I first read this book over a decade ago, but recently picked it up again, and again had trouble putting it down. Based on the author’s years of research into her own family’s history in a small community in Louisiana before, during, and after the Civil War, it takes an unblinking look at the complicated relationships between slaveholders (black and white), slaves, and free people of color, often focusing on white fathers and their mixed race children. It is extremely well-written and reads like a novel. Deserves to be rediscovered.
Cane River by Lalita Tademy – Great Historical Fiction/History
I first read this book over a decade ago, but recently picked it up again, and again had trouble putting it down. Based on the author’s years of research into her own family’s history in a small community in Louisiana before, during, and after the Civil War, it takes an unblinking look at the complicated relationships between slaveholders (black and white), slaves, and free people of color, often focusing on white fathers and their mixed race children. It is extremely well-written and reads like a novel. Deserves to be rediscovered.