Tuscaloosa Knights Review

“Tuscaloosa Knights” was a story that left me both intrigued and summarily let down, but by no means was a “bad story.” Its strengths lie in its tone; several times I caught myself conjuring up the spirit of Tennessee Williams and “A Streetcar Named Desire” which, for me, was a wonderful thing. The gruff and callous Pinion could have easily been a wealthier Stanley, and Marla could be either of Williams’ leading ladies, though her supposed innocence seemed more in line with Stella.

The narrative itself is simple, but by adding the twist of the Klan and the South, the tale of a mildly unhappy woman keeping company with her husband’s best friend doubles in intrigue tenfold. The readers know an affair is inevitable, but it is presented so timidly and unfolds so naturally—it was lovely.

There were two problems with “Tuscaloosa Knights,” however, that were hard to overlook, even with its abundance of well-rounded characters and occasional beautiful description. Marla’s voice, at times, would change too harshly, jarring me out of the story. An example of this is on the top of page two, “I was pretty upset that my husband planned to abandon me here in this dinky town with nothing to do while he pranced across Europe.” The seemingly educated and well-spoken Marla turned into a fourteen-year-old school girl in one sentence. Also, the ending was too unsatisfying. The build up to the affair, which was mesmerizing and engaged the reader on so many levels, blossoms and subsequently burns out, but not because of the two’s conscience, but rather a group of crazy people from Bryce that come out of nowhere. If there was a message in it, I missed it. I certainly hope the overlying suggestion was NOT as simple as extramarital affairs are crazy, i.e. the parade of insane.

I liked this story, but I wish it could have been more.