A Tidewater Morning: Three Tales from Youth

Styron revisits old themes in this collection subtitled "Three Tales from Youth" and set, two thirds of the way, in Tidewater Virginia in the earlier part of the twentieth century. In it we see three episodes from the life of Styron's autobiographical protagonist Paul Whitehurst at ages twenty, ten, and thirteen.In "Love Day" Paul, a young Marine lieutenant, experiences intense homesickness in the Pacific Ocean during the waning months of WWII. This is well-written but perhaps the least impressive of the three tales. Next is best. "Shadrach" is a wonderfully affecting, funny, and touching story of a 99-year old former slave who walks all the way from Clay County, Alabama, to Virginia to die and be buried in his homeplace. The title story shows Paul's struggle to accept his mother's approaching death from cancer and pays especial attention to the complex relationship between his parents.Despite Styron's wonderfully indulgent and rococo style, these stories make for fairly quick reads, as we are carried along on a stream of telling detail and crystalline reminiscence. Not that the work lacks complication. As with his larger-canvased works, Styron deals with issues of race, Southern identity, heterosexual love, courage, cowardice, religion, and art. Here and there the stories are marred by facile liberal pieties and stilted dialogue, but for the most part it is a pleasure to watch this old master cast perhaps one last look at the familiar but still-fertile landscape of his heart and imagination.

Styron raises enough intriguing issues and questions that A Tidewater Morning could have been a full-bodied novel. Instead, we are treated to three short stories that, while somewhat disjointed, do manage to flow with relative ease. There's little new material addressed here: Styron returns to his favorite themes of slavery, war, and death, but he does manage some fresh twists that allow Tidewater to stand memorably on its own merits.

This book is a beautiful intermingling of past memeories and present strife. The war time world of Paul Whitehurst is made apparent; his childhood battles were fought just as passionately as any battle in WWII. Paul is a fictional character full of wit and wisdom. He comes alive in the three separate stories of his life. Your only thought at the end of this (way to short) novel is that you wish there was some kind of continuation or sequel to Paul Whitehurst's story.

"A tidewater morning" was truly the most inspirational and exhillerating short story of the decade. The closing two pages when the boys father breaks down and goes to his knees and asks his son to repeat a certain song or quote. This will bring any person with somewhat of a sensitive side to their knees. Possibly, one might never recovering from the titilating experience.