Monday, July 14, 2025

gods in alabama

 Fiction by Joshilyn Jackson


This book was published in 2005 and I have read it before, but I didn't remember exactly what had happened. Some characters in it were mentioned in the book Backseat Saints (see below), and I decided to go back and read this one again. The only thing I remembered was that the title had seemed problematic; anything referencing "gods" plural is not a great concept for Southern religious girls like me. But I also remembered that the title didn't refer to actual paganism...

Arlene Fleet begins her story by saying that there are gods in Alabama other than the God worshipped in Alabama churches, and football heroes are an example of that. But Arlene had killed one of those little-g gods, and made a deal with the big-g God in hopes of getting away with it. She promised God that she would never again lie, fornicate, or set foot in her hometown of Posset, Alabama. But then Posset, Alabama, came to her in form of her old schoolmate Rose Mae Lolley.

This was a great story with believable characters. I still think the title could use a tweak for the Southern audience though...


I also read by this author: Backseat Saints

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