The Watsons go to Birmingham (1995) by Christopher Paul

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

The Watsons Go To Birmingham (1995)

by Christopher Paul

Birmingham, Alabama

Alabama: 11/18

   Arguably not a book about Birmingham since most of the book takes place in Detroit before the Watsons Go To Birmingham (right before the church bombing). This is a children's book, not a YA title, so it is pretty straightforward.  The Watsons does have a road trip, which, I think because of the map-based categorization of the titles, are sorely lacking in the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America.  The most interesting portion of this title was, in fact, the drive itself.

    Just the fact that this family hops in a car and drives somewhere not in their neighborhood puts them in a rare subgroup of this project.  It's like, for most of the characters in these books, the idea that one might just leave the terrible place where they happen to have been born is unfathomable.  I mean, I'm talking about hundreds of books at this point.  And this observation has nothing to do with this title in particular but it's crazy how none of these books have characters who in any way, shape, or form transcend their surroundings or low beginnings.  Stasis and regression is the rule of thumb in the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America project, and not just for the South, although that weight is heavy in Alabama.