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This novel is a collection of vignettes about various residents of Listre, a one-intersection town in North Carolina. The story loosely follows the doings of the Toomey family, 7-year old Stephen and his parents, as well as Jack Umstead, a smooth-talking drifter who drives into town in a stolen Buick and bides his time until he can steal some cash before moving on. The pace is slow, the events unremarkable (except at the end), but the snapshots are accurate and humane.

Alease Toomey is an interesting and nuanced character. On one hand, she is very concerned with propriety and upright behavior, and perhaps is overly zealous in instilling moral convictions in her son Stephen. She takes him to see the electric chair at the local prison to show him what happens to immoral people, for example. She wants very much to see Stephen saved and near the end of the book, observes with relief that he’s responded to an altar call and accepted Jesus. So her worldview seems a little rigid and judgmental. Yet at many points she skillfully balances compassion and discipline in her relationship to Stephen, acting in love for his good, sustaining a home life that makes him feel secure and beloved. Alease also deplores her brother’s dependence on alcohol, but patiently cares for him when he is unable to care for himself again and again.

Pastor Crenshaw is also interesting, although somewhat less transparent than Alease. He finds himself tempted by a sexy young woman. I thought his mental and spiritual struggle against lust was authentic: the unwanted thoughts, the frequent indulgence in them, the emotional disturbance, the repeated repentance, the continued striving. Jack Umstead is a snake but also human; often ignoble, but capable of kindness. Here, so many of the neighbors’ foibles are on display. Not a very important book, perhaps, but useful as a healthy reminder of human fallibility and preciousness.

Title:	Where Trouble Sleeps
Author:	Clyde Edgerton
Date published:	1997
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	260

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Killer Diller focuses on Wesley, the orphan that Mattie takes in at the very end of Walking Across Egypt. He is now about 24, residing in a halfway house because he stole a car. He has an aptitude for music (he loves the blues), and he is now a Christian (Mattie told him about Jesus). During the course of the book, we see how he grows in favor with God and men, how he questions the Christianity preached in church and taught at Christian schools, how he falls in love and tries to conduct himself as a believer. Wesley is quite a likable fellow and his spiritual growth would be quite an interesting story. Unfortunately, he’s placed in a weak plot and used as a pawn in the author’s own agenda-driven critique of Christian culture in America.

What happens is that Wesley gets involved in a service project between his halfway house and Ballard University, a Christian college more interested in getting good media coverage than in giving sight to the blind and preaching good news to the poor. White sepulchres, indeed! These Christians are racist, elitist, snobbish, and altogether infatuated with the complacent, affluent lifestyle of the American Dream. They use Jesus’ ministry to quell dissent, bolster the status quo, and garner wealth and power for themselves. Wesley is suspicious of them, and the author makes no attempt to paint them in a sympathetic light. I have no doubt that such people exist in the US. I’ve even met some. But to prop up poor excuses for Christians, accuse them of being frauds, and then find them guilty as charged is not good writing, just a cheap shot.

Title:	Killer Diller
Author:	Clyde Edgerton
Date published:	1991
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	247
Notes:	Semi-sequel to Walking Across Eqypt

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If you’re hankering after yet another book by a Southern writer, this one by Clyde Edgerton is a good choice. 78-year-old Mattie, who claims that she’s “slowing down,” spends her days picking tomatoes, canning fruit, running the Lottie Moon missionary fund drive, and fixing the best cornbread, butterbeans, and pound cake for every upholster, dogcatcher, neighbor, and deacon who stops by. And she starts pondering what it really means to “do unto one of the least of these my brethren.” The developments arising from these thoughts are authentic and engaging. Mattie presents a placid, grandmotherly face to the world but the story gives the reader access to many sassy comments that she thinks but doesn’t say. Very witty.

Edgerton’s writing has something of Flannery O’Connor in it. Mattie’s Christian conviction and her Baptist church culture are very significant to her character and the plot. And people in the book are allowed to utter backward statements that reveal their ignorance and prejudices. As in many O’Connor stories, these flawed human beings are fully fleshed out and move about freely in the story, whether you like them or not. From this vantage point, you can both appreciate their place in the world and laugh at their foibles. (Also, check out the hymn at the end of the book whose title is the same as the book's, which Edgerton wrote and composed.)

It’s probably bad to do too much comparison with other writers, but Walking Across Egypt has that quality that I liked so much in Jan Karon’s At Home in Mitford: the protagonist’s real faith in Jesus plays out naturally and sincerely. Mattie is neither preachy or smug in her devotion, but tries to follow Jesus as well as she can, expressing uncertainty at times and admitting error. She is a Christian who loves others and trusts God without falsely claiming to have all the answers – like a few people whom I most admire in my own life.

Title:	Walking Across Egypt
Author:	Clyde Edgerton
Date published:	1987
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	215

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