Our highlight of the week came at the beginning. It was an especially stormy Monday. The crowd expected to stop in and meet Dean Faulkner Wells was not as promised, no doubt because folks were still taking cover from the violent storm that had been lashing the state all afternoon and was only just beginning to dissipate.
Dean, with her husband Larry Wells, made it in from Oxford somehow, driving against 40-50 mph gusts, to sign copies of her new book, Every Day by the Sun. A nice crowd assembled despite the weather and were treated to a slide show by Larry, giving some background on the Faulkner family.
Dean's father, her namesake, was killed in a plane crash while she was still in the womb. Her father's family stepped in to help raise her, especially her famous uncle, William Faulkner, whom she called Pappy. Every Day by the Sun is a deeply personal account of her life among one of the first families of Oxford, painting a historic view of the town as well as how her uncle's fame shaped the lives of his loved ones.
Larry also explained their precious Greenwood ties. It was here, at a backyard party with Delta artistes, that they first met Willie Morris, who would become a lifelong friend. The Wells' publishing venture, Yoknapatawpha Press, would go on to keep several of Willie's most popular books in print, including Good Old Boy and Terrains of the Heart.
In a surprise turn, Dean, who confesses to suffering stage fright, read a wonderful excerpt from the book's prologue, which Kelly hailed as one of her favorite pieces of writing ever. By the time Dean finished her reading, the ladies in the audience were misty-eyed.
Dean proves to be a great observer, candid and eloquent, in Every Day by the Sun. You don't have to be a Faulkner fanatic to enjoy this book, but certainly anyone searching for insight into the writer's genius will not be disappointed. Ultimately, it is Dean's story that captivates the reader as she describes her struggle to find her place in a family of "thieves, adulterers, sociopaths, killers, racists, liars, and folks suffering from panic attacks and real bad tempers."
Among the lucky crowd were many old friends and family members ... no killers or thieves, as near as we could tell. And since the signing, all week long, those who attended have been coming back and telling us how they went home Monday night and read half the book, so enthralled were they by the story and Dean's lovely prose.
Many more, stopping in to pick up their copies, have told us how much they regretted not braving the elements. We still have signed copies left, so drop by or order online, but don't overlook this most generous and gracious of Mississippi memoirs.
