gods in Alabama

I finished gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson. Although it was short, it was a surprisingly good read. It is a first novel by this author and came filled with praise by other authors. It is hard to describe the genre of this story. It is partly a Going Home tale, part mystery, part comedy. Being from Alabama myself I am very sensitive to stories about the Deep South. Often the people here are misrepresented. But Jackson did a good job capturing the spirit of the small rural town (fictional) society. I love the opening line of this book: "There are Gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus." I really enjoyed this story and will pass it on to others.

I had only one small problem with the book and it has worried me until I must talk about it here. Usually I overlook small editorial type errors but this was too much. The heroine, Arlene, is at her former home in the small town of Possett, Alabama. She gets out her boyfriend's laptop and logs on to the Internet to do a little research. Just like that. Is the author expecting us to believe that her Aunt and Uncle (who raised her) have wireless Internet way out in the sticks of Lower Alabama? It seems unlikely. But if you can overlook this small infraction, it is a great story.