Sins of the Seventh Sister
Summary (from the publisher): How many times have you thought, “this has got to be true—no one could make this up?” Well, in 1929, Huston Curtiss was seven years old, living with his beautiful, opinionated mother (whose image is on the cover of this book), and surrounded by their romantic, fiercely independent, and often certifiably insane relatives. Huston has never before written about that time—an era of racism and repression, a time when this country was still relatively young, an age of quirky individualism and almost frontier-style freedom that largely has ceased to exist. Fearful he would not be believed, on one hand, but desirous of the freedom to embellish, on the other, Curtiss chronicles that time in Sins of the Seventh Sister, a book he characterizes as “a novel based on a true story of the gothic South.”
It is his story and the story of the people of Elkins, West Virginia, a small town whose inhabitants included his mother, Billy-Pearl Curtiss, and her many sisters—all stunning blondes. Billy-Pearl would prove to be an irresistibly romantic figure in her son’s life. She was the seventh of eleven children, all girls to her father’s consternation. By the time of her arrival, her father felt he had been patient enough and insisted on calling her Billy; he taught her everything he had intended to impart to his firstborn son. She would grow up to be one of the most beautiful women in the county, but also one of the most opinionated and liberal. Her aim was so precise that she was barred from the local turkey shoot because none of the men had a chance against her. When a Klansman accused her of attempted homicide after she shot him through the shoulder to stop him from setting fire to the home of her black neighbors, she told the sheriff, “If I had meant to kill him, he’d be dead.” And with that defense, she was exonerated.
Curtiss Farm was large and the house had many rooms, which Billy-Pearl got in the habit of gathering people to fill, especially the downtrodden who had nowhere to go. In May 1929, Billy-Pearl brought home a boy from the local orphanage. Stanley was sixteen, the age at which the orphanage kicked children out, and Billy-Pearl, knowing his sad history, could not allow him to end up on the streets. Stanley had witnessed his father beat his mother to death in a drunken rage and had taken a straight razor and slit his father’s throat while he slept. A country judge had the boy castrated to control his aggressive ways. Not a boy, but not yet a man, Stanley was tall, willowy, and frightened as a colt upon his arrival at Curtiss Farm—not at all the playmate for whom Huston had hoped. But quickly a friendship developed between the two that would last a lifetime—a friendship that would survive murder, suicide, madness, and Stanley’s eventual transformation into Stella, a singer who would live her adult life as a glamorous woman.
Review: Summarized by the author as a novel based on the true story of his life, this book follows Huston Curtiss, who is a seven year old living in Elkins, West Virginia in 1929. His father is a philandering drunk and his mother is the beautiful, opinionated seventh daughter of eleven total girls. Frustrated by the racial and cultural limitations of her time, Hughie's mother Billy-Pearl sets to right what wrongs she can and care for those that society has abandoned including a black family persecuted by the Klan, an elderly schoolteacher facing the poorhouse, and a teenager named Stanley who is facing eviction from the orphanage. In particular, Hughie forms a bond with Stanley, who will eventually go on to become a glamorous singer known as Stella.
It is his story and the story of the people of Elkins, West Virginia, a small town whose inhabitants included his mother, Billy-Pearl Curtiss, and her many sisters—all stunning blondes. Billy-Pearl would prove to be an irresistibly romantic figure in her son’s life. She was the seventh of eleven children, all girls to her father’s consternation. By the time of her arrival, her father felt he had been patient enough and insisted on calling her Billy; he taught her everything he had intended to impart to his firstborn son. She would grow up to be one of the most beautiful women in the county, but also one of the most opinionated and liberal. Her aim was so precise that she was barred from the local turkey shoot because none of the men had a chance against her. When a Klansman accused her of attempted homicide after she shot him through the shoulder to stop him from setting fire to the home of her black neighbors, she told the sheriff, “If I had meant to kill him, he’d be dead.” And with that defense, she was exonerated.
Curtiss Farm was large and the house had many rooms, which Billy-Pearl got in the habit of gathering people to fill, especially the downtrodden who had nowhere to go. In May 1929, Billy-Pearl brought home a boy from the local orphanage. Stanley was sixteen, the age at which the orphanage kicked children out, and Billy-Pearl, knowing his sad history, could not allow him to end up on the streets. Stanley had witnessed his father beat his mother to death in a drunken rage and had taken a straight razor and slit his father’s throat while he slept. A country judge had the boy castrated to control his aggressive ways. Not a boy, but not yet a man, Stanley was tall, willowy, and frightened as a colt upon his arrival at Curtiss Farm—not at all the playmate for whom Huston had hoped. But quickly a friendship developed between the two that would last a lifetime—a friendship that would survive murder, suicide, madness, and Stanley’s eventual transformation into Stella, a singer who would live her adult life as a glamorous woman.
Review: Summarized by the author as a novel based on the true story of his life, this book follows Huston Curtiss, who is a seven year old living in Elkins, West Virginia in 1929. His father is a philandering drunk and his mother is the beautiful, opinionated seventh daughter of eleven total girls. Frustrated by the racial and cultural limitations of her time, Hughie's mother Billy-Pearl sets to right what wrongs she can and care for those that society has abandoned including a black family persecuted by the Klan, an elderly schoolteacher facing the poorhouse, and a teenager named Stanley who is facing eviction from the orphanage. In particular, Hughie forms a bond with Stanley, who will eventually go on to become a glamorous singer known as Stella.
Many things about this novel seemed far fetched. I lost track of the number of people who die in its pages, many through violent means. It seemed as if a character died every few pages. I found it hard to believe that Billy-Pearl would be able to get away with participating in so many murders, even if she was morally justified in killing Klan members. The body count was particularly shocking considering the fact that the narrator was a young child. Little concern seems to be given to the fact that Hughie frequently witnesses murders and gruesome dead bodies. When his mother expresses concern on the first killing Hughie witnesses, their house servant dismisses her worry, saying, "This ain't no ordinary seven-year-old child" (61). This failed to seem like sufficient justification for me.
In addition, many of the details seemed difficult to believe. Many of the characters in this book are eccentric, participating in incestuous relationships, political intrigue, and murderous schemes. In many ways, aspects of the book felt fantastical. For instance, three Dutch ladies come to live with Billy-Pearl and Hughie and miraculously clothe and feed all of its many inhabitants. They craft a beautiful evening gown for Billy-Pearl, down to dying her shoes to match. Rather than wicked stepsisters, Billy-Pearl declares them the "sweetest stepsisters a girl ever had" (224). Similarly, Stanley undergoes a magical, Cinderella-like transformation, "Here was a boy who last year was living in a miserable orphanage where they made him fire the furnace instead of going to school and then threatened to throw him out on the street. And now here he was, a new name, a new life, and off to spend a week in a sixty-room mansion with the richest girl in the world" (238).
In the note that prefaces the novel, as well as the novel's summary, special emphasis is given to the relationship between Stanley and Hughie. While Hughie does claim to be attached to Stanley, in many ways he seems to be a very marginal character throughout the bulk of the book. Likewise, although this novel is named for Hughie's mother, who does feature prominently throughout the book, this is Hughie's story at heart and not that of either Billy-Pearl or Stanley. Hughie observes Billy-Pearl and Stanley, but seems emotionally disconnected from them when it comes to their own feelings or desires.
Although I admired Billy-Pearl's outspoken declaration of her beliefs and her efforts to help the poor, minorities, and other victimized individuals, I didn't particularly care for Hughie as a narrator or the many violent ends within this book.
Stars: 2
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