I Am One of You Forever

I flatout loved this book. Chappell's novel of quirky tales flows with humor and touching insights, a work of subtle mastery. Everything about it seems right: the understated yet lyrically precise prose; the easy-leaning pace; the eccentric characters, especially the visiting uncles; the curious yearnings of an adolescent narrator; the grounded, homespun values of Southern lore. In the title of another reviewer, this book is a keeper. As Stephen King said (and I agree), life is too short to reread many books; however, this is one that deserves to be reread. It's that good. Clearly, Chappell's a man who savors the humor and language of life, a writer who crafts a tale of beguiling beauty. He writes sentences of such grace that I'm reminded of Anne Tyler. Read this book and enjoy the magic. Chappell is an artist who knows what he's doing.

I read this book originally for a class in college--so I went into reading it thinking "ugh." But not only did I love it--not only did it make me laugh, cry, roll my eyes, and a range of other emotions--but when I shared it with the rest of my family, they had the same reaction. All of us have read it, it's that good (and we don't usually agree on what's good). It is full of tall tales and mischief and is a fabulously, fabulously amazing book.

This, the first in Fred Chappell's tetralogy of books about Joe Robert Kirkman and his family, consists of ten stories about ten-year-old (at the start of the book) Jess Kirkman's encounters with four of his mother's relatives, the live-in hired hand on the Kirkman farm, and some of their neighbors. Chappell's narration veers from straightforward fiction to fantasy, telling of the gusto and humor with which Joe Robert meets life. I found myself laughing out loud and slapping my knee at some of the passages, while being touched deeply by the novel's underlying theme of belonging to a family, a place, and a tradition.

Once you get past the pure fun of "I Am One of You Forever," then you can start appreciating the resonance of the prose and the rich texture of literary allusions: from Homer to Hawthorne. I've read this book five or six times, and Chappell's storytelling gets better with each reading. "I Am One of You Forever" is a perfect comic complement to Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain": both are representative of the finest Southern fiction and both, coincidentally, take place in a similar area of the North Carolina mountains. This book should receive more recognition. It's a truly great novel.

Easily the best novel I've read in five years, I've read I Am One of You Forever over and over and over again. The friend, who introduced me to this book and Chappell's other writings, read I Am One of You Forever to me aloud. Chappell's books are meant to be spoken. Whether you read it to yourself or read it aloud to someone you love, I promise you that reading I Am One of You Forever will be one of life's more delightful experiences