Book Review: Frenching Violet
Can you remember your first french kiss? Or just the excitement, anxiety and exhilaration of sitting next to your first crush? Louisvillian Gary Marchal’s first novel, “Frenching Violet,” is a fantastic trip back to the age when the only things that mattered were hanging out with friends, shooting free-throws and kissing for the first time without getting caught.
After reading “Huck Finn,” Chas Huckabee decides to write his own epic story surrounding the events that lead to being expelled from junior high at St. Francis of Assisi. The novel uses the turbulent times of 1969 as the backdrop for a coming-of-age story that mixes real-life family dysfunctions and the tragic consequences of war with young, hormonal teenagers and Catholic Mass.
While the story is a great read for young adults as well as older ones, the author’s biggest accomplishment is the authentic voice of his leading character. Huckabee is truly a good kid who tries to do the right thing but still can’t deny the temptation of teenage debauchery or fighting with his brother. He has a clever way of seeing the world around him and sprinkles his story with comical wonderings and insights, like this passage where he introduces his arch nemesis, the principal who expels him:
“Poinsetta’s our principal, and she’s a nun because she’s got none, her being as flat as a spatula and just as bent. Her real name’s Sister Paula Etta, which only part of the way explains how she got her nickname. Poinsetta got her name because her face’s about the color of the flower that comes out around Christmas, and half the time, she looks green around her gills.”
“Frenching Violet” keeps the reader entertained and hooked with amusing details. Once you dig in, you feel right at home, whether you are with Huckabee’s family at dinnertime when his older brother brings home a less-than-suitable date, or on the front steps of Huckabee’s girlfriend’s house finding out that her father is MIA. There are make-out parties, basketball games and mischievous capers that could only be planned by 13-year-old boys.
The story is also filled with endearing, teenage characters with names like Jockstrap, Commie and Buzz, and adult figures like Father Buck, a hip, young priest who plays the guitar and sings folk songs during Mass.
Marchal has successfully written a story that engages two entirely different audiences. Young adults will easily relate to Chas Huckabee and the challenges he faces as a seventh-grader. Older readers will identify with the historical setting of the novel and the way life used to be. And regardless of age, all readers from Louisville will recognize the local references to places like Bardstown Road and Twig & Leaf, as the story takes place in Louisville’s Highlands neighborhood.
Author Gary Marchal will sign copies of his book at the Barnes & Noble at The Summit on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m.
BY AMY GESENHUES
leo@leoweekly.com
Last changed: September 21. 2004 9:02PM