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A review by audrarussellwrites
In the Shadow of Alabama by Judy Reene Singer
5.0
"Cruelty is so simple, really. You just turn your back on your own humanity. It's a blindness of the soul, really. You see symbols instead of the life in front of you."
If I could sum up the theme of this book in one small paragraph, that would be it. I stumbled across this book at the library while searching for another book. The pretty cover caught my eye. This is one case where judging a book by its cover worked out well.
This is a story about a woman named Rachel, who has a very strained relationship with her family. She also has a very strained relationship with her live-in boyfriend, and the reasons for the strain are very complicated.
When Rachel's father dies, a mysterious black woman comes to his funeral and gives Rachel's mother an album and an apology. Rachel is intrigued by this woman's strange gift and searches for the woman. This begins a a journey into her father's past that helps Rachel to see her father and mother in an entirely different light.
Rachel's father was a Jewish man. In 1941, he was in charge of an all black platoon...in Alabama. Do I have your interest yet?
Well, when Rachel tracks down the mysterious woman from the funeral (Rowena), she also meets Willie, Rowena's father, who served with Rachel's father in the war. From Willie she learns about all the horrible things that happened to them while her father was in command of the all-black platoon. She also learns about a horrible misunderstanding that resulted in a tragedy that tore Willie and her father apart-- and deeply scarred her father both physically and mentally.
Rachel comes to understand why her father was such a cynical, closed off man. She also begins to see how her father's actions have made her fearful of committing to her boyfriend. But does she learn that lesson too late? Well you'll have to read the book to find out.
But I'll leave you with this: though the book is a work of fiction, all the events that happened were real. Yes, they happened to the author's father. When I read that after I finished the last page, I sat in shock. The cruelty of racism never ceases to boggle my mind, even after 48 years of living with it.
If I could sum up the theme of this book in one small paragraph, that would be it. I stumbled across this book at the library while searching for another book. The pretty cover caught my eye. This is one case where judging a book by its cover worked out well.
This is a story about a woman named Rachel, who has a very strained relationship with her family. She also has a very strained relationship with her live-in boyfriend, and the reasons for the strain are very complicated.
When Rachel's father dies, a mysterious black woman comes to his funeral and gives Rachel's mother an album and an apology. Rachel is intrigued by this woman's strange gift and searches for the woman. This begins a a journey into her father's past that helps Rachel to see her father and mother in an entirely different light.
Rachel's father was a Jewish man. In 1941, he was in charge of an all black platoon...in Alabama. Do I have your interest yet?
Well, when Rachel tracks down the mysterious woman from the funeral (Rowena), she also meets Willie, Rowena's father, who served with Rachel's father in the war. From Willie she learns about all the horrible things that happened to them while her father was in command of the all-black platoon. She also learns about a horrible misunderstanding that resulted in a tragedy that tore Willie and her father apart-- and deeply scarred her father both physically and mentally.
Rachel comes to understand why her father was such a cynical, closed off man. She also begins to see how her father's actions have made her fearful of committing to her boyfriend. But does she learn that lesson too late? Well you'll have to read the book to find out.
But I'll leave you with this: though the book is a work of fiction, all the events that happened were real. Yes, they happened to the author's father. When I read that after I finished the last page, I sat in shock. The cruelty of racism never ceases to boggle my mind, even after 48 years of living with it.