"...she could say, 'You can't control your kids---you can only love them,' or 'They turn out how they turn out.' But these were lies. There was plenty she could have done differently. She could have stayed with Robbie; she could have never gotten involved in that campaign at the school; she could have loved and welcomed Nelson; she could have let her daughters be. But she couldn't bring herself to wish she'd taken another course. She was their mother, and she'd tried to use her influence for good. If she had the chance to do it all over again, she would do it all exactly the same." -reflections of Lacey May Ventura
Two family stories are being told over about 28 years. Lacey May Ventura, quoted above as she is facing a cancer diagnosis, has three daughters---Noelle, Margarita, and Diane---by a charming but good-for-nothing husband. Jade Gilbert is raising one son, Gee, who witnessed the tragic death of his father when he was very young.
The story begins with the integration of a predominantly white high school in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Black folks like Jade from one side of town want their kids to have what they judge to be a better education. Some whites like Lacey May aim to keep the status quo. This conflict only provides a small part of the discord in the story. Much of the dysfunction is within the families and, as the plot thickens, between the two families.
I'm not sure what it was about this novel that left me cold. Maybe it was the jumping around in time and from one character to another that confused me at times. It could have been that I never became emotionally involved with any of the characters although I was rooting for Gee for a while.
Apparently, the book was well-received overall. Maybe it was just me! If you have read it, tell me what you think!
No comments:
Post a Comment