THE FLOATPLANE NOTEBOOKS

by Clyde Edgerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 1988

Another folksy and warmhearted novel about the lower-middle class in the almost-modern South, by the author of Raney (1984) and Walking A cross Egypt (1987). But here Edgerton imposes a demanding literary technique--different voices speaking in turn (á la As I Lay Dying)--on an increasingly mawkish and monotonous narrative. What everyone's talking about is the Copeland family, a close-knit and curious bunch of southerners currently presided over by Albert, whose wartime experience as a bridge-building frogman explains his obsession with ""friction reduction"" and ""natural suspension""--his all-purpose explanations for just about anything. Since the mid-50's, he's puttered around with a floatplane--a silly flying contraption that's supposed to take off from a body of water. Over the years, members of his family tell us about other comic adventures as well, most centering on Albert's son, Meredith, a mischievous boy with an ""ever-present twinkle in his eye""--as his adoring sister-in-law Bliss puts it. Also attesting to Meredith's antic behavior are his boorish brother, Thatcher, and his fatherless cousin, Mark, Meredith's reluctant co-conspirator. They both record priceless chapters in Copeland family lore, hilarious set-pieces that include the time Meredith fell through the kitchen floor and into an old well underneath, and the time his interracial basketball game was postponed on account of coal dust. Family rituals--the annual grave-cleanings and the yearly hunting trips to Florida--provide further evidence of their appealing lunacy. But the graveyard's wisteria vine--which also gets to speak!--alludes to a darker history, full of tragic deaths. Edgerton's tone downshifts further when he brings Mark and Meredith into the Vietnam era and a war that renders the latter a cripple. Hope springs eternal, though, in the literally uplifting ending--a joyous moment when one of Mr. Copeland's cockamamie notions proves triumphant. Edgerton's historical ambitions overwhelm his more modest sense of humor.

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Algonquin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION