Crooked Hallelujah Kelli Jo Ford
Fiction
What it is: A novel in stories that focuses on four generations of Cherokee women—Granny Annie Mae, her daughter Lula, her granddaughter Justine, and great-granddaughter Reney—struggling to keep their family together as they cope with poverty, messy relationships, religious and social conflicts, and other hardships. Lula is a single mother barely held together by the strictures of her Holy Roller faith, which daughter Justine rails against. When Justine becomes pregnant with Reney at 15, she vows to have a different relationship with her own daughter, but unreliable men, bad choices, and devastating storms challenge that effort.
Why you might like it: Because it is beautifully written using simple, spare prose and exacting word choice, and is filled with small details of daily life that together signify a life worth living. And because despite the quirky structure that includes changing perspectives, time jumps, and characters who are introduced and dropped without explanation, the narrative still highlights the deeply connected relationships of the characters, the messiness of mother and daughter relationships, and survival despite the odds.
Critics say: “Ford’s storytelling is urgent, her characters achingly human and complex, and her language glittering and rugged. This is a stunner” (Publishers Weekly); “Ford unfolds Justine’s story without passing judgment, which is one of the great strengths of Crooked Hallelujah; she writes close to her characters, the narrative stripping away explanations, allowing readers to feel real involvement in the action” (Washington Post).
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