Warren Read

I saw Sherrilyn Ifill recommend this book on Twitter. The book is a memoir and apology by the author Warren Read about the actions of his Great Grandfather in a 1920 lynching of three young black men in Duluth, Minnesota in 1920.

if you are a therapist, anyone interested in multi-generational trauma, or just someone trying to make sense of the world right now--this is worth seeking out.

We have to look our history square in the face to move on as a nation. Scratch some dirt in your neighborhood in this country and you'll find a story of injustice. Let's own up to it.

In weird coincidences I often find in the book world, the author happens to live not too far from me.… (mais)

This book was not what I expected, and was a pleasant surprise. From the blurb, I thought it would be more of a mystery thriller. Instead it's a story of aftermath. The mystery unfolds slowly, revealed piecemeal as characters open up and deal with the grief left in the wake of tragedy. Shock, denial, shame. The setting (remote, inclement, atmospherically confining) adds greatly to the mood of the story, giving a sense of being trapped and unable to move on until unfinished business is addressed.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in a GoodRead's giveaway.… (mais)

3.5 Ash Falls, a small community in the Pacific Northwest, a town trying to recover from a recent tragedy. A man convicted of murder, a husband and father, leaving emotional devastation in his wake, felt by those involved and the community itself, has now escaped. Will he try to return to the town and the family left behind?

This is an impoverished town, a retired school teacher sells pot which he calls medicine, these are people that feel stuck, by circumstance or financial considerations. Often their own worst enemies, it will be one of the youngest that will try to break this cycle, that manages to hold on to the hope that life will be different. There is a tension in the story, wondering if and when this escaped convict will show up, there is a gritty realism to this story and the prose is gorgeous. Animal lovers should be aware that their is a section that describes the killing of minks, I skipped much of that section, though it highlights the ways people in this town found to make money.

If based on the writing alone my rating would have been higher, but I had a problem connecting to the characters. The two I liked the most were the two youngest. Other readers have rated this higher and I readily admit this author has a huge amount of talent.

ARC from publisher.… (mais)