The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
Jenny Wingfield, 2012
Random House
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385344098
Summary
Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. The children embrace the reunion as a welcome escape from the prying eyes of their father’s congregation; for Willadee it’s a precious opportunity to spend time with her mother and father, Calla and John. But just as the reunion is getting under way, tragedy strikes, jolting the family to their core: John’s untimely death and, soon after, the loss of Samuel’s parish, which set the stage for a summer of crisis and profound change.
In the midst of it all, Samuel and Willadee’s outspoken eleven-year-old daughter, Swan, is a bright light. Her high spirits and fearlessness have alternately seduced and bedeviled three generations of the family. But it is Blade Ballenger, a traumatized eight-year-old neighbor, who soon captures Swan’s undivided attention. Full of righteous anger, and innocent of the peril facing her and those she loves, Swan makes it her mission to keep the boy safe from his terrifying father.
With characters who spring to life as vividly as if they were members of one’s own family, and with the clear-eyed wisdom that illuminates the most tragic—and triumphant—aspects of human nature, Jenny Wingfield emerges as one of the most vital, engaging storytellers writing today. In The Homecoming of Samuel Lake she has created a memorable and lasting work of fiction. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Jenny Wingfield lives in Texas with her rescued dogs, cats, and horses. Her screenplay credits include The Man in the Moon and The Outsider. The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is her first novel. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
A deeply personal story, yet it has universal appeal.... Swan Lake absolutely has the same plucky spirit as Scout Finch.... Wingfield also has the same mesmerizingly graceful way with words [as Harper Lee].
Forth Worth Star-Telegram
Wingfield hooks the reader with her opening sentence.... The reader is thoroughly caught up in the family saga.
Abilene Reporter-News
A lovely debut.... A bittersweet, inspirational tale.
Dallas Morning News
It’s all here. Faith. Honesty. Sin. Redemption.... Anyone who loves Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird will delight in Swan, the Lakes' eleven-year-old daughter.
USA Today
Set in 1950s Arkansas, screenwriter Wingfield's restrained, sometimes dark debut novel tells the story of preacher Samuel Lake and his family and how they are all affected by their move back to his wife Willadee's hometown. After Willadee's father kills himself and Samuel finds out that there's no church post waiting for him in Louisiana, the Lakes' decide to stay with Willadee's mother, Calla, on the farm in Arkansas and help out with the family store. Samuel's gorgeous but delusional sister-in-law (who's also his former fiancee) Bernice, is delighted: she only meant to teach Samuel a lesson by marrying Willadee's brother, Toy, a decent guy who came home from the war and killed Bernice's lover with his bare hands. Toy fruitlessly hopes to regain his wife's affections, but he's gladdened by the presence of the three Lake children: Bienville, 9; Swan, 11; and particularly Noble, 12, whom he takes under his wing after an encounter with school bullies. Swan, meanwhile, befriends the neighbors' abused son, Blade, and the children witness a horrible scene in which Blade is disfigured by his violent father, Ras, who also reveals his sadism with the horses he trains for a living. Wingfield writes complex, believable heroes, although her villains are straight from central casting, but the writing is good and the story well done, with redemption trumping tragedy in scenes ripe with tension and dread.
Publishers Weekly
In 1950s Arkansas, 12-year-old Swan Lake does what she thinks is right—she hides an eight-year-old friend whose father has been beating him mercilessly. Alas, Swan's preacher father has different ideas. This debut from screenwriter Wingfield (e.g., The Man in the Moon, starring a young Reese Witherspoon) is getting a big push, including a nine-city tour. A good bet, especially for regional libraries.
Library Journal
Movie viewers who remember the 1991 tearjerker The Man in the Moon know what to expect from screenwriter Wingfield's first novel, a rural Christian heart-warmer set in 1956 southern Arkansas.... Wingfield's film experience shows in her flair for dialogue. But the simplistic division between good and evil characters and her apparent approval of righteous killing going unpunished may trouble some readers.... Hefty helpings of corn-pone charm become leaden with down-home sanctimony.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. What would you sacrifice for your family? Did Toy do the right thing? Did Sam?
2. What purpose did Swan and Uncle Toy have to each other and to the other characters in the story?
3. In what ways does The Homecoming of Samuel Lake remind you of other Southern Gothic style literature? Give examples.
4. How does the character Swan Lake compare to Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird? How does Atticus Finch compare to Samuel Lake?
5. Compare the characters of Willadee and Bernice. How were they different? How were they similar?
6. What role does the church play in the development of the story? Why does Swan wish that her father was anything but a preacher?
7. Explore the difference between the Moses' Truth and the Honest Truth. Both present their own challenges. Discuss how in the end the Honest Truth supports the Moses Truth.
(Questions from publisher.