Until That Good Day: A Novel

By Marjorie Kemper

Book Overview

"Until That Good Day" is a stunning debut novel loosely based on the Marjorie Kemper's family history. Set in Louisiana in the 1930's, the story revolves around John Washington, a successful traveling salesman who "passes" in the white community. John's young daughter Vivien is a lulu of an unreliable narrator with charm to spare. Profoundly moving as well as comical and sweet, this is a haunting story with dynamite characters from a literary-prize-winning author.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312290799
• ISBN13: 9780312290795
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.1" x 5.7"

Customer Reviews

Great classic

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Great characters that made the story, an era that is captured in beautiful prose: 'Clara looked like the pictures of Mother the aunts kept on their crowded mantel...from the home place in Mississippi where they'd come from. A place that wasn't there anymore. Had it burned down?...It was lost...sometimes in this life you unaccountably lost things. She, after all, had lost her mother.'

Many voices. Some whisper, some shout. A moving tale is told

This wonderful book is about John Washington, a man who does not fit any preconception, any pigeonhole. He is hero and anti-hero, he drives headlong through life, yet somehow sustains two separate lives. As he leads his fragmenting family into riches and ignores it into ruin, the story sinks and rises, sinks then rises again. A musical theme, Madame Butterfly, runs through the narrative. The structure is operatic, tragic. There are arias, duets, trios--asides are spoken in low voices. Memorable people and places, and stirring events flow in and out of story, yet the author's skill is such that the thread of the tale is never lost. You cannot wait to turn the page. I've recommended this amazing novel to everyone I know. I recommend it to you.

Intriguing period piece

John Washington travels the entire Lower Mississippi Valley selling wares to small stores and is away from his Myrtle, Louisiana home most of the time. Thus, it is not surprising that he is on the road when his wife dies leaving him with two daughters, eight years old Clara and five years old Vivian.About a year later, over the objection of his children especially the younger one, he remarries Antoinette Malone. His older child goes to a New Orleans school and his younger one moves in with his in-laws. Meanwhile, John continues traveling not just to make money but to see the love of his life Odessa, a black woman. However, she is not the only secret John keeps as he passes in white society by acting accordingly.UNTIL THAT GOOD DAY is an intriguing period piece that enables the audience to visualize life in the Lower Mississippi during the Depression. The tale is told from different perspectives so that the audience gains a wider vision of the times. The characters are deep and John's dark secret is interesting as he hides it from most of his customers and his family. Only his beloved Odessa knows the truth. Though there is little action, Marjorie Kemper provides a deep character study that shines on a way of life that feels almost ancient though it is only seven decades ago.Harriet Klausner

Beyond great summer reading, something you want to own!

Marjorie Kemper captures a sense of place, a sense of time, a sense of humor, and gives you unforgettable characters who will be with you the rest of your life, like it or not. Until That Good Day moves with a voice as original, as constant, and as strong as the Mississippi. Not only the perfect vacation read, it is the one book you will recommend and give for the rest of the year. I can hardly wait for her next novel!