Style and Vocabulary in The Long Home

This book is a sweeping story of the South during World War II. The use of language in this book is truly stunning and we are exploring it today.

In The Long Home by William Gay, the author chooses the elite language to describe a decidedly rural environment in the 1940s South. The style of literature alongside the rural environment and the country-style dialogue creates a unique if difficult reading experience. 

One of the things that stands out in this book is the language used. It is not often you see clouds described as “ovoid.” The contrast this creates in the reading experience between the story and the reader using this language is somewhat discordant. The reader expects the language to match the simple, uneducated vocabulary of the people in the story, which is evident in the dialogue. Still, in the narrative and description, this is simply not the case. The author uses a variety of unique words to fill the description. At one point, he describes the changing nature of the land due to flooding as a “curious occult change” (pg. 33). 

His use of language is rich such as when he describes the natural scene in the book, “Sumac fronds hung wilted and benumbed as the whores and smell socks rose bedewed from the foxglove and nightshade.” (pg. 47) Contrast that writing too, “He shot and killed old Lester Sealy just as sure I’m setting’ here…” (pg. 46). This contrast creates a sort of literary surrealism of scene. 

The style is slightly discordant because the narration uses such rich language, and the dialogue is typical of the people in Tennessee. The whole story is rough and tumble, but the language used to tell it is decidedly not that way. He also is a bit lose with grammar rules. Passages will often begin with short phrases rather than full sentences. For example, one new section on page 55 begins with “Morning,” not a complete sentence. This happens throughout the book and is distracting.  The style paints a compelling picture, but it is like walking in two different worlds. There’s the language of the pool hall contrasted with the erudite language of the descriptions and narration. The literary language does not line up with what the reader might expect. 

The style of the book creates this sort of high-brow feeling that is set against the rough-and-tumble, rural environment of the story. It seems so odd at times that I often felt like less elite language should have been used to tell the story. This might be because often these stories are written in a sort of oral history tradition. This book is decidedly not in that strain of writing about the South. Taken together, the style becomes a barrier to the story. 

The effect on the vocabulary used and the style on the reader is that it feels like the reader must switch between different brains. One brain to comprehend the rich, linguistic texture of the descriptions and narration, and quite another brain to construct the Long Home world and understand the dialogue and character dynamics. These are not sophisticated people, and this is not a sophisticated story, but the style and language seem like they should be. In my mind, this does not work as a literary style. It is difficult to read and is often unexpected. I would have removed some of the more difficult words to send many readers to the dictionary and use simpler language. 

This book reminded me not to get too invested in using excessively evocative language that doesn’t match the story. He uses great words, but they just don’t match the story. As someone who likes to use the “perfect” word to describe something, it is important to bear in mind the reader’s experience. Does the style match up with the story? Do the words used help tell the story and make it easy for the reader to experience the story? Style should not be a barrier, and in The Long Home, it is a barrier and creates a surreal experience that I just did not enjoy, and I don’t think works very well considering the story that William Gay was telling. The story is interesting and compelling, but it is hard to experience given the mismatched language involved.