Book Review of PORCH LIES: TALES OF SLICKSTERS, TRICKSTERS, AND OTHER WILY CHARACTERS

Bibliography:

McKissack, Patricia C. 2006. Porch lies: Tales of slicksters, tricksters, and other wily characters. Ill. by Andre Carrilho. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 0375836195.


Plot Summary:

Porch Lies is a collection of tales written by Patricia McKissack. Inspired by stories heard as a child, the author has created nine humorous tales about a variety of tricksters, such as Pete Bruce, who charms Miss Martha June out of one of her coconut cream pies. Although many of the characters are not the most upstanding of individuals, they are able to charm their way in to people’s hearts and entertain readers at the same time.


Critical Analysis:

Patricia McKissack’s Porch Lies begins with a note from the author about her childhood and the time she spent on her grandparents’ porch listening to porch lies and other tales. The introduction is a fitting start for this book, because it familiarizes the reader with the storyteller. As a result, the reader feels as if he/she is sitting on McKissack’s porch listening to stories along with her family. McKissack is able to continue this feeling of involvement by providing background information before each tale that gives the reader a little insight in to the story.

Although I didn’t find the first two tales too exciting, “Aunt Gran and the Outlaws” captivated me. The story of an elderly woman, representing good, taking on the evil landowner and succeeding is typical of many folk tales; however, McKissack makes Aunt Gran’s character more real than characters depicted in familiar folk tales. She doesn’t describe Aunt Gran in detail, but through the dialog, she reveals information about the type of person Aunt Gran is. For example, when she is telling the Howard brothers, aka Jesse and Frank James, the rules of her house, she states “. . . guns and hats come off before entering my house. No women. No gambling. No swearing. No whiskey.” (page 45). This statement allows you to see that Aunt Gran means business and expects to be obeyed. Instead of telling you out right, the author creates a dialog that reveals this in a humorous manner.

The author’s storytelling incorporates many of the elements of traditional literature, such as plots with lots of action and plots “that involve a quest or journey with definite obstacles” (Vardell 2007). Her skills at weaving tales enable her to do so in a manner which is both humorous and compelling. As you read each of the remaining stories, you cannot wait to find out what happens to the trickster featured - Does he come out all right in the end, or does he pay for his misdeeds? Unlike the majority of folk tales, the reader is never quite sure what will happen to the main characters in Porch Lies, and this adds to the stories’ charm.

In addition to entertaining her readers, McKissack provides them with an insight into the lives of African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the humorous tale of Aunt Gran, there is reference to the obstacles faced by African Americans after the Civil War. The towns people of Webb Hollow are dealing with the Knights, “the worst gang of hate-filled Confederates ever there was” (page 38). Readers learn that the Knights are destroying the property of the black residents and trying to “scare (them) into giving up” (page 39). The prejudices that some African Americans face are depicted in “The Devil’s Guitar”. Sonny tells how the band members were stopped by a sheriff who accused them of stealing their instruments. They had to prove to him that the instruments were theirs by playing for him. Although this story is relayed as a humorous anecdote, it underlies a serious issue with which many African Americans have had to deal. Without preaching, McKissack provides brief glimpses of the tribulations faced by African Americans and makes readers aware of issues that have often been ignored.

Normally, storytellers do not provide pictures when spinning a tale. They allow their audience to create their own vision of the story based on what they hear. In Porch Lies, a single illustration accompanies each story. Andre Carrilho’s black and white illustrations reflect the mood of the stories, depicting the various characters at key moments. His use of black and white drawings, which combine cartoon drawing and caricatures, creates images which are exaggerated and, in some cases, distorted. Thus, reminding the reader that these stories are tales and not truths. For instance, in “When Pete Bruce Came to Town”, Carrilho includes a picture which portrays Pete as a snake-like and someone not to be trusted. This reinforces what the reader learns in the story as Pete tricks Miss June in to giving him the entire pie. Also, in “A Grave Situation”, the drawing of Link Murphy digging up the grave of Mis Crickett has the feel of a cartoon with the simple, elongated figure digging the grave, but Carrilho has captured the character’s horror at the task he is determined to accomplish. This allows the reader to share in the horror, but, at the same time, to realize that it cannot happen in real life. Together, the various “porch lies” and the illustrations draw us in to the world of storytelling and lead us to seek tales from those around us.


Review Excerpts:

School Library Journal - “These 10 literate stories make for great leisure listening and knowing chuckles. They’re great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators and at us foolish humans”.

Booklist (May 2006) - “Like McKissack's award-winning The Dark Thirty (1992), the nine original tales in this uproarious collection draw on African American oral tradition and blend history and legend with sly humor, creepy horror, villainous characters, and wild farce. Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves. Great for sharing, on the porch and in the classroom.”

Winner of ALA Notable Children’s Book, 2007


Connections:

Invite a storyteller to share tales with the children.

After the storyteller’s visit, talk about the differences and the similarities between the storyteller’s tales and the tales in Porch Lies. What does the storyteller do to draw the audience in to the tale? How is this the same or different from what an author does when writing a book?

Hold a “biggest lie” contest in the classroom or library and have children tell some tales of their own.

Read Brer Rabbit: From the Collected Stories of Joel Chandler Harris by David Borgenicht (ISBN 1561385832). Discuss the Brer Rabbit stories and have children act out the various tales.

Other books on African-American folktales:

McKissack, Patricia C. THE DARK THIRTY: SOUTHERN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL. ISBN 0679818634

Young, Richard. AFRICAN-AMERICAN FOLKTALES. ISBN 0874833094


Sources:

Vardell, Sylvia. 2007. Traditional literature: Criteria and awards. http://twu.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_590711_1 (accessed September 21, 2007).