The Talk-Funny Girl

May 16, 2011
Merullo's (Breakfast with Buddha) coming-of-age story is told from afar by Marjorie Richards, now a married mother of two, but 20-some years ago a poor girl with an awkward dialect stuck in rural New Hampshire with abusive parents. On the eve of her 17th birthday, Margie's dad tells her to find "full-pay work" and she gets a job helping Sands Ivers build a cathedral from the ruins of a burned church. It's a lucky break, as Sands's recovery from past trauma shows Margie how to shed her damaged adolescent shell in favor of a young woman's self-assuranceâif she doesn't end up murdered, that is, as a sadistic killer is rounding up and murdering young girls in the area. The adult Margie's desire to relive this year is fueled by her need to break the chain of abuse. She evaluates the psychology that kept her a victim to her parents' sadism, but that sadism, which is over the top, and Margie's emotional remove make it hard to empathize. The kidnap-and-murder plot Merullo adds keeps the pages turning, but it resolves with a conclusion that, though twisted, seems to involve almost everyone Margie knows, putting a further strain on the reader's belief.

June 1, 2011
In the searing tradition of Bastard out of Carolina (1992) and Ellen Foster (1998), the prolific Merullo's latest novel homes in on the suffering of a backwoods New Hampshire girl. Marjorie Richards' parents are so isolated from mainstream society that they speak in their own dialect, which has made Marjorie the victim of bullies at school who call her the talk-funny girl. In addition, her family is under the sway of a sadistic cult leader who believes in abusive forms of discipline. Luckily, Marjorie's loving aunt lands her a job with a stonemason, himself a victim of abuse, who is intent on building a cathedral right in the middle of town. As Marjorie learns a new and valuable skill under the tutelage of a gentle man, she begins to recognize both her own self-worth and the twisted dynamics of her family life. Merullo not only displays an inventive use of language in creating the Richards' strange dialect but also delivers a triumphant story of one lonely girl's resilience in the face of horrific treatment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)