Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men

Padgett Powell is an unacknowledged genius of American literature. His A WOMAN NAMED DROWN is undeservedly out of print; a masterpiece of the steadfast drop-out genre, mixing the contemporary Southern idiom into the voice of a man with serious American malaise. He transcends the Southern wing of American letters by showing a South which, believe it or not, really has integrated--and poses the question: "Where has it gotten us?" Not because the South didn't need desperately to change, but because the South needed to hang on to what was best and unique about it while losing the racist baggage. The New South of Powell's work is not yet rid of that baggage--and herein lies the rub: the author's stubborn desire to tell the truth about the New South (and the rest of the country) is what's allowed him to be left behind his peers. Flannery O'Connor wrote hilariously as a Catholic "outsider" observing the Protestant local yokels; Faulkner worked from deeply within, like an earworm whispering into our consciences. Powell in all his work has deployed the playfulness and deadly serious listening skills of his former teacher and great master Donald Barthelme to get at the absurdity of life as a roofer or an old spinster in a small Southern town. His work is meant to be read aloud, slowly, as if on a hot summer's night on the porch when an uncle tells a tall tale. He's fun and gulp-out-loud compelling. Like his excellent and daring book of stories ALIENS OF AFFECTION before it, MRS. HOLLINGSWORTH'S MEN stretches the idiom he's always worked with, this time combining occasional research with the sillinesses of our make-nice culture (which only covers up or drowns out the hard questions left for us to ask ourselves). It's an anti-Civil War novel--against the romance of Civil War novels, and against the very idea, the sheer impossibility, of truly being able to write one. It feints in one direction, while lunging for real in the least expected one--our own smug liberal Reconstructive natures. Like Mrs. Hollingsworth herself, we think we can achieve decency through language and behavioral modelling.Oh, and did I mention it's a comedy?

Padgett Powell again reveals his unique literary gifts in this remarkable tour de force of a novel, my favorite of all his books. Witty, graceful, troubling, brilliant.

Deep in the South, middle-aged Mrs. Hollingsworth sits at her table in her kitchen, writing out a grocery list. However, her list includes items she has and things she lacks, but nothing on her list is remotely like a grocery item. Failing with her spouse, Mrs. Hollingsworth draws a list consisting of infamous men of history. Diving deeper into her imagination, the lonely woman dreams of Lost Cause Confederate General Nathan Forrest and serial killer Ted Bundy, etc. She sees this crowd as more real than her so-called husband. Mrs. Hollingsworth's perfectly eerie "Tupperware" daughters believe their mother is going insane. They think that their mother has lost her mind and needs help, perhaps in a plastic hermetically sealed hospital. Mrs. Hollingsworth feels they might be partially right, but writing down her list provides her with mental stability in a world that her gone wrong, at least in her mind. Padgett Powell focuses on the absurd excesses of modern day society through a Walter Mitty daydreamer seeking solace in those dubbed by history as losers. Mrs. Hollingsworth is a great character, as her mind serves as a battlefield between reality vs. surreality, romanticism vs. pragmatism, and sanity vs. insanity. Often humorous and satirical, the story line may not be for everyone. However, those fans who enjoy a bit of irony and are tired of disingenuous presidential ads leaving voters feeling bushed and gored, will find fresh solace in this weird, but wonderful novel.Harriet Klausner

Thank heaven's for Padgett Powell and thank heaven's for Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men. This book is a treat. Powell has created a woman who is smart AND funny. I had to read her lists several times in order to implant them in my brain forever. You will too. I loved Edisto and consider it one of the best books of the past fifty years, so naturally I bought Mrs Hollingsworth's Men immediately. It is funny and romantic and altogether wonderful. Mrs Hollingsworth is a delight . I think you'll like her too.