My Particular World: A Memoir of Ghosts, Gardens and Delta Dirt

By William Gardner

Gerne: Fiction

Pages: 85

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.

“Mm! Mm! Good!” spake I, Kimber the Magnificent whilst smacking my lips as noisily as possible.

“Whaddya mean, Kimster?” says Her Royal Momness.

“It’s this new book we read recently. You know. That coming-of-age tale set in the South. As in, Mm! Mm! Good!”

Mom: “Hate to break it to you, Kimmi. But ‘Mm! Mm! Good’ is Campbell’s Soup. Dontcha mean ‘Finger lickin’ good?’

Kimber: “You eat what you want, and I’ll eat what I want, okay?

Anyway, your favorite dynamic book duo is here to tell you about a new book by William Gardner. (See our review of the prior book in Gardner’s Southern Adventure series, Me, Boo and the Goob, here.) We mostly liked World. But we’ll also tell you why we DNFed it. So, keep your hair on, Cookie.

My Particular World is “a Southern memoir, which means it’s built on a foundation of truth, but the walls are papered in exaggeration, and the roof is held up by outright fabrication.”

“Sounds like a presidential debate,” sniffs Kimber.

Mom: “Shhh! We gotta finish this, okay?” (Insert Kimber eye roll here.)

Set against the backdrop of small-town Joanbur, Mississippi, and the bustling contrast of Memphis in the late 1960s, the story follows a young boy navigating family secrets, childhood adventures, and the pull of a haunted legacy.

Told through the eyes of a sharp-witted, precocious twelve-year-old, the story is laced with tongue-in-cheek humor and razoresque wit. It’s punchy and plucky. Themes include friendship, mischief, and the lingering shadows of the past. There’s also Sweet Pea, Mama and Papaw, and “The War Between the States.” A water ring on a shelf. Nashoba. And “The Place,” aka: the family farm. That’s not to be confused with “The Vault place,” aka: the local haunted house. Think Tara. Or maybe Twelve Oaks. Anyway, the Vault place is reportedly inhabited by two old ladies. (Hi Miss Mamie, Miss Emily.) The story takes off when the narrator meets one of the ladies, Miss Annie May Vault, and family secrets begin to unravel.

Smooth as a mint julep, what emerges is a masterful blend of family, history, mystery, legacy, and ghost story. But – and this is a biggie – World lost us at the Ouija board/séance in the graveyard thing. We don’t promote that stuff.  As in doneski. Outta here. Sayonara. Buh-bye. Hasta la vista, baby. We’re just funny that way. And since we Did Not Finish this book, we won’t be rating it.

However, if you enjoy chuckle-worthy, Earl Hamner-esque stories told with a twinkle, you may enjoy My Particular Word.

My Particular World is Book 2 of the Southern Adventure series.

So, there ya go.