Crooked Hallelujah

by Kelli Jo Ford

Hardcover, 2020

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Description

"It's 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women, presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine's father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church-a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But she does her best as a devoted daughter, until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever. Crooked Hallelujah tells the stories of Justine-a mixed-blood Cherokee woman-and her daughter, Reney, as they move from Eastern Oklahoma's Indian Country in the hopes of starting a new, more stable life in Texas amid the oil bust of the 1980s. However, life in Texas isn't easy, and Reney feels unmoored from her family in Indian Country. Against the vivid backdrop of the Red River, we see their struggle to survive in a world-of unreliable men and near-Biblical natural forces like wildfires and tornadoes-intent on stripping away their connections to one another and their very ideas of home. In lush and empathic prose, Kelli Jo Ford depicts what this family of proud, stubborn women sacrifice for those they love, amid larger forces of history, religion, class, and culture. This is a big-hearted and ambitious novel-in-stories of the powerful bonds between mothers and daughters by an exquisite and rare new talent"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member msf59

Can I love anything the way that I used to love the mystery of my mother, her strength in suffering?"

"His baritone sounded familiar but busy, his words fireflies that flitted between them without illuminating a thing."

This is a multi-generational novel, set in the Cherokee Nation, of Oklahoma. It

follows one family over the decades, beginning in the early 1970s where we are introduced to Justine, a wayward teenager, who becomes pregnant at 15. The stories focus mostly on the female members, including Justine's mother Lula, a devout member of the Holiness Church, who lays down the wrath of God. The spotlight also shines on Justine's daughter Reney, who becomes fiercely independent, trying to shake the bonds of poverty and broken men.
I like Native American fiction, and I wish the author would have included more of their culture and heritage. Other than that, I really admired her writing style and I think she delivered a solid family drama. Impressive debut.

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LibraryThing member hjvanderklis

In her debut novel Crooked Hallelujah, Kelli Jo Ford follows the lives of four generations Cherokee women seeking a safe place amidst their faith-based convictions, class, and nation, and dysfunctional families. Set in the 1970s and 1970s, proud and stubborn characters like Lula and her mother

(Granny), daughter Justine (in the first part of the book a teenager herself, in the second part mother of Reney), and granddaughter looking back on past certainties and the unsure present.

The writing style however seriously needs attention. Disjoint chapters, the introduction of new characters without rationale or clear position in the context, and the very different nature of the third part, in which statements replace the narrative, confused me very often. I went on reading, although I could easily put this book aside. On various occasions, I really had no clue what I just had read.

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LibraryThing member brangwinn

I know nothing about Kelli Jo Ford, but I bet she had experience living in poverty. Fried bologna sandwiches and using wood-grained contact paper to update your home add dimension to this story of four generations of Cherokee women. She also speaks to the importance of strength in poor women and

how something like getting a GED, which initially embarrassing proved to be the way to getting higher pay for menial work. At times, I had trouble deciding which woman’s life was being looked at and I still don’t understand why Mose, the mentally-disabled Mose and his friendship with the lesbian couple was introduced into the book, it took me into world with which I had no familiarity. Once I realized these were interconnected stories as opposed to a novel with a storyline, I enjoyed the book more. Was I satisfied with the ending of the book? No. But if you are living in poverty, there is no satisfying ending.

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LibraryThing member dian429

I was very disappointed in this book. Really was not what I thought the book would be about.
I thought it would give some back round into the history of these native American people. Never
really touch it.

The story is about 4 women all related. Each one has seen a tough life and each has their

own
demons to deal with. Just really got lost at time of what was happening and which lady it was.

I tried to stick with it but found it slow and confusing. Finally had to give up. I really wanted to
like it but could not

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LibraryThing member TheLoisLevel

The story is somewhat arresting, but with the narrative switching back and forth between two generations, I felt like I didn't get to know either enough.

LibraryThing member bell7

In linked short stories, Kelli Jo Ford tells the story of four generations of Cherokee women: Granny, Lula, Justine, and Reney.

Justine and Reney are at the center of the stories, starting with Justine getting pregnant, and then covering several years to Reney as an adult. Some are in third person,

some in first person, including one from Justine's father-in-law. The result is an effective character portrayal of multiple people from multiple points of view, telling the story of ordinary lives. It was well done, but I read it for book club and I struggle to think of what we will talk about tomorrow. I suspect I won't remember much about it some months from now.

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