Walking Across Egypt

by Clyde Edgerton

Overview

"An unpretentious, finely-crafted novel that will linger with the readers like the last strains of a favorite hymn. It is more enjoyable than a pitcher full of sweet tea and one of Mattie's home-cooked dinners."--The Atlanta Journal & Constitution

She had as much business keeping a stray dog as she had walking across Egypt--which not so incidentally is the title of her favorite hymn. She's Mattie Rigsbee, an independent, strong-minded senior citizen, who at 78, might be slowing down just a bit. When young, delinquent Wesley Benfield drops in on her life, he is even less likely a companion than the stray dog. But, of course, the dog never tasted her mouth-watering pound cake....Wise witty, down-home and real, Walking Across Egypt is a book for everyone.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565129054
Publisher:	Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Publication date:	01/03/1987
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	250
Sales rank:	238,544
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Clyde Edgerton is the author of eight novels, five of which have been New York Times Notables. He is a professor of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and performs with his band, Rank Strangers. Author Web site—www.clydeedgerton.com.

Reading Group Guide

1. Is religion treated positively in this novel? Negatively?
Neither? Both? How?

2. Does the novel seem to end too soon? Why or who not?

3. What is your opinion of the manner in which Mattie Rigsbee,
standing before several “ghosts,” makes her decision to take in Wesley Benfield.

4. Do you know people who remind you of Mattie Rigsbee?
If so, what are their shared characteristics?

5. The novel is over one-third finished when one of the main characters, Wesley Benfield, is introduced. Does this delayed entry seem to detract from or enhance the plot structure, and how?

6. How would you interpret, psychologically, Mattie’s need to feed people?

7. Do you think Mattie did a good job raising her children?
Why?

8. How would you describe Mattie’s relationship with her church?

9. At one point in the story, Mattie speaks of marrying Wesley.
Is this her idea of a joke? A sign of senility or stroke? All of the above? Neither?

10. Would this book be appropriate for high school readers?
Why?

11. In two sentences say what you think this book is about.

12. What are issues in this book that divide and will continue to divide generations in the foreseeable future?

13. How does food play a part in your upbringing?

Editorial Reviews

''Walking Across Egypt'' (the title is from a hymn) lacks the coherent form of the first book and struggles at the start against the author's penchant for picturesque farce. -- New York Times

Kathryn Morton

This second novel by the author of Raney is warm and comforting, like a visit to Grandma's. Mattie Rigsbee, at 78, is slowing down. She plans her funeral so as not to be a burden; she supports the local Baptist church and entertains herself with hymns at the parlor piano; she tries not to meddle in her children's lives, though she does wish they'd marry; she longs for grandchildren. Then comes Wesley. Reared in an orphanage until he graduated to the reformatory, Wesley touches her heart, revives a life gone to seed. Just as he needs a grandmother's love and stability, so Mattie needs his challenge, dependence, and love. How she reconciles that need before family, neighbors, and church congregation is a beautiful story of determination, made more poignant by a Southern small-town setting. BOMC alternate. Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Library Journal

YA A quietly humorous story set in a small town in North Carolina. Seventy-eight year old Mattie Riggsbee, spunky and determined, has one regret: she has no grandchildren, as her son and daughter inconveniently remain unmarried. The story gathers momentum after a slightly sluggish start, when Wesley Benfield, wayward teenager and orphan, comes into Mattie's life. Their need for each other is apparent, and their attempts to get together, despite the disapproval of Mattie's family and neighbors, are the focus of the story. Wesley is captivated by Mattie's good cooking and grandmotherly attention, and when he escapes from a house of detention, he heads straight to Mattie. There is a hilarious scene in church, where the fleeing Wesley and the pursuing deputy sheriff, both disguised as choir members, sit beside each other in full view of the congregation. Edgerton infuses all of his characters with reality, and provides a balanced perspective on age and youth. His understanding of teenagers is nowhere more evident than in the contrast between the reality of Wesley's situation and the humor of his exaggerated fantasies. Rita G. Keeler, St. John's School, Houston

School Library Journal

Reading this book is like sitting down to a big round table full of the best food you ever put in your mouth; you can’t quit eating for a minute, this is just so good.”
–LEE SMITH, bestselling author of The Last Girls

“An unpretentious, finely crafted novel that will linger with the readers like the last strains of a favorite hymn. It is more enjoyable than a pitcher full of sweet tea and one of Mattie’s home-cooked dinners.”
–The Atlanta Journal

“Genuinely funny, often poignant . . . Edgerton has captured the habits and manners of a small Southern community with loving precision.”
–Greensboro News & Record

“[A] totally delicious bit-of-a-book . . . Reads faster than you’ll want it to, and ends far earlier.”
–The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A winner, a homespun romp that I suspect Mark Twain would have loved.”
–The Columbia State

From the Publisher