Call and Response — T.R. Pearson

Meandering from comic set pieces to hilarious digressions, Call and Response perfectly captures the peculiar lilts and rhythms of the South -- and spins a magical tale of love and all its manifold complications. The novel centers on Nestor Tudor, a middle-aged widower who is overfond of Ancient Age and Old Gold filters. TR Pearson interweaves the story of Nestor's late-blooming, and ultimately unrequited, affection for Mary Alice Celestine Lefler with parallel stories of true love and broken hearts, young love and cheating hearts, and every other variety of courtship imaginable. Extravagantly funny and overflowing with the rich cadences and droll loquacity of Southern storytelling, Call and Response is a remarkable joy to read.