Shaking the Sugar Tree - Nick Wilgus

 

I've read books that made me smile. I've read books that made grin or smirk.  A few have made me chuckle. "Shaking the Sugar Tree" made me laugh often and then on a dime had me reaching for a tissue. That's great writing.

 

My Grandmother, Imogene, was a very Southern Woman.  She also came from a deeply religious family and she too had bigoted beliefs that were past on down through the generations.  Moving to California helped her overcome some of those bigotries, but in the end she was still southern to the core.  Sweet Tea and watching her neighbors from her front porch then quickly dispatching any information learned to any ear willing to listen.

 

Some favorite lines/scenes.

 

 

"We don't hide crazy," I said. "We put it on the porch and let it entertain the neighbors."- Nick Wilgus

 

“Don’t swear in front of my kids, Papaw,” Bill said hotly. “Daddy, hush,” Mama said. “I’ll swear anytime I goddamn want to, Billy Cantrell,” Papaw replied. “You Christians are so uptight. Every time you sit down, I hold my breath because I’m afraid you’ll suck the whole goddamn world up your asses.” “Daddy!” Mama cried. “It’s true, Martha. You should know. There’s a hole in the sofa where you’re always sitting. Probably got half the living room swirling around in your rectum. Billy’s probably got half of Tupelo up his ass. Next time something comes up missing, Shelly, just tell him to bend over and take a look in his ass because that’s probably where it is. ”      —         Nick Wilgus

 

So what I liked:

  • Very funny. Wiley is a hoot. Great dialogue.
  • His son is amazing. Noah's character is wonderfully written and deeply moving. Just want to give him a hug.
  • Papaw- Wiley's grandfather really is too much. By that you don't know if you should laugh or strangle him. It's a toss up.

 

Distractions:

  • Jackson Ledbetter's character didn't feel as fully formed.  I wish we would have gotten more insight to his character or had some of the story from his point of view.
  • The last portion of the book is a little preachy, but not incorrect.

 

Highly Recommend

A lovely, very southern tale. 4 and a half stars.

 

 

 

 

Book Description:

Wise-cracking Wiley Cantrell is loud and roaringly outrageous—and he needs to be to keep his deeply religious neighbors and family in the Deep South at bay. A failed writer on food stamps, Wiley works a minimum wage job and barely manages to keep himself and his deaf son, Noah, more than a stone’s throw away from Dumpster-diving.
Noah was a meth baby and has the birth defects to prove it. He sees how lonely his father is and tries to help him find a boyfriend while Wiley struggles to help Noah have a relationship with his incarcerated mother, who believes the best way to feed a child is with a slingshot. No wonder Noah becomes Wiley’s biggest supporter when Boston nurse Jackson Ledbetter walks past Wiley’s cash register and sets his sugar tree on fire.
Jackson falls like a wet mule wearing concrete boots for Wiley’s sense of humor. And while Wiley represents much of the best of the South, Jackson is hiding a secret that could threaten this new family in the making.
When North meets South, the cultural misunderstandings are many, but so are the laughs, and the tears, but, as they say down in Dixie, it’s all good.