Thursday, January 29, 2009

The Book of Night Women

Marlon Brown’s latest novel takes us inside the rebellious hearts and minds of the enslaved Jamaicans and Africans on the Montpelier plantation.  His story centers around the women who plot and plan the destruction of the plantation system.

A green-eyed girl child is born in the dark of night and immediately becomes an object of fear and jealousy.  Her mother died birthing her and no one stepped up to take her. They would have rather left her in the bush to die. The headman gives her to a strange couple to raise and Lilith, as she is called, begins her life.

James uses the language and vernacular of Jamaican slaves in an almost uncomfortable way for the reader.  However, the cursing and obscenities become minor distractions and annoyances in the telling of the tale.  The reader is soon caught up in a web of deceit and treachery from the slave-holders to the slaves.  The men in the story are reference points to keep the reader clear on what the stakes are for these women, both black and white.

The night affords invisibility to them and they do unspeakable things under cover of darkness, each as a way to manifest her own destiny of freedom. They are all unfailingly human in their triumphs and failures and in the end, the price is often their lives.  No one is left untouched because their lives are inextricably intwined, both the slaves and their captors. Sex and love between the enslaved and their slavers forms a back-drop and often-times blurs the lines of who is who and what the rules and roles are.

If you enjoyed John Crow’s Devil by Marlon James, you will certainly find The Book of Night Women equally enjoyable.

Posted by Dorothy Ferebee on 01/29 at 06:30 AM
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Sweetsmoke, by David Fuller: Slavery, Murder and Mystery

With Sweetsmoke screenwriter David Fuller abandons the standard tale of plantation life for a plantation murder mystery.  Along with the mystery is a tale of the self-discovery and valor of a slave named Cassius Howard.

Cassius sets out to solve the murder of a free woman, Emoline Justice. Emoline became a mother-figure to him, nursing him back to health and sanity after his wife was murdered and his infant son sold away.

Fuller lays bare the politics of slave life on the plantation. The ultimate prize is life among familiars.  No one wants to be die, be beaten or sold away. The slavers hold the keys to personal power and gain.

Emoline had done the unthinkable.  She taught Cassius to read--a skill punishable by death.  The origin of his naming by Hoke, the plantation owner is a theme that runs throughout the tale.  The name was taken from the Tragedy of Julius Ceaser, by Shakespeare.  It incites Cassius to steal the book to discover what the plantation owner saw in him at his birth, before he became a man.

The tale is fortified by the presence of a slave woman Quashee, an African, in whom Cassius first sees intelligence and later, loyalty. The two join forces as Cassius begins to unravel the mystery of Emoline’s murder.

The Civil War forms a backdrop for the murder, intrigue and politics of all involved.  Was Emoline a spy for the North?  Was her death a conspiracy? Was she killed for her money? These questions entice the reader to stick with the story until the murderer is revealed.

Unlikely characters become allies and seemingly benign characters prove treacherous.  Fuller does an adequate job with the characters and tale of plantation life, however his strong suit is mystery and intrigue.

Posted by Dorothy Ferebee on 01/14 at 06:00 AM
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