Beverly & Marigold - Hardcover

Coleman, Val

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312145497 ISBN 13: 9780312145491

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1996

Synopsis

Beverly Reynolds's odyssey begins as a ten-year-old innocent in the middle of America, puzzled by blood and warfare. In time he sets out to find some kind of truth "with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a hammer in the other." He stumbles into the birth of Off-Broadway theater and the American civil rights movement, then, ruined by alcohol, spirals downward on the streets, where he discovers a single, fantastical, fictitious woman named Marigold.
"Don't forget me," she says, "my name is Marigold." There's not much of a chance of that. She presides over a small gathering of street people, redeemable cans, and khaki blankets. She is the human spirit, hungry and cold, soaring out of her "little country" on West Broadway to run for mayor, confront the devil himself, and save the World Trade Center from collapse. And she does it as if every day were Christmas. She is unforgettable, incomparable, brought stirringly to life in the Marigold stories.

About this title

About the Author

Val Coleman has been on the faculty of Columbia University since 1992.

Reviews

The two characters linked in the title of this collection of 11 stories are strangers in more than one way. The first seven stories follow the colorful trajectory of Beverly Reynolds, a middle-class young man from Illinois (and admittedly a fictional gloss of the author) who must hit bottom before he finds peace. The remainder of the tales belong to Marigold, a homeless African American woman in Manhattan who is so full of spirit that she takes on the devil himself and saves the World Trade Center from collapse. The contrast between the two groups of stories seems meant to instruct and inspire. "The Stamp Collection" re-creates Beverly's childhood friendship with a dying neighbor, whose talks ignite the boy's desire to see the world. "Overture and Beginners" is the liveliest entry here, describing Beverly's youthful plunge into the romping theater subculture of Beat-era New York. "My Primrose Path" outlines his career as a publicist, his brief marriage and his descent into alcoholism. "Paying My Dues" takes him into the racial troubles of the Deep South in the 1960s, and "The Heart Attack" caps off the Beverly tales in middle age. Marking the passage, young Beverly becomes known as Reynolds; he then meets Marigold, who, while utterly disenfranchised, believes she can do anything. The Marigold tales?featuring such outrageous events as a speech Marigold makes in an empty U.N. building, celebrate Marigold's power as the instrument of moral action that Beverly never became. While these third-person stories are suffused with the same buoyant energy as Beverly's first-person adventures, they teeter a bit too precariously between wildly humorous and silly. Some readers will be dismayed by the lack of cohesion between the two groups of tales, but the author's verve will charm those eager for an upbeat message.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Columbia University urban studies professor Coleman, two groups of zany stories, one about the experiences of an amiable white middle-class screwup, the other about those of an industrious black homeless woman. Beverly hails from a straitlaced midwestern family that typifies the preWW II values of the region. After passing a chunk of his youth in the company of a dying, eccentric old woman (he and she look at stamps together), he decamps for Antioch College and all hell breaks loose as he slides headfirst into the tempestuous beat bohemia of the '50s. He becomes an avid drunk, discovers sex, takes up with a madcap theatrical company, marries and divorces Otto Preminger's daughter, reinvents Broadway p.r. via a series of outlandish publicity stunts, and ultimately turns his talents toward the civil rights movement. This last enthusiasm takes Beverly down south and into several harrowing encounters with rednecks, and even gets him a kiss on the mouth from an arrogant, inflammatory black attorney. Later, Beverly's wild times catch up with him: He becomes a bad drunk, repents through AA, and undergoes open-heart surgery. Throughout, though, he maintains his genial humor, a sort of Salinger-lite that seems typical of midcentury masculine bon vivant-ism gone awry. Less engaging and witty are the more socially conscious Marigold tales. Following Marigold's quick introduction into the book, this wise woman of the streets (``she was tall and fat and black and topped by a great smokey tangled head of hair'') saves a beloved watering hole from being destroyed by a toppling World Trade Center (the result of an earthquake and a hurricane) and runs for mayor of New York. A first collection of cheery, terse yarns that often exceed expectations--most especially in the first half. In any event, the laughs are always genuine, and the social history of New York over the past 50 years is dead-on. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This is a collection of two sets of short stories. The first recalls episodes in the life of a man named Beverly, and are admittedly autobiographical. As such, most have the rambling formlessness of life rather than adhering to a traditionally crafted plot. That is not necessarily a problem if, as is the case here, the tales consist of interesting events, likable characters, and genuine good humor. This effectively sets up the reader for the Marigold stories, which deal with the fanciful adventures of a homeless woman living in New York City. The reader willingly suspends disbelief as Marigold visits the United Nations, organizes an aluminum-can war, and runs for mayor. Despite the whimsical tone, first-timer Coleman manages to give much-needed insight into the plight of the homeless. Clever illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Bill Woodman are well matched to the material. Recommended for most collections.?Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Idaho Lib., Moscow
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312145497
• ISBN 13: 9780312145491
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224