They are men whose lives began in slavery, who weathered the Civil War, and who grappled with the contradictions of emancipation through the turbulent years of Reconstruction. Portraying the lives of the families who dwell in The Bottom, a poor settlement just down Red River from Colfax, Louisiana, Tademy begins her story with a heart-wrenching battle for the Colfax courthouse. Newly freed men are fighting for their liberties, hoping the federal government will come to their aid. As tensions rise, a massacre ensues, and proud families are left to deal with the wreckage and find the strength to push on. Drawn from both historic fact and the author's own family history, Tademy brings to life a historical human drama left untold--until now.
The 1873 Colfax Riot in Louisiana is the focal point of Tademy's absorbing story of two emancipated slave families. That the author is descended from the people depicted lends an authenticity that few historical novels enjoy. Reader Bahni Turpin's soft bayou-country drawl smoothly handles the transitions of this absorbing chronicle. Her deft touch for voices and accents adroitly guides listeners among characters of differing ages, races, and genders. She demonstrates a dramatic range that is equal to the narrative's graphic accounts of battle as well as to its subtle personal scenes. The only distraction from an otherwise enjoyable audio experience is that the discs end abruptly, with no auditory cues. M.O.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
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