Margaret Walker (1) (1915–1988)

This should be America’s go-to novel about the Civil War, not Margaret Mitchell’s problematic ode to the ‘Lost Cause’. It’s a deeply personal work, centered on Margaret Walker’s own maternal grandmother, and meticulously researched. Walker pulls no punches in describing life for slaves in the Antebellum South, the devastation of the Civil War, and the rise of Jim Crow in the aftermath of Reconstruction, but at the same time, is remarkably balanced. Her characters are nuanced and believable. If you’re looking for a book that transports you back in time and gets you invested in the struggle of these lives, this is your book. It’s description of history as context is also refreshingly accurate, and this would be a great companion book for anyone studying this period.… (mere)

Historical fiction based on the life of the author’s maternal great grandmother, the daughter of a black slave and a white plantation owner. The protagonist, Vyry, is a strong, black woman with an admirable integrity of spirit in the face of severe adversity. She is a woman of faith doing the best she can for her family, as they suffer through slavery and then through continued racist torment during Reconstruction. It is split into three parts: Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction. I found the first and last parts the most impactful. In the middle part, the author assumes the reader is unaware of the specifics of the Civil War and provides a great deal of narrative context, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how much you already know.

In documenting the oral history of her family, supplemented by research, the author has created an engrossing story with an authentic flavor. Walker is adept at describing the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures and environment. The author intersperses lyrics from spirituals and other music of the era, which adds a cultural quality to the story. One segment I found particularly thought-provoking involves a discussion of three adults near the end, where Vyry vocalizes thoughts and dreams of racial harmony in an inspiring manner. Different approaches are expressed by her husband and former husband, including passive acceptance and assertive resistance. First published in 1966, this book withstands the test of time. Recommended to those interested in African American history or what life was like in the American south before, during, and after the Civil War. As may be expected in a novel relating the horrors of slavery, it contains graphic violence and racism.

Memorable quote:

“The true Jubilee will be the day that Earth embraces this universe granting love and freedom to all.”

… (mere)

In this book, black people are treated as if they have no worth. Animals, also, are treated as if they have no worth. Grimes the overseer of the Dutton plantation, makes this eminently clear in the following scene:
"things were going along in a kind of humdrum way and the afternoon heat blanketed them. Old grandpa tom, who kept Marster's stables, was dozing in the shade. Suddenly he was rudely awakened by Grimes, who was in great distress because one of the wagons had broken down and the overworked mule drawing the wagon fell dead in his tracks under the blazing heat. Grimes demanded that Grandpa Tom bring out two of marster's best thoroughbred horses for him to use in the emergency. One horse could take somebody to town to bring the blacksmith from the village so that the wagon axle could be fixed, and the other horse could take the mule's place in the field. Grandpa Tom said, 'no. I dassent let marster's good horses be mules in the field and run hard in the hot sun. You'll work them to death, then I'll be blessed out and blamed for it.'
'N*****, don't you tell me, no.'
...
But Grandpa Tom still hesitated and refused to bring out the horses. Grimes grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and flung him out in the yard flat on his face in the dust. Grandpa Tom said nothing and made no effort to move. Then in a frenzy of anger Grimes took his bull whip, which he always carried, and cut across the old slave's back with such vigor that the ragged shirt on his back quickly tore in two and the blood came streaming out. Grandpa Tom screamed in agony, but this only made Grimes lay on with greater fury and he could not have told anyone how many times he cut into the old negro's quivering flesh with that whip before he came to himself."
It killed him.… (mere)