Hold Autumn In Your Hand
by George Sessions Perry
Award: National Book 1941
Date Read: May 23, 2019
From the moment I began reading, this novel reminded me of The Grapes Of Wrath, with that endless desperation to put food on the table for your family. This poor family doesn't seem to be really living but simply existing, at least until they get to Ruston's property by the river.
Hold Autumn In Your Hand depicts a life of struggle and poverty and the creative ways employed to stave off hunger and want. For as poor as the Tucker family is, they support each other and work as a team (well, excluding Granny) and Sam is relentless in his efforts to provide for his family - hunting, fishing, honey gathering. He is a man of endless resource, even able to sew a coat for his daughter out of an old blanket.
The title of this novel refers to the Tucker family's efforts to escape the vitamin deprivation of the spring by canning a garden. Time and again, those efforts are thwarted, although the family does prevail in the end. I can't remember ever reading a novel from so long ago that discusses the health benefits of vegetables.
For all the injustices waged against the poor, I rooted for the Tucker family throughout these pages and was lifted by their successes and devastated by their losses. Perry is a gifted storyteller and can describe in painful detail the weariness of work and the insurmountable daily tasks of plowing, planting, growing and hunting. As a city-dweller, this novel made me truly appreciate the comforts of a modern home.
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