"Yet when a wave of love takes over a human being, love of another human being, love of nature, love of all mankind, love of the universe, such an exaltation takes him that he knows he has put his finger on the pulse of the great secret and the great answer." -Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek
Any followers of my blog will already know that I start each post with a quote. Cross Creek has so many pithy ones, it is difficult to choose just one! I have read this book twice before and I enjoyed it this third time, while preparing for a class I am teaching about Marjorie Rawlings. (You may notice the last few posts are related.) I must rate it a 5.
The genre of Cross Creek is a little difficult to pin down. It is a chronicle of the author's time in North Central Florida but has also been called autobiography. I think you could describe it as a memoir or even a series of short stories. Whatever you want to call it, it has much to offer---humor, poignancy and lovely description. Two of my favorite chapters are "The Evolution of Comfort" and "A Pig Is Paid For." I got a little bogged down with "Our Daily Bread," one of the longer chapters and all about food. Parts of the "seasonal" chapters at the end were a bit dull, especially after so much humor and excitement at the start.
"The Census" is an important chapter since it included a description of a "friend" that later brought a lawsuit against Mrs. Rawlings. During the trial Marjorie said this book was a "love story to a place" but I believe her affection for Cross Creek, the place, may have been slightly diminished by the disappointment and stress of the trial because she never wrote about it again. If you have never read Rawlings' work, do start with this one!
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