Lookaway, Lookaway

A Novel

By: Wilton Barnhardt

Narrated by: Scott Shepherd

Jerene Jarvis Johnston and her husband, Duke, are exemplars of Charlotte, North Carolina’s high society, a world where old Southern money and the secrets behind it meet the new wealth of bankers, real estate speculators, and carpetbagging social climbers. Steely and implacable, Jerene presides over her family’s legacy of paintings at the Mint Museum; Duke, the one-time college golden boy and descendant of a Confederate general, whose promising political career was mysteriously short-circuited, has settled into a comfortable semi-senescence as a Civil War reenactor. Jerene’s brother Gaston is an infamously dissolute best-selling historical novelist who has never managed to begin his long-dreamed-of masterpiece. And their sister Dillard’s unfortunate life decisions and losses have rendered her a near-recluse.

As the four Johnston children - smart but reckless Annie, good-boy minister Bo, might-be-gay-but-that’s-okay Joshua, and damaged and dangerous Jerilyn - flounder in their adult lives, Jerene must take action to preserve the family's legacy, Duke’s fragile honor, and what's left of the dwindling family fortune. She will stop at nothing to keep what she has - is it too much to ask for one ounce of cooperation from her heedless family?

In Lookaway, Lookaway, Wilton Barnhardt has written a full-bore, headlong, hilarious narrative of a family coming apart, a society changing beyond recognition, and an unforgettable woman striving to pull it all together.

Includes a bonus interview between Wilton Barnhardt and George Witte, editor in chief of St. Martin's Press.

©2013 Wilton Barnhardt (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Move over, Tom Wolfe! Writing with brilliance and brio, Barnhardt has penned a hilarious satire which often has surprising depth and hits way too close to the truth." (Lee Smith)

Incredible!

One of the best books ever. If you are from the South and from a certain type of Southern family, you will love and totally “get” this book. At times it is hard to tell if the author is just telling the story or being supremely satirical, but many a truth is told in jest- and it all rings true to this Carolinian reader! Some of the best dialogue I have ever read. Each character is wickedly delicious. This story and its characters will last in your memory in the same way that the monogrammed sterling silver flatware lasts through the generations of a good Southern family. The chapter in which Jerene takes on the surgeon father of the rapacious frat boy from UNC is a perfect example of how every mother should conduct themselves when their precious daughter has been taken advantage of. And If you have ever been a reluctant debutante, as I have, then you are in for a treat when you read about the liberal and recalcitrant Annie- Winston Barrnhart got all of it completely pitch perfect. The South indeed is another country and culture all together.

Get to know this family

What did you love best about Lookaway, Lookaway?

Loved the way this book tells the story through a different character's eyes every couple of chapters. By the end of the book, you will know this family well enough to get all the inside jokes. It takes a while to get started (I didn't like the first few chapters) but once you become familiar with the family, it is a funny story.

Old Charlotte

Ok read if you're a native of Charlotte. It's always cool to hear a story about your hometown. Abrupt ending was disappointing.

Story of Two Southern Families Told Over Time

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, I would recommend but you need to know going in that there are parts that are so boring that you'll skip way ahead and not miss a thing! It just drones on and on at times.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was a let down. After putting all of that time in and getting to know these characters, I expected and hoped for better for a some of them.

Have you listened to any of Scott Shepherd’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've not listened to any of Scott's other performances but I absolutely love him! He was the best part of this listening experience.

Do you think Lookaway, Lookaway needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think it needed a better ending but not a follow up. The book followed the family through many years, so I don't think there would be enough storyline for a follow up...

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book a lot at times but it started slow. Then it would pick up steam and bog down again. I loved some of the characters and didn't like some so much. Jerene Johnston was the epitome of "old money southern country club type". I loved her. I grew up with women like her. You could throw anything at her and she stayed calm, cool and collected. I am from MS and my mother is a Johnston, so I found it extra quirky and could relate to the southern "eccentricities". It's nothing that's going rock your world or get you too excited. It's just the story of two southern families as they grow and intertwine through a few decades.

I must admit to skipping some parts.

This author has great insight into people. I am from a generation which finds some of the content objectionable. Having said that, the contribution of the characters to the overall story was important and the writing was such that it wasn't necessary to delve deeply into all of the details of each character to follow the impact of each on the story. The narration was outstanding. I will certainly look for additional offerings by both the author and the narrator.

Look this way

I liked this book, but I didn't really get interested until I had listened for a few hours. If you like books that somewhat expose the "crazies" that exist in the South, you'd like it. Recommend.

Great book, best narrator ever

This book is so big and luscious...wonderful characters, including the South itself. Fabulous narration...not only does Scott Shepherd embody the character's voices perfectly, his little humorous inflections while reading descriptive passages drench them with color. You find yourself nodding in agreement...

Sad when it ended

Southern Characters, fo' sure!

I really enjoyed Lookaway, Lookaway. I should put in the caveat that I am from NC, so it was fun hearing about so many places familiar to me. That aside, Barnhardt does a great job with character development and tells the story through an interesting method. For the first few hours, I thought it was going to be all sorority and debutante fluff, but then the novel took a sharp left turn and never looked back. The matriach, Jerene Jarvis Johnson, is incredibly well drawn. Hats off to Barnhardt for his clever story line that always kept me surprised.

GONE W/THE WIND 21ST CENTURY

I really liked this book. It started oddly with a college scenario that was all about 19 year olds; then the uncle, sister, mother, father, brothers, grandmother & aunt of the co-ed were introduced. The story layered and layered as each of the characters' lives unfolded and none of them were as they seemed or wanted to be seen.

???

This is not going to be a helpful review because honestly, I'm still not sure how I feel about this story. Some parts were boring, some parts were interesting. I liked some of the characters, hated others. The ending was not great, but the reader was good and I loved the book cover...

Probably would not recommend unless you are interested in the history of the South.