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Getting Mother's Body
Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks’s wildly original debut novel, Getting Mother’s Body, follows pregnant, unmarried Billy Beede and her down-and-out family in 1960s Texas as they search for the storied jewels buried—or were they?—with Billy’s fast-running, six-years-dead mother, Willa Mae. Getting Mother’s Body is a true spiritual successor to the work of writers such as Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker—but when it comes to bringing hard-luck characters to ingenious, uproarious life, Suzan-Lori Parks shares the stage with no one.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Suzan-Lori Parks
28 books224 followersSuzan-Lori Parks is an award-winning American playwright and screenwriter. She was a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant in 2001, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002. She is married to blues musician Paul Oscher.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
December 11, 2009
Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks's debut novel, Getting Mother's Body, has an affinity to William Faulkner's classic, As I Lay Dying, only this time, Parks has flipped the script in a couple of areas. First, instead of taking a body home to be buried, the characters are planning to exhume the remains of one "high-strung, party girl/singer", Willa Mae Beede; and secondly, the characters are African American, the setting is 1963 rural Texas, and the lead character is Billy Beede, a poor pregnant, unwed, high school dropout.
After her mother's (Willa Mae) untimely demise, Billy returns to Lincoln by her mother's lesbian lover, Dill Smiles, to live with her maternal uncle, Roosevelt, and his wife, June, in their trailer behind a gas station. Billy becomes pregnant by a married man and believes an abortion will solve all of her problems. To get the money for the procedure, she plans a journey back to Arizona to recover the small fortune (a pearl necklace and diamond ring) which according to Dill adorns Willa Mae's corpse. Billy is accompanied by an eccentric cast of characters, each with selfish desires for the treasure, each hoping it will "fill a hole." These "holes" run deep ranging from pride, envy, debt to lust, unrequited love, childlessness, and spiritual loss. Billy becomes an expert in recognizing "holes," i.e. finding one's weaknesses, and uses her "gift" to manipulate her family and strangers to get what she wants unknowingly becoming more like the con artist mother that she despises.
This novel, told in first person by each lead character, causes the reader to experience the journey from differing viewpoints. Often times, the chapters represent character perspectives of the same event granting the reader the opportunity to "hear" multiple sides of the story. The author even interjects observations, blues songs, and ominous passages by the deceased Willa Mae. The use of monologues allows the reader to learn firsthand each character's motivation, vulnerabilities, and haunted pasts; these elements contributed to the novel's well developed characters. This reviewer also enjoyed the writing style and the extensive use of regional dialect to add realism to the dialogue.
Without a clue on how this story was going to end until the end, I was happy that the journey ultimately brought about some semblance of absolution and redemption for the motley crew, which was a welcomed relief for an otherwise dismal tale. There is a lot more to this story than this review covers; one has to read to appreciate all the author has to offer. Ms. Parks shows great promise and if you enjoy deviating from the "relationship drama" of modern contemporary fiction, you may enjoy this book. I think readers who enjoyed eclectic works like Lolita Files's Child of God and Olympia Vernon's Eden might appreciate this novel.
After her mother's (Willa Mae) untimely demise, Billy returns to Lincoln by her mother's lesbian lover, Dill Smiles, to live with her maternal uncle, Roosevelt, and his wife, June, in their trailer behind a gas station. Billy becomes pregnant by a married man and believes an abortion will solve all of her problems. To get the money for the procedure, she plans a journey back to Arizona to recover the small fortune (a pearl necklace and diamond ring) which according to Dill adorns Willa Mae's corpse. Billy is accompanied by an eccentric cast of characters, each with selfish desires for the treasure, each hoping it will "fill a hole." These "holes" run deep ranging from pride, envy, debt to lust, unrequited love, childlessness, and spiritual loss. Billy becomes an expert in recognizing "holes," i.e. finding one's weaknesses, and uses her "gift" to manipulate her family and strangers to get what she wants unknowingly becoming more like the con artist mother that she despises.
This novel, told in first person by each lead character, causes the reader to experience the journey from differing viewpoints. Often times, the chapters represent character perspectives of the same event granting the reader the opportunity to "hear" multiple sides of the story. The author even interjects observations, blues songs, and ominous passages by the deceased Willa Mae. The use of monologues allows the reader to learn firsthand each character's motivation, vulnerabilities, and haunted pasts; these elements contributed to the novel's well developed characters. This reviewer also enjoyed the writing style and the extensive use of regional dialect to add realism to the dialogue.
Without a clue on how this story was going to end until the end, I was happy that the journey ultimately brought about some semblance of absolution and redemption for the motley crew, which was a welcomed relief for an otherwise dismal tale. There is a lot more to this story than this review covers; one has to read to appreciate all the author has to offer. Ms. Parks shows great promise and if you enjoy deviating from the "relationship drama" of modern contemporary fiction, you may enjoy this book. I think readers who enjoyed eclectic works like Lolita Files's Child of God and Olympia Vernon's Eden might appreciate this novel.
September 17, 2015
I have attempted to read this book 2 or 3 times in the past, but could never really get into it. This time I listened to the audio which was narrated, and at times sung, by the author Suzan-Lori Parks. Evidently, therein lay the magic of this book. I really got the feel of the setting and era by experiencing it this way.
Really enjoyed this quirky story about a child, her dead mother, and that mother's buried treasure. All of the characters were well developed and each told the story of their grand adventure in their own voice.
There were definitely no perfect people in this novel, but they all seemed to learn something very valuable about themselves by the end of the book. The character I was least interested in the beginning of the story turned out to be my favorite by the end.
If you're somewhat prudish, as I admit I am, the first scene of the story might put you off. Don't let it. Keep going and you will find a 'treasure' within. I will seek out more of Parks work for sure. She is also a very accomplished playwright so I will at least make it a point to see one of her plays. http://www.suzanloriparks.com/info/ Come to think of it, I got a sense of that while reading this novel and Getting Mother's Body would make an excellent and very entertaining play.
Recommend!
Really enjoyed this quirky story about a child, her dead mother, and that mother's buried treasure. All of the characters were well developed and each told the story of their grand adventure in their own voice.
There were definitely no perfect people in this novel, but they all seemed to learn something very valuable about themselves by the end of the book. The character I was least interested in the beginning of the story turned out to be my favorite by the end.
If you're somewhat prudish, as I admit I am, the first scene of the story might put you off. Don't let it. Keep going and you will find a 'treasure' within. I will seek out more of Parks work for sure. She is also a very accomplished playwright so I will at least make it a point to see one of her plays. http://www.suzanloriparks.com/info/ Come to think of it, I got a sense of that while reading this novel and Getting Mother's Body would make an excellent and very entertaining play.
Recommend!
October 1, 2014
This is the best gotdamn book I have read in a long, long time. Talk about a story and characters. Lord, this book was excellent. Billy Beede for life.
October 31, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It was somewhat different than what I assumed it would be but it was good nonetheless. I won't recount the whole story again in this review. The jacket synopsis does a pretty good job. You have to read the book because I definitely do recommend it. It's funny, quirky, down to earth and a little absurd but I enjoyed it. What an adventure with this rabble of characters. I only tired the slightest bit towards the end because I became impatient. Suzan-Lori Parks is a new author to me but I will definitely be on the lookout for other books by her. This was a good one. 4 stars.
November 23, 2007
I absolutely hated this book. The writing style was bizzarre and unreadable and the plot was no better. How this ever got published is beyond me. I would avoid this like the plague.
July 20, 2015
My favorite kind of book is a book told from the different perspectives of the various characters. This was that kind of book. The plot and premise alone make it worth 3 stars. It was a clever creative story. I laughed, I yelled, I sighed, I hoped, I was let down. It was an emotional roller coaster.
Billy Beede worked my nerves for about 90% of the book. Most of the characters irritated me, actually. The only one I liked consistantly was Laz. I'm definitely Team Laz. That's why the ending made me so happy.
Quick, easy read with frequent breaks in the first-person writing. I love first-person writing and I love frequent breaks. Four stars and not five because I wanted more of Laz.
Definitely another 2015 fave...
Billy Beede worked my nerves for about 90% of the book. Most of the characters irritated me, actually. The only one I liked consistantly was Laz. I'm definitely Team Laz. That's why the ending made me so happy.
Quick, easy read with frequent breaks in the first-person writing. I love first-person writing and I love frequent breaks. Four stars and not five because I wanted more of Laz.
Definitely another 2015 fave...
July 13, 2014
This book had no effect on me whatsoever. I really wanted to stop reading it on page 20, but I forced myself to finish. I didn't learn anything from this story or get attached to any of the characters. I can't even bring myself to write a real review. I'm just happy to be finished. Now, I can move on to the next book on my "to-read" list.
November 11, 2009
I love any book that starts out with the words: "Where my panties at?" This is very much like Faulkner's As I Lay Dying in the style as well as premise; however, Parks' novel is much more riveting.
February 14, 2018
awesome!!!
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Getting Mother's Body - Nevisande : Suzan-Lori Parks - ISBN : 096575488X - ISBN13 : 9780965754880 - Dar 280 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2003
September 3, 2018
I received this several years ago from my Paperback to the Future subscription and it has languished on a shelf. I was looking for something a little different and this fit the bill perfectly. A riff of As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, the story is mostly told by Billy Beede, 16, pregnant, unmarried and dirt poor in Texas in the mid 1960s. Her mother had died when she was young, and Billy believes she was buried with her jewelry which might be worth enough money to get her out of her current life and into a better one. The alternate voices are the other people in Billy's life who may or may not want the body to be dug up and looked at. Well-written, I enjoyed the time with these well drawn characters, who were just trying to get by one day at a time.
February 25, 2023
Billy Beede is something else. I enjoyed Billy more than any other character. A woman running away from her roots only to end up exactly as her mother was. It was a good story.
August 28, 2014
The book jumps back and forth between many points of view. Even some minor characters who only appear briefly. I enjoyed that and didn't find it offputting as some reviews seem to - it was easy enough to keep up with the pov character's name being given at the start of that section.
I liked the story and how it came together, and the setting in the sixties at the dawn of the civil rights movement. The plot of a treasure that may or may not have been buried with the main character's mother is interesting.
Where it lost points for me was that it was all written in dialect, to the point that your was written yr and it was just way overdone. A little bit of dialect goes a long way, but this was drowning in it to the point that I was rolling my eyes and taken out of the story at some points.
I liked the story and how it came together, and the setting in the sixties at the dawn of the civil rights movement. The plot of a treasure that may or may not have been buried with the main character's mother is interesting.
Where it lost points for me was that it was all written in dialect, to the point that your was written yr and it was just way overdone. A little bit of dialect goes a long way, but this was drowning in it to the point that I was rolling my eyes and taken out of the story at some points.
March 3, 2018
The characters in this book are unforgettable. Parks somehow manages to develop even the minor characters with such depth you find yourself agonizing over each of their struggles and celebrating their small victories and attempts at improving their lot in life. Parks takes us through a treasure hunt through the eyes of Billy Beade, Dill Smiles, Aunt June, Roosevelt, Laz, and a host of minor characters and the result is fantastic.
January 11, 2008
Forgettable......... in fact, so forgettable that when entering books from my old file of book lists (that I kept before goodreads!) I had to look it up and then could not remember anything particularly redeeming about it except that I did finish it. Another review on goodreads compares this to Zora Neale Hurston -- Yikes, I certainly did not think so!
April 26, 2016
This just didn't do anything for me. Part of it was the vernacular. Another part was the fact that every chapter is told from a different characters POV but the characters don't actually sound any different from one another. Lastly, the pacing didn't seem to go anywhere faster than a snail's crawl.
November 13, 2018
I loved this book, I knew at once that what was promised in the opening pages was not going to happen. I was right. The title of the book meant something different from what I originally thought - it didn't take long to realize that. Each chapter is told by a different character: Billy Beede, Dill Smiles, Laz, etc. The characters were well fleshed out.
April 15, 2009
uncomplicated genius touching the reality of familial greed, secrets and sike-outs...like, lighter than the Color Purple but in the same vein.
May 31, 2020
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Getting Mother’s Body is a riveting novel about a pursuit of a teenage girl named Billy Beede and her relatives and friends to relocate the remains of her dead mother to a new cemetery. Plus, the promise of a rumored treasure buried along with her mother’s dead body is what really motivated most of the characters in the story.
The novel is told in the 1960s theme and from multiple POVs of all characters (including minor appearances) which have cleverly pieced the progression of the story together. I find myself easily engaged to all of their viewpoints.
It’s a journey of Billy Beede into her unknown future. Like what was connoted as pride or a curse of being a Beede - she’s trouble but she’s tough and she’s going to bear the unbearable. With this seemingly grown up resolve from her tough environment and with all the unfavored circumstances that were happening to her life: she was faced with a spade for digging that grave and a point-of-no-turning-back fate to find out the truth about her dead mother.
It playfully tackled trying times portrayed from both individual and collective miseries, and that of promiscuity and unwanted adolescent pregnancy, a bit of racial issues in the 1960s, lewd acts, unspoken feelings of rage and agony, unrequited love, a tit for a tat saga, and a lot of funny hardheadedness from each of its characters-lilted in AAVE tones on a dark comedy-tragicomic style.
This is a light read and what I really like is how creative and strategic are the scenes from both the beginning and the ending of the novel. Just my two cents of a spoiler: You can never go wrong when such dark-comedy-page-turner of a novel starts with: “Where my panties at?”
Though it’s real good I’d rate this as 3.5/5, as there are elements that I felt like could be used for a much better ending though. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
The novel is told in the 1960s theme and from multiple POVs of all characters (including minor appearances) which have cleverly pieced the progression of the story together. I find myself easily engaged to all of their viewpoints.
It’s a journey of Billy Beede into her unknown future. Like what was connoted as pride or a curse of being a Beede - she’s trouble but she’s tough and she’s going to bear the unbearable. With this seemingly grown up resolve from her tough environment and with all the unfavored circumstances that were happening to her life: she was faced with a spade for digging that grave and a point-of-no-turning-back fate to find out the truth about her dead mother.
It playfully tackled trying times portrayed from both individual and collective miseries, and that of promiscuity and unwanted adolescent pregnancy, a bit of racial issues in the 1960s, lewd acts, unspoken feelings of rage and agony, unrequited love, a tit for a tat saga, and a lot of funny hardheadedness from each of its characters-lilted in AAVE tones on a dark comedy-tragicomic style.
This is a light read and what I really like is how creative and strategic are the scenes from both the beginning and the ending of the novel. Just my two cents of a spoiler: You can never go wrong when such dark-comedy-page-turner of a novel starts with: “Where my panties at?”
Though it’s real good I’d rate this as 3.5/5, as there are elements that I felt like could be used for a much better ending though. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2018
It took me a long time to get around to reading this, but I'm glad I did. It is extremely well done with no mis-steps in the plot and a neat ending. And I doubt there are many novels with a main character who is a woman who presents as a man. The author is primarily a playwright, but this is very different from a play, with a lot of interiority. I loved it. Read it.
January 1, 2019
Really enjoyed this book!
December 24, 2020
LOVE. love love love this book. love the story. love the characters. love the writing. love the details. just love.
February 26, 2023
My real rating is 3,5 stars. I liked it but I think I'd prefer to see this book as a play or movie. I loved the first half but the second half didn't capture my attention in the same way. I'd recommend it though because it does have its good points. I just wanted the good points to last longer and to evolve into even better parts.
February 25, 2013
This story of an extended family preparing to dig up a grave with the official purpose of relocating the deceased woman, and unofficial purpose of finding some jewelry she's allegedly buried with might sound horrific or a type of dark comedy had it been written by someone without Suzan-Lori Parks' writing talents. (For reference, the last modern book I can think of that I'd put in this same category of writing would be "Bastard Out of Carolina"). The novel is narrated from different family members, including the dead woman. The voices aren't especially unique, as in "The Help", but it's not necessary; rather, it's very effective for seeing how the characters feel about the events they experience. The main character, teenager Billy Beede, is somewhat unlikeable - she's arrogant, scheming, and not above scamming an innocent bystander. But given how ashamed she is about carrying an illegitimate child, it's hard not to feel for her as gets her heart broken and invents elaborate stories about a husband to tell to strangers. Uncle Roosevelt and Aunt June's chapters were some of my favorites, particularly Roosevelt's struggle with losing his church. The only parts I felt were a bit out of place were some involving cousin Homer's relationship with Billy; it added a level of discomfort in a book that's already sad enough.
February 19, 2007
Engrossing, well written tale of a black family populated with an eclectic group of characters(pregnant 16 yr. old, lapsed preacher & his one legged wife, lesbian pig farmer, mortician's son....). The pregnant 16 yr old is off to dig up her mother's body because rumour has it her Mom (willa mae) was borrowed with her diamond & they all need the $$.
The author is a professor @ CalArts in Valencia. I liked it-a very fast read!
The author is a professor @ CalArts in Valencia. I liked it-a very fast read!
January 30, 2019
I enjoyed reading it for the most part. There was wit, and love. It wasn't great though because I never felt the author had any idea of why she was writing this novel, other than that she knows how to write a good sentence so she might as well write a book's worth. So the book remained at the level of superficial entertainment that got a little annoying and then tedious by the end because in spite of being a road trip book it never went anywhere.
August 8, 2016
This was a quick read. Read it in one day. Interesting characters. It reminds me of The Beans of Egypt Maine from the 1980s. Poor black and poor white people suffer almost the same sorrows and happiness. This book adds the unfairness of racism. I liked it as it had a sort of happy ending.
September 28, 2008
Not too many books make me laugh out loud. This one did. I can't wait to read something else by Ms. Parks.
January 11, 2015
Quick read. Interesting story and characters. Definitely recommend to all.
April 13, 2015
Rich, complex characters. Delicious dialogue. I really enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews