I sometimes feel like I've read more than my fair share of stories about slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era but this book offers a unique and interesting take on black/white relations in Mississippi. The story starts in 2003 with Roxanne, a white woman, who finds herself with the task of creating an African American Tour. She calls on Grace, an elderly black resident, to help her identify historical points of interest. Grace and a cast of other characters call up memories from the 1930's to help tell the story of their town. Each person's memories help to complete the complex story and heal some festering wounds. ( )

Wow! This book strikes VERY close to home since my family is from the area. I almost feel like I know the author herself. This is a must read book, not just about racial issues but about relationships - can't wait until the next effort is put forth from Ms. Lynne Bryant!
Oh! And she is a real ‘looker’ too! ( )

I began to read "Catfish Alley" by Lynne Bryant, thinking it was merely going to be an entertaining book. I did not expect for it to open up rivers of joy and pain inside of me - but that is exactly what this amazing book did.

"Catfish Alley" chronicles the lives of various Southern women, who are smart, intelligent and pillars of strength in their community. It is quite clear with the way author Bryant writes that she is not only familiar and comfortable with the South, but that these stories come from experience. Taking these Southern characters, the author weaves a tale both beautiful and sad.

Roxanne Reeves' life is disintegrating, and she has no friends to reach out to, because she has spent most of her life trying to create a distance between herself and others so that they don't discover her past. When she approaches Miss Grace Clarke, in order to consult with her about a new African-American tour, the last thing she expects is to find an amazing friend who helps her come face-to-face with her own demons. In taking Roxanne Reeves to the different African-American landmarks within the community, Grace sets the wheels in motion to relate the story of African-American's in 1930's Mississippi, that changed the lives of Grace, her friend Adelle, Junior who was the love of her life, and Zero, her brother. As the story unfolds, the reader is shown both the prim and proper ways of the Southern belles in her circle, and the impropriety of some of these same families in the past; especially in regards to racism. The highlight of the book, however, is the way in which these African-American women handle the injustices and difficulties that come their way; especially in regards to dealing with the ignorance, racism, hatred and violence perpetuated towards them by the Whites in their community.

Told by many viewpoints, both White and Black, the backbone of this novel is the camaraderie that exists between the characters, despite the hardships they may face together. The various chapters told by various perspectives adds immense depth to the story. Character development is excellent, and the author most certainly knows how to steer the reader into the direction that the story is going towards. This novel, although compared to it, in my opinion may even be better than "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, in some ways. Although, "The Help" is supposed to have more humor and has a different theme - the books do have similarities, but are not about the same thing. Either way, this book is most definitely worth a read, and I thoroughly loved it, finishing it within a day! ( )

This was probably the best book I have read this year. This is Lynne Bryant's debut novel.

The story is a narrative told by several characters. Roxanne Reeves grew up poor, her mother a cook for a wealthy family in Louisiana. Roxanne wants a different life, marries well, and moves to Mississippi. She measures her current life by how far she has moved up the social ladder, currently voted head of the annual tour of homes in Clarksville. This year, one of the new members from Connecticut who has just moved into one of the finest old plantation houses in the area, has proposed a tour of African-American historical sites in Clarksville. Roxanne isn't quite sure how she will pull this off but makes an appointment to meet with Grace Clark, a former schoolteacher at the black school, then the local school district after desegregation, and a lifelong resident of Clarksville. Grace takes her on a tour of sites and tells her stories about the history of the area.

These stories change Roxanne's perspective on her own life and values. It gives the reader a perspective on history that many still don't know or don't understand. As Grace mentions when she first gets a call from Roxanne, "White folks. Eighty-nine years and you'd think I'd be used to them by now." This is a deeply emotional story and a great selection for book groups. Highly recommended. I wish I could give it 10 stars. ( )

I loved this book--read it in one sitting!

Catfish Alley is right up my alley as far as books goes–it’s full of historical fiction based on real-life events that took place in the south. I don’t know what it is about southern writers, and why they have a hold on me like they do, but oh, how I love and cherish them! I’m happy to tell you that I’ve now added Lynne Bryant to that list of beloved southern authors, as her debut novel has sunk into a remarkable historical moment, examining the way smart African-American women and men interacted and dealt with ignorant, violent and racist white men back in the days before the Civil Rights movement.

An intimate and astonishingly frank look at white and black history back in the 1930′s and in present-day Mississippi. Like The Help, a southern white woman is told stories from African-American women in her community. That is where the similarities end, and I don’t mean that in a bad way–it’s just a completely different book, and I want to make that clear to you in case you buy it and discover it isn’t like The Help at all in your mind. This book is about Roxanne Reeves, a middle-aged, lonely white woman whose hiding a secret about her own past in the town of Clarksville, Mississippi. She grew up elsewhere, has no true best friends, just acquaintances from her social committee that she doesn’t seem to care for all that much. Roxanne manages to get assigned the unwanted task of finding out local black history, in the hopes that she will win a renovation bid on a historical home owned by northerners who have recently moved to town. Roxanne is in charge of the committee that her town’s already famous Antebellum House tour oversees, and this new woman Roxanne is trying to impress wants to add important black historical places on the existing tour. ( )