by Anura Guruge
on May 6, 2022
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The title (though provocative (in its way)) is misleading & does NOT do justice to this remarkable debut novel. But, then again ‘Mockingbird‘ was Harper Lee’s first too. Yes, this story treads some of the same themes when it comes to racism in the South — & even has a recluse, a murder & sibling rivalries (though there is, alas, no courtroom drama). The story with its intriguing twists & turns is told deftly & elegantly (with one amusing literary device at the end of each chapter).
Yes, I do believe that this book, along with ‘The Pecan Man‘ are worthy of being considered ‘Mockingbird’ reduxes — & coming from me that is high-praise since I am a Harper Lee devotee.
Andrea Bobotis, is an extremely gifted writer — & from what I can see she is quite famous (as she deserves to be). Bravo.
Given her background I am sure she did not get her historic facts wrong or mangle them at will to suit her story line. The main events of this book are set in the 1970s in South Carolina. Given that, I was surprised (possibly even mildly shocked) to see the amount of overt licentiousness that is described — with rampant infidelity & even teen pregnancies among 14 year olds. While we all know of the amount of affairs that took place between white males & black females, I did NOT realize that affairs between black men & married white women were that common place. The amount of carrying ons in that town in the 1920s would put 1970s Britain to shame.
And, then, as in ‘The Pecan Man’ we have an old car, unused for months, immediately jumping to life on the first crank. Not sure how accurate that would have been.
All said, this was a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed it & recommend it highly.
