Vickie Weaver

Billie Girls is a story of both unrelenting tragedy and ordinary humanity. Abandoned at birth, Billie Girl is sold for a silver coin to Mama Edith and Big Mom. Raised with care, if not love, by the unusual pair, their deaths again leave Billie Girl at the mercy of Fate. As Billie Girl grows to adult hood and then old age we are witness to her difficult existence and the rare moments of relief of her experience.I chose Billie Girl from the NetGalley catalogue because I was intrigued by the sypnosis. I wasn't sure what to expect, but thought it was worth taking the chance, and I am glad I did.Billie Girl combines some very confronting themes in an uncompromising and unsentimental way. These themes encompass societal hot buttons - sexuality, euthanasia, child abandoment, adultery and as such have the power to make the reader feel uncomfortable particularly if these are subjects you have specific views on. Loss though, is the universal theme that weaves itself through out this novel, loss of love, identity, family, self respect, inhibitions and life.Weaver has created deeply flawed characters who are in the main disturbing, yet oddly ordinary. You can empathise with the "two mother's" need to keep their secret but not condone some of their actions, Dove is probably the only truly noble character in the entire book, but his influence comes too late for Billie Girl. There is little redemption or joy to counter balance the depressing realities of Billie Girl's life, yet strangely you get the feeling that Billie Girl is mostly content. The characters are difficult contradiction to explain and I think it speaks to the skill of the author's writing style that they are so complex and ambigious. For me, Billie Girl is a book I am glad I had the opportunity to read. It is undeniably thought provoking, if not exactly likeable. It has taken me four days to write this review because it's been so difficult to articulate my thoughts, I'm not sure I have been able to do that successfully anyway. Billie Girl is a complex story that will not appeal to all readers but is strangly compelling and powerful reading.… (altro)

Billie Girl was an interesting ride. I have to start by saying that I don't think this book is for everyone, by any means. But I also have to say, if you should really be able to tell from the synopsis above whether it's the right book for you, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Me, I read that little bit of oddness up there and thought, yes, please. And I loved it.

The story Vicki Weaver has crafted is in some ways reminiscent of Flannery O'Conner and William Faulkner. Now, I'm not saying that she's at their level -- yet -- but there is a similar feel of the rich, dark Southern Gothic about it, and she has the ability to get to the core of things in a way that's shocking and bizarre and horribly and perfectly human. The characters that populate Billie Girl's life are oddities that will stay with you. As far-fetched and strange as they can be, they are always relatable and real at their core. They all have things they are trying to hide or overcome or pretend away, and they Weaver makes you connect to them through these things.

There are some really deep, complicated issues at the heart of Billie Girl (like gender, sexuality, and euthanasia), and I have to commend Weaver for her handling of them. This isn't a didactic piece aimed at converting people to a particular way of seeing things. It's more an exploration of these deep issues, and of love and humanity, and it's done with love and humanity. It's by turns funny, tragic, heartwarming and painful. It's unflinching, and Weaver is really good at knowing when not to hold back. Even as you're wishing things could be different and happy, you know they can't and won't be, and I respect Vicki Weaver and authors like her who don't go for the saccharine and the easy way out. I'm eager to see what she does next.

[Note: I received a review copy of Billie Girl from Leapfrog Press at my request.]… (altro)

I've been holding off on this review for a while now. I always find that if you let your thoughts on a book simmer for a while, you eventually are able to put your feelings down into words.

With that said, this was a weird book for me. That necessarily isn't a bad thing. I truly enjoyed reading about the time it is set in (early 1900s). But since the book really is the story of Billie's day to day life it just sort of lagged for me. I had the hopes that with the introduction of various characters throughout the story something MORE would happen, but it just always went back to the same mundane existence. I had several issues with how detailed some of Ms. Weaver's descriptions of bodily functions and sexual exploration were. I really don't see how they were vital to the story and on more than one occasion I found myself uncomfortable reading it. I understand that for a young girl living in this time, the only way to learn about her body was through self-exploration but, I think the way it was written was a bit too graphic for my tastes (and I'm no prude).

The story deals with some dark subjects - euthanasia and killing for mercy - and to be quite honest, poor Billie never gets a break. Just when you think things might be looking up for her, things take a nosedive. This is not a happy story - on the other hand, I found myself feeling depressed when done with it. But I must say, aside from the dark subject matter, I found the story rather engrossing. I knew what I was getting into when I started reading it so I wasn't expecting a happy, cheerful story, and I have to say that I read it rather quickly. I was intrigued to see what would happen to Billie and the other characters that you meet along the way. My final thoughts are that this is not a book that will appeal to everyone, but for those who are interested in learning more about life in the early 1900s, euthanasia/mercy killing, and delving into the mind of a character willing to practice it, then this might be a book that interests you. For me it was just okay.… (altro)