When Henry McAllan moves his city-bred wife, Laura, to a cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta in 1946, she finds herself in a place both foreign and frightening. Henry’s love of rural life is not shared by Laura, who struggles to raise their two young children in an isolated shotgun shack under the eye of her hateful, racist father-in-law. When it rains, the waters rise up and swallow the bridge to town, stranding the family in a sea of mud.
As the Second World War shudders to an end, two young men return from Europe to help work the farm. Jamie McAllan is everything his older brother Henry is not and is sensitive to Laura’s plight, but also haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the farm, comes home from war with the shine of a hero, only to face far more dangerous battles against the ingrained bigotry of his own countrymen. These two unlikely friends become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale.
Group Reviews:
A – I thought this was an excellent read, well written and absorbing. Whilst the themes of racism and inequality are endlessly written about I felt that, the two main characters experiences in WW2 gave this novel a different perspective. Although they had been changed by their experience they found that entrenched attitudes at home had not changed which ultimately led to tragedy. Very thought provoking. I would also recommend the Film of this book. (Netflix)
L – This was an easy read, short chapters and interesting characters. I don’t think some parts of America have changed that much and still have the same views on racism
