Spelling Mississippi - Tapa blanda

"An affecting tale of one woman's immersion into the gloriously decadent city of New Orleans." -- National Post

"The hype around Marnie Woodrow's debut novel is justified.... Spelling Mississippi is a spellbinding tale. New Orleans is where it happens -- that sultry, blues-ridden city -- and Marnie Woodrow is a writer who knows how to conjure up a setting...She's a terrific writer, and her wonderfully wry sense of humour enhances Cleo's journey.... Spelling Mississippi is the book to read this season and Woodrow, with two story collections behind her as well as this fine novel, is the writer to watch." -- Vancouver Sun

"Spelling Mississippi begins with a visually stunning drama that lingers 'like the ghost scent of fine perfume' over all the pages to come.... The narrative shifts smoothly between Cleo and Madeline, suspensefully unfurling their pasts, troubled childhoods, backstories ripe with longings and secrets, like the mini-cities of the dead, haunting the present.... Woodrow is a delicious tease, offering cool quenching sips of information, but spiked with intrigue. The story swirls compellingly on, at times funny, wise, erotic, always precisely detailed and vivid. A kind of romantic melancholy permeates the pages.... The charm and strength of the telling is the intimate reality created, the bang-on dialogue and characters [are] fully flesh and blood.... Spelling Mississippi, in the best way, is alive, both spirited and haunted." -- Eliza Clark, The Globe and Mail

"Debut novel surfaces with extraordinary power.... Marnie Woodrow, who in this debut novel already displays a brilliant feel for atmosphere and setting ... invites you in to drink in all that atmosphere, and immerse yourself in her world. Spelling Mississippi is a novel that will absolutely surround you ... [It] reads like a langorous swim to a private island." -- Hamilton Spectator

"Southern light shines on stunning debut.... Woodrow has executed the shift to the long form with shocking grace and considerable skill..... Spelling Mississippi is full of intelligence, humour and passion." -- Xtra!

"One of the hottest novels of the season...Not only is Marnie Woodrow's Spelling Mississippi raising the temperature of book reviewers everywhere, it is set in that most humid of cities, New Orleans....Filled with humour, it is a delicious novel for a very hot July day.... Spelling Mississippi is witty, wise, smart and sexy." -- Andrew Armitage, The Sun Times

"Spelling Mississippi...is a sweet, eccentric love story that I wished would go on forever....The story is original, sexy and presents an unforgettable portrait of New Orleans." -- W.P. Kinsella, Books In Canada

"Strikingly written....an entertaining, appealing book....[Woodrow] relies on innovation and overdrive to spur her story, and the result is an arresting and original first novel." -- London Free Press

"With the mighty Mississippi river providing a majestic background of intrigue, and the city of New Orleans the setting for romance and charm, Ontario short story writer Marnie Woodrow makes an impressive debut as a novelist with Spelling Mississippi. She delves deeply into the psyche of her exciting and mysterious characters. The author's skill in spinning a good yarn is evident. Romance, drama, betrayal and sex -- it is all here, punctuated with fascinating historical detail.... " -- Winnipeg Free Press

"an affecting tale of one woman's immersion into the gloriously decadent city of New Orleans." -- Noah Richler, National Post

"Woodrow's voice is original, her craft superb.... Spelling Mississippi has a lot of foreward thrust, a steady supply of reasons to turn the page." -- The Gazette, Montreal

"Spelling Mississippi is drenched with an eerie and feminine sensuality from the very start. The scents, scenes and sounds of the book are all an elaborate foreplay for the greater things to come....There's aggravation, mystery and a strange romance that will haunt you long after the last page is read." -- Ottawa Citizen

"Woodrow's lush prose drives a satisfying and coherent narrative.... This is a love letter to New Orleans in all its steamy glory: the magnolias' reek, the non-stop nightlife, the potent Southern hospitality. Woodrow keeps the sexy story pounding along toward Cleo's and Madeline's eventual connection, which is so intense they suspect that something must be terribly wrong. Yet by the end, you can't help but conclude that, with Spelling Mississippi, Woodrow has done something terribly right." -- Susan G. Cole, NOW magazine

ADVANCE PRAISE:

"Spelling Mississippi is charged with the eccentric energies of its characters and its New Orleans setting. A love story that is tender, but also witty, sexy and highly intoxicating." -- Timothy Taylor, author of Stanley Park

"A smart, sexy, moving jazz riff of a novel." -- Emma Donoghue, author of Slammerkin

"In this bourbon-soaked barnburner of a tale, the Mississippi River becomes the catalyst for one woman's midnight swim and another's plunge into obsession. The setting is a New Orleans stocked with star-crossed lovers, barflies, thwarted dreams and mother-daughter showdowns. [Spelling Mississippi] plays with notions of fate and inevitability in the characters' lives, themes that fit nicely with New Orleans' reputation for romance and magic.... The novel is, at its root, about people overcoming their tangled, traumatic histories to authentically find one another." -- Quill & Quire

1. Why does Madeline swim the Mississippi at the opening of this novel? Why has she her entire life? 2. Beginning with Cleo’s presence on the wharf just as Madeline is taking her plunge, much of the flow of Spelling Mississippi depends on coincidence and/or fate. What is the difference between the two? Discuss particular moments in the text, and in Cleo and Madeline’s relationship, in which fate or coincidence come into play. 3. Self-imposed exile and or being rejected unwittingly are important themes in this novel. Almost every character -- Cleo, Madeline, their parents, for instance -- experiences some form of exile or rejection. Discuss how Woodrow uses these themes. What might she be saying about emotional bonds? About following your own path in life? 4. What do you think of Johnny? Canadian readers and reviewers have indicated that he’s one of the most digestible/believable characters. However, U.K. readers seem to have more difficulty with him. Is it possible that a man of fifty years of age could be this boyish, this simple in his outlook? And is he as simple as he seems? His perspective has a strong presence late in the novel. Why do you think that is? 5. Spelling Mississippi has been praised for the detail and impact of its setting, New Orleans. For you, was the city a backdrop to the story or was it something more? Had this novel been set in Ohio, would it have held the same resonance? Have you been to New Orleans? Do you desire to go there, whether because of this novel or separately? Why or why not? 6. If you were to sum up this book to a friend, what kind of novel would you say it is? A love story? A journey of self-discovery? The story of a city or a river? Something else? 7. Woodrow unfolds the histories of her characters throughout this novel, often as stories Cleo and Madeline get each other to share. It is only in the end that the two women, and us readers with them, become aware of what “really” happened in their early lives. Why do you think the author used this technique? 8. Mrs. Ryan admires travellers, yet also says to Cleo that “one of the best ways to get stuck in a place is to end up running a hotel.” What do you think she means? Discuss the importance of travel in this novel, and of getting stuck in places. 9. Why does Cleo leave New Orleans when she does? 10. The author alludes to several works by other authors in her text. What effects do the references to other works have on your reading of this novel? How do you connect the other writers to this book? Do the mentions inspire you to explore their works? 11. Rivers, ferries, ocean liners, Florentine floods, diving, swimming... Water is a constant presence in this novel. Discuss the effect of this element on the story, on the characters, and you as a reader. What does water signify for you? 12. The most difficult relationships in this novel are between mothers and daughters, and between husbands and wives. Do Madeline and Cleo come to terms with their mothers? What do you think Woodrow is saying about motherhood and marriage? 13. Cleo and Madeline, and Johnny as well, spend a lot of their time traipsing from bar to restaurant to bar in search of drinks and food and each other, and whether together or alone. Discuss such activity in the novel. In drinking, are the characters trying to lose something of themselves? Find something? Although the three more often turn to bourbon, can their drunkenness be connected to the recurring references to water in the novel? 14. At the end of the novel, it is clear that Mrs. Ryan’s words about New Orleans are equally suited to the relationship between Cleo and Madeline, as the women certainly haunt each other’s thoughts. What we don’t know is whether they parted too quickly or too slowly -- or at just the right time. What do you think? Discuss the novel’s ending and its epilogue. 15. Cleo describes herself as a “poet-chambermaid” and Mrs. Ryan is a writer who has been working on a novel for thirteen years. Discuss the act of writing in terms of the characters in this novel and how they communicate. For instance, can connections be found between Cleo’s travelogue of postcards and journal entries, the cheques sent by Madeline’s mom, the letters Madeline writes but never sends to Cleo, the poem Cleo writes in Florence, the postcard that arrives in Toronto to end this book? 16. How important is the notion of labelling oneself according to sexual preference? In this novel about unexpected love, do you think the characters avoid doing so? Why? What do you think/feel about such labels in real life? 17. Who is your favourite character in this novel? Why? 18. What was your overall impression upon turning the last page? Did you feel you had been taken someplace? Did you feel conscious of not connecting with any parts of the novel, or with some very much? 19. Where will Madeline and Cleo go from here? Imagine your own ending to their story. Will they find happiness together, or part, of necessity, yet again?