Walking Across Egypt: Amazon.ca: Clyde Edgerton: Books

Product Description

From School Library Journal

YA A quietly humorous story set in a small town in North Carolina. Seventy-eight year old Mattie Riggsbee, spunky and determined, has one regret: she has no grandchildren, as her son and daughter inconveniently remain unmarried. The story gathers momentum after a slightly sluggish start, when Wesley Benfield, wayward teenager and orphan, comes into Mattie's life. Their need for each other is apparent, and their attempts to get together, despite the disapproval of Mattie's family and neighbors, are the focus of the story. Wesley is captivated by Mattie's good cooking and grandmotherly attention, and when he escapes from a house of detention, he heads straight to Mattie. There is a hilarious scene in church, where the fleeing Wesley and the pursuing deputy sheriff, both disguised as choir members, sit beside each other in full view of the congregation. Edgerton infuses all of his characters with reality, and provides a balanced perspective on age and youth. His understanding of teenagers is nowhere more evident than in the contrast between the reality of Wesley's situation and the humor of his exaggerated fantasies. Rita G. Keeler, St. John's School, Houston
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This second novel by the author of Raney is warm and comforting, like a visit to Grandma's. Mattie Rigsbee, at 78, is slowing down. She plans her funeral so as not to be a burden; she supports the local Baptist church and entertains herself with hymns at the parlor piano; she tries not to meddle in her children's lives, though she does wish they'd marry; she longs for grandchildren. Then comes Wesley. Reared in an orphanage until he graduated to the reformatory, Wesley touches her heart, revives a life gone to seed. Just as he needs a grandmother's love and stability, so Mattie needs his challenge, dependence, and love. How she reconciles that need before family, neighbors, and church congregation is a beautiful story of determination, made more poignant by a Southern small-town setting. BOMC alternate. Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

41 Reviews

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (41 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Honest, Lighthearted Storytelling, May 27 2004

By

"trwprid" (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking Across Egypt (Mass Market Paperback)

Because I'm a complete and total idiot I read this book and its sequel in reverse order. However, I found that my blunder didn't spoil the plot in the slightest bit. The two plots were completely individual--you needn't read one to understand the other.

Egypt tells a story of an old woman named Mattie who's "slowing down." At 78 she fears she's getting careless and senile, however has too much pride to give up the lifestyle she's become accustomed to: watching her soaps at 1 PM everyday and making sure no one knows it. She won't even keep a dog because she's so set in her routines that she fears she won't have time to mind it.

You know the sort: those Southern women whom would tell strangers fixing their shutters or delivering their mail what time they should stop by on a given day so that they can have a hot slice of pie waiting for them when they come by. Those strangers will inevitably show up, too (wearing a bib and carrying a paper plate and piece of tin foil to take some home with them).

Mattie reminded me so much of my ever-servicing grandmother that I had to cringe. The monkey-wrench that gets thrown into the works is Wesley: a juvenile delinquent who oddly enough is willing to change his heathen ways in exchange for a piece of "the best pound cake ever" and the ability to take a hot bath.

This blend of sinner and saint in novels is nothing innovative, but the extent to which Edgerton stretches it out it seems to be almost hyperbole. (I can assure you from my own experiences that it's not!)

I loved this book. There's so much of the North Carolina I know in it that it makes me giddy

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Story for the Whole Family, May 16 2004

By

"stoner67767" (Johnson City, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking Across Egypt (Mass Market Paperback)

Mattie Rigsbee, an older woman and mother of two children, lives alone in a small southern town. She is "slowing down" according to her, but keeps up a very lively pace for someone of her age. Her two children are middle aged and still single, something that she just cannot understand or change, no matter how hard she tries. Mattie's enjoyment in life comes from cooking for anyone that stops by, no matter who they are. This little bit of kindness gets her in trouble when she meets Wesley Benfield.

Wesley is the local dogcatcher's nephew and a juvenile delinquent. Mattie cooks him some food and takes it to him in the detention center. This act of kindness towards Wesley makes him believe Mattie is his grandmother. She was only trying to be kind to " the least of [his] brethren" as it says in the Bible, but this little gesture begins a whole lot of trouble for Mattie and the residents of her small town.

This book is a wonderful read for people of all ages. Edgerton does a magnificent job of conveying a story about family values and southern cooking in this outstanding novel. Anyone who has an older grandmother who is "slowing down" will sympathize and relate to this book immediately. Mattie is a wonderfully dynamic character, and this book is filled with delightful humor. This author does an incredible job of displaying old southern values and showing how one person, though a little "out there", can make a difference.

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5.0 out of 5 stars There's a movie!, July 2 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Walking Across Egypt (Mass Market Paperback)

I havn't read the book yet, but I've watched the movie. It is one of my favirote movies. If you read the book and liked it, you should definetly go rent the movie.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Clyde Edgerton puts on quite a dance with Mattie & Wesley
First I read Raney. Then I read everything Clyde Edgerton has written. And I don't know why this book is classified as YA; I'm a good 5 decades removed from YA status, and I loved... Read more

Published on May 9 2003 by Peggy Vincent

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved these characters
And I think I may know some of them here in NC. Didn't want the book to end. How do I get an invitation to dinner?

Published on Jan 24 2003 by gokathy