The Lure of White Oak Lake by Robin Alexander

The Lure of White Oak Lake
by Robin Alexander
Pages: 266
Date: February 26 2013
Publisher: Intaglio Publications
Series: White Oak Lake (1st in series)

Review
Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0
Read: July 20 2016

This is my fifth Alexander book that I have read. Second one this year. Actually, for that matter, second one today, since I technically finished the prior book somewhere around 2 am this morning. The previous three books were read in August (1 book), and February (2 books) of 2014. 2 years is a long time between books.

Of the five books I’ve read by Alexander, I would slot this one in as my second favorite, behind ‘Dear Me’. Mostly because, while both were quite good books, this one seemed to have a lot less humor than ‘Dear Me’. If it was actually literally possible to laugh my ass off, I’d no longer have an ass, after reading ‘Dear Me’. This book? Made me giggle here and there but there was no risk of bodily harm.

So, I do not really wish to write a massive review. A woman loses three things right in a row over a few months – her father (died), girlfriend (left her), job (she was cut lose by a somewhat incompetent manager). A lot of time was spent, before the book opened, with Morgan Chassion, the woman who lost these three things, searching for a new job. Without any luck. So, eventually, she heads out from Atlanta to inspect this cabin that her father left her in his will. A cabin next to a lake in White Oak Lake, Louisiana.

Meanwhile, Jaclyn Wyatt is living her life as a single mother, in a rather supportive little community (not including her asshole parents) and running her own store – a bait shop named the same as the title of this book.

To a certain extent, Morgan and Austin (Austen? I forget now), hooked up long before Morgan and Jaclyn did. And no, this isn’t a book in which the reader watches someone go through several people before finally landing on ‘the right one’. No, Austin is Jaclyn’s 14 year old son.

But then, that’s the kind of relationship Jaclyn and Morgan have – slow with bursts. But I do not wish to go too far down this road so I’ll just move on.

I had one specific issue that never really got clarified for me (until I wrote this review). At the beginning of the book, everyone (okay, this happened twice) kept calling Morgan Chassion, to her face, a coon. Weirdly the people using this word were quite happy and friendly people. But still. They used this word. So, for the longest time, I thought Morgan Chassion was black.

I’m sure this will turn out to be a situation where I’m just dumb or something. Like when I got confused over the use of the word ‘merde’ in another book.

Morgan’s face colored. “that’s really very kind of you, but I’m allergic to seafood.”

“Well, I never seen it, a coon ass that can’t eat shrimp. Chassion, that’s a Cajun name, but you ain’t got much of an accent.”

Chassion, dat’s coon ass, yeah. Where ya people from, cher?”

Crap. It is a merde type situation. I noticed when I realized every time (the two times) that it is used, it is used in the same way. Attached to ass. Coon ass. And I’m sure the context of the second occasion the phrase was used should have clued me in. But, yeah, I’m dumb.

Coon-ass is used to reference a person of Cajun ethnicity. Many consider the term an insult, but others consider it a compliment or badge of honor

I knew, though, without going too far that Morgan was white. Because in a conversation with a woman in Atlanta, that woman says something along the way of ‘your white ass’ or something like that.

Well. Glad I decided to write something, heh. I now know what that coon ass stuff was about. So, long and short (too late), Morgan Chassion is of Cajun ethnicity but has spent most of her life in Atlanta.

So, the humor (not all of it) was provided in the form of three witches (sorry, I was suddenly flashing back to Shakespeare’s Macbeth), to three older women who are . . . eccentric (two more than a third). The three old women drink potions so that they can help Jaclyn find a nice woman to mate with. Also, two of the three, like running around naked. One of them being 70+ and the other being 60+.

There were no pets in this book for the two main leads, though a group of four cats ‘patrolled’ Morgan’s cabin for rodents – though the cats ‘belonged’ to her neighbor. Only one of the four is actually meet, though, briefly.

Another thing even more shocking occurred – no one vomited. There were at least two occasions when people were described as being a state that was on the edge of vomiting, and/or being ‘puke-y’. But no actual vomiting. Strange, I know.

Right, so, I enjoyed this book.

July 20 2016