In her debut novel, The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, Pamela Terry puts words in the mouth of her protagonist Lila Bruce Breedlove to set up the premise of the book as she returns home after her mother’s unexpected death. “Secrets are spilled at southern funerals. Death, particularly when its inevitability has been ignored and denied for generations, possesses a power to snap diffidence and dignity right in two, causing those left behind to be overcome with the need to unburden their consciences before they themselves are found sleeping in a slick, shiny coffin in their best Sunday suit.”
Geneva Bruce was found dead in her nightgown with her feet sticking out of the muscadine arbor. Why was she there and what secrets did she take with her to her death?
Lila and her brother Henry have long since fled their roots as preacher’s kids in the Southern town, leaving their sister Abigail with their mother who is a domineering presence as widow of the pastor of Second Avenue Baptist Church. Their revered father, having left his pastorate to serve as chaplain, was killed in the war. Lila and Henry return when Geneva is found dead to find instructions left by their mother that there is to be no funeral when she dies but flowers may be sent to the house. Amidst the sight and sense of floral abundance that overwhelms their childhood home, the three siblings begin to learn that much of their own story has been a lie. Abigail, their mother’s favorite, adds to the chaos as the two older siblings try to find the truth.
In the journey that Lila and Henry take to uncover the realities of the past, Pamela Terry creates a photographic scene for every step. If you like to visualize where you are going in a novel, you will love her work. If you grew up in the South, you will know you are home. I found the book a relaxing read that required consistent page-turning.