It was the same kind of feeling I get when I watch Honey Boo-Boo. I felt bad as I blamed these victims of circumstance for their own misfortune and laughed at them along the way. There is something disturbing about the way that Caldwell draws one in to wallow in the tragedy and to laugh at the suffering characters. But when you believe that Caldwell was being satirical and probably trying to provide commentary on the plight of poverty-stricken white farmers in rural Georgia in 1932, the whole thing takes on more dimension. Up to that point I could only think how miserable and ignorant the characters are. BetterĪfter making a joke about God and turnips on Twitter it was suggested that the book was supposed to be funny, not necessarily just tragic. Then, Ellie May, Jeeter’s 18-year old daughter with a harelip, is so comically in need of a man that she begins to rub all over the equally desperate Lov who is then distracted enough for Jeeter to steel the bag of turnips. Lov refuses and rather cruelly begins eating raw turnips in front of Jeeter and his starving mother, wife, and daughter. When Lov tries to convince Pearl’s father Jeeter Lester to talk with her, Jeeter makes his help conditional on getting some of those turnips. But even that discussion quickly turns to turnips. Well, and the fact that the forty-something Lov couldn’t get his 12-year old wife Pearl to share his bed with him. The first five chapters seemed to be about nothing but God and a bag of turnips. (I also immediately thought of the amazing song Tobacco Road by Lou Rawls.) Needing something for that day’s commute, I took a chance.Īs I listened I wasn’t sure what to make of the book.

When I was browsing Audible recently looking for books to listen to on my commute I stumbled across Tobacco Road and vaguely remembered it was on the Modern Library list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. But that wouldn’t adequately convey what an amazing book it is. I could just leave this review of Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell blank and refer you back to the blog post headline.

Tobacco road novel review