Lessons in Disguise
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Lessons in Disguise, a novel, follows the journey of a handcrafted book from its printing in Virginia, 1820, to its eventual destination in California, 1975. Created to help new immigrants arriving in America, the book is passed from woman, to man, to child. The book's owners find within its pages parables, fables, and practical lessons that help shape their lives. Stories from the eras of slavery, Civil War, women's suffrage, Jim Crow, and the Vietnam War are told by the eight caretakers of the old book, making this novel read as though it were an intimate memoir.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Porter's powerful debut follows a book passed down from a printer in 1820 Virginia through several of its owners up to 1975. After completing the gold foiling on the cover of a collection of facts and fables titled An Easy Standard, Alden Masters notices the pattern resembles three true-lovers knots and gives a copy of the book to his lover, Mary, who's married to the local stonemason. When Mary passes the book on to her daughter, a chain begins that later includes Willy T., a man freed from slavery; a suffragette; a Vietnam War protester, and others. The book's fables and advice are viewed by the fresh perspective of each successive owner (Willy takes heart in a poem about birds set "free as air," while an immigrant from Norway picks up useful bits of geography and idioms), as they all draw on the book's "many lessons in disguise" while facing the challenges of their own eras. Though the characterizations can feel as simplistic as the fables in An Easy Standard, Porter shows a strong grasp of history as she shifts seamlessly from one time period to the next, adjusting the vernacular in her prose without overdoing it. In the end, this well-meaning story succeeds at reminding readers of the precious value of the printed word. (Self-published)
