I was introduced to Eudora Welty in college. We studied her short stories in a 20th Century American Literature class. I was duly impressed by her powerful use of language and the Southern flavor she gives life. Welty is not an easy comfort read. She looks closely at how people (we) live their lives and, although she isn’t averse to showing our graces, she certainly has no qualms about showing our absurdities. That’s the part that might make a reader uncomfortable.
Delta Wedding is about . . . well, that’s just the thing; it’s rather hard to say what it is about. A nine-year-old Laura, recently left motherless, arrives via the Yellow Dog at her cousins’ house for the purpose of attending 17-year-old cousin Dabney Fairchild’s wedding. As the book title suggests, this takes place in the Mississippi Delta. More precisely it takes place in the 1920s on a plantation near the town named after the family: Fairchild, Mississippi.
The entire story takes place in one week. During that week very little happens. I think this is the point Welty captures life much the way it is. The large Fairchild family, along with some extended family, is preparing for a wedding that no one but the bride is happy about. Throughout the week Welty takes us from character to character, lets us hear that character’s inner monologue, lets us see the family and the world as that character sees it. Welty skillfully shows us how the family clings together while at the same time each family member feels unique and even lonely. Welty seems to have uncanny insight into family relationships. You might never see your family the same after reading Delta Wedding.
With its minimal plotline you may have guessed that the book moves very slowly. This is not a weakness any more than a long, slow summer afternoon is a weakness. It just is. Some people know how to live a hot afternoon in late summer. They find a hammock in the shade of two trees and take a nap. They sip lemonade on the porch. They skip rocks and then strip to their underwear and go for a swim in the pond. In the evening shadows they walk through the garden to pick tired flowers—still colorful—and smell them. During all this they reminisce previous summers, ponder questions, and wonder about decisions made. This is life. This is what Welty gives you in Delta Wedding.
If you are attracted to things Southern: thick green vegetation, the smell of honeysuckle; fireflies; bayous; slow, drawling speech; character names like Battle, Lady Clair, Bluid; trains named The Yellow Dog; and the drama of family life, you might find Delta Wedding good company.
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These books by Tory Anderson are now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback format:
