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 "Taking Lottie Home" A Great Read
This novel was assigned to be read in my English Literature Class at Shepherd University. That is how I came about reading/hearing about this novel. I was pleasently suprised about this novel. I enjoyed the story and the style of writing. I am in the process of reading more novels by Terry Kay. I would recomend this novel to anyone that is looking for a good read.
 Hauntingly Beautiful
Some books, as well as characters, can haunt you for days, maybe years, after the reading is done. "Taking Lottie Home" is such a book. And Lottie Lanier is just such a character: part girl, part woman, and all too giving, with eyes no one ever forgets. So, too, is the character Ben Phelps, the young would-be dream-catcher, who catches the ball but only worships the dream, living it vicariously through the faraway exploits of the intangible, aloof Milo Wade. And there's Foster Lanier, who tastes the dream, only to see it turn bitter before finding his final, brief comfort in the arms of Lottie. Then there is Arthur Ledford, a lonely, tormented, fair but angry man, whose role in Lottie's life turns out to be nearly as surprising as Lottie herself. Even the minor characters are hard to forget: Ben's mother, Margaret Phelps, who clings to Lottie's child, little Ben; Ben's fiancee, Sally, who sees Lottie as the greatest threat to her happiness; Arthur's wife, Alice, a cold, hateful woman who seems to believe all women should be miserable by nature; Coleman Maxey, a pain-in-the-butt redneck troublemaker, and an assortment of other town characters who are either enthralled by Lottie or unnerved by her. There is also the strangest alliance of carnival bad guys ever to appear in a Kay novel: a one-armed giant and a midget. Lottie's story takes place in early 1900's Georgia and Kentucky, when it was still the train that took people to faraway places. It, too, could be considered a character in this story, as could the town of Jerico, which sounds a lot like long ago Royston, Georgia, just as Milo Wade sounds a lot like the baseball great Ty Cobb. Two great contemporary Southern writers are Terry Kay and Pat Conroy. It struck me, while reading this book, that the two men are interesting contrasts, especially regarding the way they write about the South. It reminds me of two men I once heard trying to describe the taste of a persimmon. Both liked the taste, but one said it was bitter, with a little sweet in it; the other said it was more sweet than bitter. For bittersweet stories about the South, it's hard to beat Conroy or Kay. And "Taking Lottie Home" is a sweet story, with just the right amount of bitter. It's the kind of story that stays with you for a long, long time.
Amazing book
At first I didn't like this book. I picked it up and thought, oh great, it's about baseball. How wrong was I when I picked this one up at a bookstore? So I put it down. A few days later, after finding myself at loose ends because nothing I picked up sounded good, I gave it a try again. And this time, I was hooked. Terry Kay's writing just ensared me and I couldn't put the book down till the last page was turned.Kay's characters just came alive in this book ~~ their dreams, their passions, their loves and fears. This is an wonderful book that will haunt you with its lyrical writing and true characters. There is Ben who is kicked off the Augusta baseball team at the same time as Foster Lanier, an older baseball player. They meet up again on the way home from the baseball fields. Ben struggles to make a life again in his hometown, Jericho, as he struggles with ending his dreams of playing baseball. Throughout his life, he kept track of his best friend Milo who did remain behind to play ball and eventually played for Boston Red Sox. Then there is Lottie, the woman he meets on his journey home ~~ and he continues to meet her over the years. And this is their story ~~ of friendship and eventually taking Lottie home. Foster married Lottie and fathered her son, but Ben took her home. It's an enchanting story of the deep South at the beginning of the 20th century. These characters are just as real as your grandparents were ~~ and very interesting too. It's a great book to read on a lazy day swinging on the hammock ~~ just be prepared with lemonade and cookies ~~ once you start reading this book, you don't want it to stop! 5-25-04
This story will touch you unexpectedly.
"Taking Lottie Home : A Novel" is a good summer read that will pull you in, without knowing it. I saw this book on the discount shelves at the nearby conglomerate bookstore, and with its warm cover, I bought it. I was worried that the plot would revolve around baseball, but it only ties the characters together. It revolved back to teamwork and comradeship. The chapters will fly by, and before you know it, you're at the epilogue. That's where the story lost me, and I became confused. The references to grandma, Gra-Ma, mother, father, etc., made me confused about who was who. It's best to just leave off after the final chapter is finished. An enjoyable read. I recommend.
Train ride with Little Ben, Georgia Peach, & the Carny Girl
Ben Phelps and Foster Lanier share a train ride home in 1904 after being cut from a low minor league baseball squad in Georgia. Another Georgian not only makes the cut, he advances quickly to the major leagues, where he is universally hated by the players for his dirty style of play and the public for tales of his wife-beating, drinking, and low-living. Ultimately, he becomes the top player of his age and very wealthy through Georgian business ventures (think Cobb and Coca-Cola), but he always refuses to see the old town and gang. Ben and Foster meet Lottie Parker on that train. This enigmatic creature is both innocent and way too worldly for her teenage years, but never one to be forgotten. Lottie changes their lives for several generations. Foster and Lottie marry, and name their son Little Ben. Ben goes home, takes a job in the dry goods store, and becomes engaged to the proprietor's daughter. Foster, Lottie, and Ben have a subsequent encounter; when Foster and Lottie are working a travelling carnival baseball game of skill, they make Ben look like the town hero and get him very nearly killed. Several years pass and then Ben comes to see a dying Foster, who makes him promise to take Lottie home. Both Ben and Little Ben take ill, and end up in the care of Ben's lonely widowed mother and Ben's fiancee. Lottie becomes the talk of the town, first rumours spread that she and Ben had an illicit relationship, then she wins over all with her charm and grace, then she falls in love with Ben's long-suffering father-in-law, finally she leaves town to return home, just as rumour surface that she is the famous carny girl of many years earlier. I have not read any other Terry Kay novels, and I highly recommend this one. It has a few slow places, especially in the beginning, but it gracefully ties together America's past-times of baseball, commerce, and raising families in the hard-scrabble turn of the century days without much medicine, transportation, employment, or money, especially in the rural South.
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