Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry: 01/01/18

Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry by Susan Vaught is set in Oxford, Mississippi. Dani's Grandmother lives at home with them because she is in the later stages of Alzheimer's. Before the illness she was an author and historian and got into a renowned literary feud with another local author. Now Dani has decided to track down the truth behind the feud.

What transpires is a mixture of what it's like to live with a relative who no longer remembers their family or themselves even, and the handwritten history — primarily letters written to Dani by her grandmother.

Through the grandmother's letters the history of Oxford from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Era is outlined with remarkably few punches pulled given that this is a middle grade book. The history is messy, honest, and full of the on-going racism and the fight against it.

The book ends with an afterword explaining the genesis of the novel. The grandmother's dementia is a framing story to give space for these letters and the history. Vaught is distressed over how much of the history is glossed over when its taught to children.

Three stars

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