A review by dlarca
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli
3.0
Calogero lives with his uncles and cousin outside of Tallulah, Louisiana in 1899. Their family runs a grocery store, selling the best fruits and vegetables to members of the town. They are the only Sicilians in Tallulah and therefore a target. Not everyone takes kindly to the immigrants, who aren't white but aren't Negro either. Calogero doesn't fit in anywhere. Until he meets Patricia and her brother. Who happen to be black.
For the first time ever, the Scalise family has friends. But fraternizing with Negros makes the white townspeople detest them even more. As tensions mount and lies run rampant, Calogero is forced to make some difficult decisions and bear the brunt of unspeakable bigotry.
Based on a true story, Napoli explores other forms of racism in the south during the American Reconstruction. We often reduce the story to white and black, but forget that others were caught in the crossfire as well. Alligator Bayou is a quick read, but it will leave you pondering the effects of hatred, ignorance, and violence as our country struggled to rebuild itself-and how those forces can still be seen at work today.
For the first time ever, the Scalise family has friends. But fraternizing with Negros makes the white townspeople detest them even more. As tensions mount and lies run rampant, Calogero is forced to make some difficult decisions and bear the brunt of unspeakable bigotry.
Based on a true story, Napoli explores other forms of racism in the south during the American Reconstruction. We often reduce the story to white and black, but forget that others were caught in the crossfire as well. Alligator Bayou is a quick read, but it will leave you pondering the effects of hatred, ignorance, and violence as our country struggled to rebuild itself-and how those forces can still be seen at work today.