Whistle

Can a black man be prejudiced against other black men? Apparently so. But it does no good to call him a racist, because he knows of which he speaks. The more valuable tactic would be to look at his evidence, and see what can be done to change it. That's what Janice Daugharty has done in Whistle, and while armchair liberals might not like it, open-minded readers willing to stretch their minds and challenge their ideologies will find a tale so packed with hope and sadness that there's hardly room for plot. Daugharty has spent years perfecting her ability to depict the peculiar quirkiness of rural Southern living. She spins characters complex in their simplicity. Until now, though, the strength of her novels has been their unique storylines, and the genuine affection she builds for her characters. Whistle has all that and more. Written from the perspective of Roper, a poor black man on parole after serving time for drug-dealing, this novel is her most ambitious, and she has created a story so fraught with a mixture of anticipation and grief that it leaves unsuspecting readers exhausted. Roper is built on a foundation of ugly stereotypes. He's lazy and thoughtless, the father of two boys he rarely sees and frankly doesn't even like. He steals. Even his mother, Louise, finds him shameful. His mother holds her sad little family together with a thin glue of homecooked meals and love that seems more habitual than genuine. But she hits her boiling point when she realizes her community is spiraling downhill toward self-destruction at a frightening rate. Daugharty's writing style doesn't make Whistle a quick read, but that's part of its beauty. Her prose sometimes contains the choppy inconsistency of sharp, changing images; other times, her descriptions are so vivid and full that her birds sing out loud and her rain wets the pages. The plot of this book gets laid out on page one, but the mystery continues through the very last page. It's a book about family and failure, and about reshaping fate. It's about the saddest sort of happiness imagineable, a slim sliver of hope and justice in a world where the sun's illuminating rays can be the darkest kind of light.

Janice Daugharty's writing represents the best of the Southern tradition: attention to language, focus on family and relationships, importance of the land and "home," and the use of wit and humor to tell a story. In the tradition of her story-telling predecessors, Daugharty weaves a tale rich in emotion and candor about the South of today.

Similar to Faulkner's mythical Yoknapatawpha, Swanoochee County is the rural Southern Georgia county near the Okefenokee swamp where Daugharty's novel takes place. Her sixth, and most ambitious to date, WHISTLE is a successful psychological novel, which is poignantly written from the African-American points of view of Roper, who is on probation for drug charges and determined to make self-improvements, and his dedicated and wise mother, Louise. Fear of being accused of a crime he did not commit, Roper finds himself torn between doing what is right and doing what he must to survive in a still racist South. Truth prevails in this new (in some ways--in some ways not) South, and Roper survives. Christmas nears, and readers feel the hope of believing in things unseen. WHISTLE is a novel of friends, family, and community finding courage to overcome obstacles to join together.

This is a wonderful story of a woman and all the lives she touches. Louise and Roper are excellent characters doing the best they can under difficult circumstances. I especially love the part Louise plays in her little community. She is a strong and compassionate woman. I strongly recommend this book as required reading in school. Janice gets her message across. I look forward to reading it over again.

One of the best southern authors of our time! Janice Daugharty's WHISTLE will keep you in suspense until the end. Two families struggle with a tragedy that brings them together in a way they have never known before. Intertwined in this struggle are family secrets, paranoia and the desire to do the right thing. This is a poignant story of life in the South, well depicted by Ms. Daugharty and experienced by those of us who have lived here. Put this book at the top of your reading list. Also, if you ever get a chance to meet Ms. Daugharty at a book signing, GO! She is bright, charming, witty, a fine storyteller and has a deep appreciation for her fans.