news when she drowned her kids in a car and said a black man did it.
Ava's Man is Bragg's second family book. The first is All Over But the Shoutin' which is the story of Bragg's life growing up with his mom and brothers. Ava's Man drops back and picks up the grandparents on his mothers side. Since his dad was pretty much trash, the mom side of the family has more impact. If you grew up in a single parent household where one family provided the support, then you'll know that the bonding goes the way of the family there and weathering the good and bad times.
Ava's Man is about Charlie who is Bragg's grandfather. Of course, Ava is the grandmother. She does get a lot of talk time in the book, but she plays second fiddle to Charlie who died before Rick Bragg was born. This is not really unusual in southern lore. The men are what legends are made of while the women pretty much made sure everyone ate and got raised up.
Charlie was poor and white. He went out on his own at age 16 and married Ava when he was 17 (and she was just 16). This is not a shocker in southern culture. It was somewhat unusual that Charlie landed Ava, since she was from a "better" family. In the south, that means that Charlie ran moonshine, and Ava went to church. You'll find a fine line between sinners and saints in the south, and sometimes that line is Saturday night and Sunday morning.
The grandparent generation covered by Bragg here is during the Depression era. I'd hate to think about living during that time frame. I would guess that I would do what I had to do to make it. Charlie picks up where he can and makes corn liquor to keep the seven kids up. If you're thinking birth control, then fine. It just wasn't that way back then and in the south. If you didn't have a thing to your name, you did have your kids.
Basically, Ava's Man is a tribute to Charlie. Although he was hard boiled, he did have a heart. This would put him in the running for "Father of the Year" in the south during that timeframe. He may have come home drunk and may have run around (though that point is not proven), he provided for the family and loved them.
As a southern girl, I know that sometimes forefathers get "larger than life" play. My Poppaw has some heap big tales floating about what he did, and I guess you could find some truth in those stories. On the other hand, he was "hard" and did many things that ensured that family members would not rise above a hardscrabble lifestyle.
Bragg does a fine job telling the story of his grandparents and especially his grandfather. He is, after all, wonderful when it comes to description. The problem here is that Bragg did not know Charlie. He has to rely on family stories passed on to him. That is not a bad thing overall I guess, but Bragg does not catch the same rhythm with secondhand information that he does when he tells what he sees and feels firsthand in his own lifestory, All Over But the Shoutin'.
I couldn't wait to buy this book and watched half.com until it came down to a price I could feel OK about. After reading All Over But the Shoutin', I knew I would buy this book. All Over is one of the best books I've ever read. I wanted more of Bragg.
Ava's Man is not as good as All Over, but it is still a solid story and told well. I would suggest reading All Over first. Then you will know the family and characters and have more interest in the previous generation. Then again, you might read this one first and then buy All Over and really find out why Bragg is the max. It's a hard call. I read All Over first which does have an impact. I would say that you would be more likely to love Bragg based on All Over than on Ava's Man.
