Where the Lilies Bloom by Bill Cleaver

First published: 1969

Type of work: Domestic realism

Themes: Family, gender roles, death, nature, and poverty

Time of work: The mid-twentieth century

Recommended Ages: 10-13

Locale: Trial Valley in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina

Principal Characters:

• Roy Luther, a mountain “wildcrafter” who is terminally ill and ultimately dies, leaving his four children orphaned
• Mary Call Luther, a fourteen-year-old who assumes the role of head of the family upon her father’s death
• Devola Luther, her seventeen-year-old “cloudy-headed” sister
• Romey Luther, her ten-year-old brother
• Ima Dean, the youngest Luther child
• Kiser Pease, the Luthers’ landlord, who wants to marry Devola

The Story

Fourteen-year-old Mary Call Luther tells the story of the proud, impoverished Luther family, who eke out an existence on land owned by their neighbor, Kiser Pease. Roy Luther has exacted promises from Mary Call while on his deathbed: that he will be buried in the grave he dug himself high up in the Smokey Mountains; that the family will stay together and take pride in the Luther name; that they will never accept charity; and that pretty, dreamy Devola will not marry the villainous Kiser Pease. Though it angers her that Roy Luther has allowed himself to be beaten down by the inhospitable land, a greedy landlord, and poverty, Mary Call intends to carry out her promises.

After their father’s death, she and ten-year-old Romey pull his body in a wagon up to the burial place. Keeping his death a secret from nosy neighbors who would have the children sent to the county charity home becomes a difficult and sometimes hilarious challenge. No less challenging is keeping the family in food and clothing. It takes hard labor and some browbeating by the indomitable Mary Call for the children to supplement their meager income by “wildcrafting,” the gathering of medicinal herbs from the mountainsides. It is dreary work to the rebellious Romey, in spite of the breathtaking beauty of their surroundings. As for Kiser Pease, his relationship with the Luthers becomes much more complex than Mary Call had imagined when she made her promise to Roy Luther.

When Mary Call and Romey discover Kiser Pease deathly ill of pneumonia, they use the folk medicine onion cure, and in exchange for saving his life, Mary Call persuades him to sign the house and land they live on over to the Luthers. That strategy works only until Pease’s sister reveals that the land they live on belongs to her, not to her brother. At one point, Mary Call even proposes to Kiser Pease herself. After all, she had promised her father only that she would not allow Kiser to marry Devola; she did not promise that she would not marry him herself. If the family could somehow be provided for, they would not have to spend their days in the mountains wildcrafting; best of all, she could concentrate on what she wants so much: an education to “correct her ignorance,” as she puts it.

When the parlor roof caves in from snow and a hungry fox peers in at their only chicken, Mary Call is almost ready to give up. Eventually, however, she realizes that positive changes are taking place. Devola is no longer the dreamy, childlike person that she had been when her father was alive. Closer contacts with Kiser Pease reveal that he is not the villain Mary Call had thought him to be. Thus, when spring comes and the valley is reborn in beauty, a new life begins for the Luthers. Devola and Kiser are married, and the rest of the Luthers have their own home as well as land. Mary Call and Romey can pursue their school studies and their various money-making projects with new energy and zest. Perseverance and courage have conquered a hostile environment, and Mary Call can look out in peace at what a traveler once called “the fair land.”

Context

Vera and Bill Cleaver’s books deal with reality that is often grim, whether it is the suicide of the mother and the alienation of the father in Grover (1970), the social ills depicted in The Mimosa Tree (1970), or the impact of mental retardation on family members in Me Too (1973). There is often sadness and poignancy, but the books are not somber. One critic commented on the Cleavers’ “whole-grain” characters and their absorbing imagery. The struggles of the characters with themselves and their environment are handled not only with dignity and depth but often with wry humor as well.

Where the Lilies Bloom is perhaps the Cleavers’ most successful book in its demonstration of the qualities of good fiction. Such qualities were identified by Bill Cleaver himself when he commented on the importance of holding incident and characters together and of seeking answers to questions of what, why, where are we going, and what is on the other side. It is this combination of incident, characters, and answer-seeking that is likely to engage and inspire juvenile readers.

The authors have created a setting that leads to an understanding and respect for Appalachia and its people. Romey and Ima Dean complain about the arduous task of gathering pollen for medicinal purposes while wildcrafting, but they also notice the fragrant air and majestic mountain peaks. Still, there are wild animals, rattlesnakes, and bottomless chasms, and the promise of a harsh winter when all lies dormant. The love-hate relationships that develop within families and among neighbors are mirrored here in the relationship between people and the setting in which they find themselves.

The credibility of the story, however, lies in the penetrating characterization of Mary Call. Her courage and determination in dealing with death, poverty, and an unforgiving environment make for something more than a realistic “problems” novel. One critic compared her with Mattie Ross of Charles Portis’ True Grit (1968), suggesting that the courage of the frontier did not disappear with the pioneers. Yet the other Luthers grow, too. Romey becomes increasingly assertive, often in response to a demanding, impatient Mary Call. Devola, outwardly sweet and pliable, quietly asserts her independence; she intends to marry Kiser Pease and finds ways to be with him. Moreover, while the resolution of the family’s problems might seem a bit pat, within the context of setting, story, and characters it is entirely believable and memorable.