Some Personal Papers

By Joallen Bradham

Book Overview

The unlikely story of a woman guilty by reason of charity. When the director of Children's Services, Eugenia Diane Putman -- Miss Genie to the many children who adore her -- finds children in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1881515044
• ISBN13: 9781881515043
• Release Date: November 1994
• Publisher: Texas Review Press
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Some Personal Papers

Some Personal Papers, which recently garnered author, JoAllen Bradham, the Georgia Fiction Writer of the Year Award, is a must read. This exquisitely told story is about Eugenia Putman, "Miss Genie," a dedicated social worker who is forced to make choices regarding the children in her personal care that few of us could ever make. This is a case of when "doing what's best" is, without a doubt, a case of "doing what's worst," but for all of the right reasons. Although it has often been said that actions speak louder than words, Miss Genie's actions cannot even be considered without first reading her story in her own words, words that scream at you about the often painful experience that is life for many people, and particularly for children. This is a story you will not soon forget.

A great read!

This novel is just as JoAllen herself said; "It's a quick read, and a long think."

Probing, poetic, powerful

The press may specialize in books about the South, but the book itself deserves the attention of readers everywhere. Those who read for significant, thought-rpvoking subject matter will find it. Those who read for artistic method will rejoice.

Compelling fiction; an outstanding first novel

SOME PERSONAL PAPERS is the story of Eugenia Putman, an urban social worker, who must deal with some of the saddest stories of child abuse and neglect. Although she tries her best to remain objective, eventually her sense of duty turns her to taking matters into her own hands. With just a few days left before her conviction, she retells what she felt she had to do and why. The story is full of irony as Bradham creates a character who challenges our sense that right and wrong is always clear cut. The plot is suspenseful and the setting is key to the artistry in Bradham's prose. I taught the novel with great success over the last two years, and I highly recommend it.

A glorious characterization of a strong woman

"I think my heart did stop with love", Genia Putman ("Mama-Genie") says of her tiny charges, pitiful children wrapped up in a nighmare of social abuse. How Mama-Genie manifests her love is told in Some Personal Papaers, one of the most compelling stories I've read this year. Like Toni Morrison's Beloved and Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Some Personal Papers is a beautifully told tale of what - sometimes - strong women must do to follow their hearts. JoAllen Bradham's book is unique and told from an unusual perspective. It also has gorgeous prose. Mama-Genie's descriptions of her garden where (as in the Song of Solomon) "My beloved's mine...he feedeth among the lillies", are worth the price of the book by themselves. Genia's garden, which eventually becomes a place of "Rightness. Freedom. Vindication. Air.", creates a mesmerizing allegory throughout this tale of complex relationships and rare characters. I truly enjoyed this book and wished to hear more from Mama-Genie. Hopefully author Bradham has more interesting female characters in her bookbag and will treat us to further good reads!