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Clyde Edgerton

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Raney Kindle Edition

by Clyde Edgerton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 250 ratings

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"This book is too good to keep to yourself. Read it aloud with someone you love, then send it to a friend. But be sure to keep a copy for yourself, because you'll want to read it again and again."-- Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey Raney is a small-town Baptist. Charles is a liberal from Atlanta. And Raney is the story of their marriage. Charming, wise, funny, and truthful, it is a novel for everyone to love. "A real jewel."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This charming vignette follows the early days of the marriage of Raney, an inno cent, Southern Baptist, and Charles, who is considerably more liberal and so phisticated than Raney. The two must make many accommodations to one an other and regularly consult a marriage counselor. PW found that the author's "ear for idiom is exact, the two central characters perceptibly developed and the other members of the small cast are giv en dimension and personality."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Not since Huckleberry Finn has there been a character like Raney."―Dallas Times Herald

"There is no way I can do justice to Raney unless I start at page one and quote the whole book. . . . Raney is a short, hilarious, and very wise novel."―Cleveland Plain Dealer

"This is a dead-on portrait, markedly reminiscent of Mark Twain. Edgerton's ear for South-speak is comprehensive and true. And the attitudes and manners of his characters step right out of the Safeway. . . . Help yourself to a story that's light, warm, neighborly, satisfying―and very American."―Detroit News

"Raney appears to be a harmless little novel, but readers should be warned: The book is dangerous. It is one of those rare volumes that causes uncontrollable fits of laughter and makes normally quiet, shy people read passages aloud. Raney herself is a masterpiece."―Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"A funny, deft, heartening book. If I were single, I'd marry it."―Roy Blount Jr.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007ZE7QGU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Algonquin Books (May 1, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2359 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 238 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #740,134 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #27,953 in American Literature (Kindle Store)
- #50,843 in American Literature (Books)
- #137,086 in Literature & Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 250 ratings

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Clyde Edgerton

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Clyde Edgerton is the author of ten novels, a memoir, short stories, and essays. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and teaches creative writing at UNC Wilmington. He lives in Wilmington, NC, with his wife, Kristina, and their children.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

250 global ratings

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Rose Mary Dunbar

Raney.

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2011

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This book was highly recommended by a friend, and I wanted to read it. It is not a new book (copyright 1985), and I was concerned that I would not be able to get a copy to read. Thanks to Amazon I was able to order the book, and it arrived quickly.

"Raney is a small town Baptist. Charles is a liberal from Atlanta. And RANEY is the story of their marriage. Charming, wise, funny, and truthful, it is a novel for everyone to love."

Set in 1975, it is "the story of the first two years, two months, and two days in the life of a Southern marriage." Raney and Charles are living in Raney's home town in North Carolina. The quotes are from the cover of the book, and they describe the story better than anything I could have written.

2 people found this helpful

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Jadwiga Barczak

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2015

Funny, easy read..

Written by a man for women

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2011

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Raney is a quick read that tends to be humorous in parts, inciting the occasional chuckle but lacking laugh out loud moments. It is a vey innocent depiction of a southern conservative woman from Liston North Carolina marrying a much more liberal/intelligent man from Atlanta Georgia. The novel focuses on the Husband Charles' struggle to accept his new wife, Raney's, family in the hopes that it will preserve his marriage. As their beliefs in religion, politics, and sex tries to tear apart their relationship it becomes obvious to the reader that these two must work to solve their problems because they really are meant for each other.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the novels has to be its likeable humorous characters and their dialogues. Raney's large family is a motley bunch of stereotypical southerners who are constantly blurting out ignorant politically incorrect remarks. One can't help but imagine what Charles is thinking as he hears these things being said. The character development for Raney and Charles is actually very in depth for such a short novel and is the best achievement for Edgerton in this novel.
Being from a small southern town however the setting is a little too romanticized.
Liston North Carolina makes for a good fictional town but it's hard to imagine it in the real world. Also the time period is pretty difficult to pinpoint. Dialogue between characters hint that it's set in the late 1970s but in many sections of the book it feels like Edgerton is trying too hard to fit the mold of the typical 1950's family dynamic and race issues.
Without knowing that Raney was written by a man I would guess that it was written by a woman for women. So I probably wouldn't recommend it for teenage boys but if one is willing to overlook the author's attempt to romanticize, the novel makes for an enjoyable read.

4 people found this helpful

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Tony

and I like to reread it every couple of years

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2014

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I have been a big fan of Clyde Edgerton for years. I recently reordered this book because I have given several copies away, and I like to reread it every couple of years. Aside from being disarming (you really want to feel so superior to Raney, but somehow can't do it), this is one of the great examples of the use of point of view and using conversation to reveal characters and advance the story line. This is really a must read for all would-be writers. I think Edgerton has an amazing voice--deceptively uncomplicated and compelling in its insights into human nature in general and the South as it changed in the post-Vietnam War era.

7 people found this helpful

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Peggy Vincent

Hilarious and charming lesson in love and tolerance

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2003

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This happens to be one of my all-time favorite books, picked up on a whim in an airport shop when my plane was delayed. What a find! Read it, and you'll become an instant fan of Clyde Edgerton. It's side-splittingly funny as it chronicles the early days of the marriage of Raney, a small-town Baptist, and Charles, a city Episcopalian. Though both are Southern, they are cut from different cloth, she from calico, and he from tweed. Raney is appalled to find that her husband wants to have his good friend, a black man, be their baby's godfather, and her husband is appalled to find that Raney intends to raise their daughter calling her breasts "dinners."
Don't miss this one.

27 people found this helpful

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Judy HD, Texas

Raney

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2015

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I initially couldn't see a relationship between Raney and Charles. Their backgrounds and levels of education were so different, but the author did an excellent job reconciling it in my mind and I ended up truly enjoying the book.

One person found this helpful

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MarciaHarris

a fun, touching novel

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014

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This book reminded me of growing up in the rural south in the 60's. Hilarious and shockingly real. Very politically un-correct but so true to my upbringing. I think anyone who loves a laugh would enjoy this book. The dialect is so charming.

One person found this helpful

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getsn2troublehere

Two Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2016

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...not Walking Across Egypt

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