GINNY GALL by Charlie Smith

Finished Tu 5/23/17

The Contemporary Book Club selection for May, 2017

No one liked this book, and I felt it was like a record that is critically acclaimed, and you put it in your collection, but you never listen to it.

The author is primarily known as a poet and this was not his best known novel.

'Ginny Gall' is Black early 20th century slang for a part of Hell

Delvin Walker abandoned by his whore mother. She killed a man (maybe?) and took off.
Delvin is basically raided in a whorehouse.

Delvin is befriended by the local Black mortician, Cornelius Oliver. Delvin becomes a kind of apprentice.

Delvin and another boy are attacked by a gang of white boys. Delvin's friend pulls a gun, fires, and they believe that they hit one of the boys. Delvin takes off and goes on the road. He's basically peripatetic all of his life.

Delvin leaves a girlfriend who is going to college. Celia Cumberland is the love of his life, but it doesn't come to anything.

Delvin meets and teams up with a traveling Black museum curator, Professor Caramel.
Delvin winds up in jail and so does the professor. They get separated.

Delvin rides the rails with a group of Blacks, and a white boy steps on his hand during a Black/ White fight. This action starts a brawl between the two groups. After the fight, two white girls say that the Blacks raped them; Lucille Blaine and Hazel Fear. Later the train is halted and the Blacks are taken to jail.

This is during the 1930's and the best they can hope for is life behind bars.

Lucille is filled with rage and singles Delvin out as one of the prime assailants.

Delvin is sentenced and basically they threw away the key. He escapes- he escapes from prison and jail numerous times.

In the final scene he comes back to the whorehouse to find out what happened to his mother. He learns that she is dead, but some of the whores remember her.

Lucille shows up and Delvin strikes her. The action is unclear.
'Ghost' one of Delvin's friends from the funeral home is there.

NOTES-

Very long paragraphs. Long and confusing descriptions. The plot was lost among the picturesque passages. Some of it was well written, but I don't think that it worked as a novel. It was the most unpopular books that the club has read in a long time. I think that I appreciated what the author was trying to do rather than what he actually did. Sections were beautiful and poetic, but didn't support the strong and powerful story.

Kinda like SARGENT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND- groundbreaking album, it's in your collection, but you never listen to it.