Cammie Bishop's Reviews > Little Altars Everywhere

This book is worth reading. I like all the child characters and the maid, Willetta. I find it has some interesting metaphors. For example, the characters try to fix their deeply sad and disturbed psyches with obsessive religious rituals and pills and alcohol throughout the story, and then it casually mentions that at the same time they were chasing DDT trucks and covering themselves in this dangerous poison to keep the bugs away. I like that book is written from the point of views of many different characters. The changing view point not only kept my attention but it also showed how differently different people can be affected by the same situation. Even each child in the Walker family naturally has a different take on growing up in this atmosphere. It is also interesting to see each character speaking through their own cultural perspective. Each character has an individual voice, but they also go through the perspectives of black, white, Catholic, Baptist, male, female, child, adult, rich, and poor. I find the book well-written and thoughtful. I found very little of it funny though. It doesn't need to be funny to be a good book. However, I have noticed that it has been described that way and I would not recommend it to anyone who is just looking for a laugh, even with a dark sense of humor. The book is horribly sad in many places, and I do not find the character Vivi to be remotely likable or sympathetic. In fact, I find her downright evil and think that reconciling with her is not in Siddalee's best interest. She sort of approaches the reader the way she does her children, trying to force them to accept all the horrible things she says and does with a mixture of charm and self pity. Again, this doesn't mean the book is bad, just that some of the promotions are misleading.