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Velva Jean Sings: Novel is rich with mountain life
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Published: November 8, 2009
VELVA JEAN LEARNS TO DRIVE. By Jennifer Niven. Plume. 416 pages. $15 (paper).
Velva Jean Learns to Drive is written by Jennifer Niven, an award-winning author and the daughter of Penelope Niven, a noted biographer who lives in Winston-Salem. The construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mid-1930s is the backdrop of this heartwarming novel. It also is the perfect metaphor for the eight years chronicled of Velva Jean Hart's life. Despite the townsfolk being unhappy about the changes this road will bring, Velva Jean's grandfather, Daddy Hoyt, reminds her that the road is not just coming in, but "it's an outgoing road too."
The novel begins when Velva Jean is saved at age 10 at the Three Gum Revival and Camp Meeting. Just as a road winds and bends, she questions her faith when her mother dies and her father disappears. Throughout the next four years, she challenges her caretaker and older sister, Sweet Fern, by running wild with her brother, Johnny Clay. They are nearly sent to jail, they run away from home, and they barely escape being eaten by a panther.
At 16, Velva Jean falls for handsome Harley Bright, whom she once knew as the moonshiner's son. After marrying Harley, or "the Hurricane Preacher," she again questions her religion and what she wants in life. She must survive the trials of Appalachia including a train wreck, which injures Harley and brings crisis to the community.
When Velva Jean is given a yellow truck, she teaches herself to drive. She pursues driving only after she reads Emily Post's By Motor to the Golden Gate and two driving manuals. As Velva Jean has her first driving adventures, we remember her dying mother urging her to "live out there in the great wide world." Seeing Velva Jean's attempts to "brake, clutch, gas, shift, [and] steer," we know this is her first step.
Velva Jean's dream is to become a famous Nashville singer: First, at the age of 12 when she wins the Gold Queen crown at the Alluvial Fair, and later, when she secretly meets with Butch Dawkins, a musician and worker on the new scenic highway, who helps her write down music to accompany her words. She even sneaks away to make her own record.
Jennifer Niven begins each section with a stanza from a song. When we read the words, we long to hear the song's melody featuring Velva Jean's beautiful voice.
Velva Jean's life twists and turns and changes focus. Her friend, the reclusive Wood Carver, says that nature is expected "to curve and have bumps." He says life is like that too and she learns there are many ways to get somewhere that aren't necessarily straight paths.
That is what this novel is about: the ebb and flow of life and the choices made. It is a joy to read -- for its unique characters, for the lessons it teaches, for the life and folklore of the North Carolina mountains, and for the music and hope it offers. As with the variety of musical notes Velva Jean plays on her mandolin, she achieves her dreams in many ways. Sometimes a repetition is necessary; other times, she moves forward with a new rhythm -- a new song.
Ginger Hendricks is a freelance writer in Winston-Salem.
Jennifer Niven will give four readings in North Carolina: Nov. 14 at the Great Smoky Mountain Book Fair in Sylva and at Malaprop's Bookstore and Café in Asheville at 7 p.m.; Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at Salem College in Winston-Salem, and Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. at the Literary Bookpost in Salisbury. At Salem College, she will speak about her novel, her three nonfiction books and her work on a new TV pilot for Warner Brothers. For more information on this free program, visit www.salem.edu or call 336-917-5313.
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