Linda Bloodworth Thomason may be the most vilified woman in the United States. Her efforts on behalf of President Bill Clinton made her an FOB (Friend of Bill) and left her saddled with a million dollars in legal fees. On the other hand, she is the creator of wildly popular television shows. She wrote more than two hundred episodes for "Designing Women" and "Evening Shade." Nominated for numerous Emmys, she is the recipient of the Lucille Ball Award from Women in Film and the Eleanor Roosevelt Freedom of Speech Award. Add a classic Southern novel to her resume.
In person, she reflects the warmth and personality of growing up in a small town. In Chapel Hill, NC recently for a book reading and signing, she and her husband were out walking when a jogger ran by and wished them a "Good morning!" Where else but in a small town, she said, would this happen? She wanted to write about rural Southerners who were not stereotypical but whose humanity was revealed in the reality of their lives. She wanted to write a novel becaue it gave her the freedom to explore and develop character more fully than the 30-minute sitcom format.
In person, she reflects the warmth and personality of growing up in a small town. In Chapel Hill, NC recently for a book reading and signing, she and her husband were out walking when a jogger ran by and wished them a "Good morning!" Where else but in a small town, she said, would this happen? She wanted to write about rural Southerners who were not stereotypical but whose humanity was revealed in the reality of their lives. She wanted to write a novel becaue it gave her the freedom to explore and develop character more fully than the 30-minute sitcom format.
Liberating Paris deserves to be ranked in the upper echelon of those Southern writers who have established a sense of place and character. The themes of friendship, small town values, redemption, and grace under pressure are examined in the context of Paris, Arkansas. Six childhood friends have just turned forty, their lives turned upside down in a number of ways. As Thomason says, "There is a death, a birth, and a wedding" which split the town yet bring the central characters together in new, stronger ways. It will be interesting to see how this novel fares over the next few years in halls of academia and with the public.
Thomason intends to make a movie of the novel and has already secured commitments from major stars (Michelle Pheiffer and Billy Bob Thornton, and one other major star "half committed"). The magic of movies will cause such interest that many will turn to the novel to get the full story. Read the opening paragraph and think of a movie's opening scenes:
Thomason intends to make a movie of the novel and has already secured commitments from major stars (Michelle Pheiffer and Billy Bob Thornton, and one other major star "half committed"). The magic of movies will cause such interest that many will turn to the novel to get the full story. Read the opening paragraph and think of a movie's opening scenes:
Imagine a town that hardly anyone has ever heard of. Yet everyone has seen one like it. It is just before daylight and the Main Street is coming into view. There are cracks in the sidewalk with stubborn little patches of grass sticking through them. Most of the stores are boarded up, but one that isn't has a lot of naked mannequins lying around in the window. A fall breeze comes up and blows some leaves lightly against the glass pane, blows the stoplight where no one is waiting, until it swings drunkenly from its cable.
It is ironic that "Paris" is the name of the town. Paris, France is clearly one of the most sophisticated cities in the world. But, Paris, Arkansas? Small town Ozarks? There is a high level of sophistication here, however. These are Southerners who are "intelligent, educated people who care about social tolerance," according to Thomason. Wood, Jeter, and Brundidge, for example, refuse to shop at the new Fed-Mart, a huge, box-like superstore, which is quickly killing downtown. It was downtown where Wood's generation grew up; where there roots really were. There world is changing, and there is little they can do about it.
It is ironic that "Paris" is the name of the town. Paris, France is clearly one of the most sophisticated cities in the world. But, Paris, Arkansas? Small town Ozarks? There is a high level of sophistication here, however. These are Southerners who are "intelligent, educated people who care about social tolerance," according to Thomason. Wood, Jeter, and Brundidge, for example, refuse to shop at the new Fed-Mart, a huge, box-like superstore, which is quickly killing downtown. It was downtown where Wood's generation grew up; where there roots really were. There world is changing, and there is little they can do about it.
Brundige is raising small daughters as a single parent. He telephones the television networks whenever a program disparages the South, and that is often in his view. A series of calls brings a surprise visitor to Paris and a major change in his life. Jeter made the extra effort to catch a pass from Wood in a high school football game. He crashed into the goal post and broke his neck, becoming a quadriplegic. He, Wood, and Brundige remain close friends - brothers - throughout their lives. They hunt, they fish, they travel, they drink together.
Thomason's descriptions of "place" are vividly drawn. Just three paragraphs into the novel, she brings incredible character description and foreshadowing to the surface:
Just a middle-aged man on a horse. He is wearing some red-checked pajama bottoms and drinking whiskey from an upturned bottle and riding as fast as he can toward the sun. If you lived around here, you would know that his name is Woodrow Phineas McIlmore the Third. But most people call him Wood, except his mother, who calls him Woodrow.
Thomason's descriptions of "place" are vividly drawn. Just three paragraphs into the novel, she brings incredible character description and foreshadowing to the surface:
Just a middle-aged man on a horse. He is wearing some red-checked pajama bottoms and drinking whiskey from an upturned bottle and riding as fast as he can toward the sun. If you lived around here, you would know that his name is Woodrow Phineas McIlmore the Third. But most people call him Wood, except his mother, who calls him Woodrow.
