The Goddess of Fried Okra
Jean Brashear
Bell Bridge Books, Apr 1 2010, $16.95
www.bellbridgebooks.com
ISBN: 9780984125890
Years on the road with Mama and Sister running away from bill collectors led to six foot red haired Eudora "Pea" O'Brien swearing she would settle down in one place to root and die. When Mama died, Sister was sixteen and Pea eight. Sister ran off social services do-gooders and used her glaring mojo to send away her no good father Alvin. Instead she raised Pea.
Now over two decades since mama died, Sister is dead too. Pea is filled with remorse with how she treated her Sister who sacrificed so much for her. She wants to tell her she is sorry and appreciative. Like Sister, Pea believes in reincarnation, but to reconnect she must find Sister’s new host body. Pea begins a Texas Odyssey seeking the signs of Sister. Her trek with no money leads to other outsiders joining her quest as they seek to belong too. Soon she finds herself mentored in sword fighting by a reincarnation of Howard’s Red Sonja and in the most critical element of southern living, creating fried okra fit for the Goddesses; while also raising a child as Pea has found the glory of a family.
This is an intriguing character study that focuses on Pea who learns what life is all about with the death of beloved Sister and her Dorothy on the road to Oz trek as she picks up caring misfits in need. None of the support cast is fully developed as their sole purpose is support of Pea. Fans who enjoy a leisurely paced Texas Odyssey will want to accompany Pea and her companions as they journey in real terms just a few miles but metaphorically light-years.
Harriet Klausner
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