Red Clay
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4.6 • 57 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.
In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker.
But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full. In an epic saga that takes us from Red Clay to Paris, to the Côte d’Azur and New Orleans, human frailties are pushed to their limits as secrets are exposed and the line between good and evil becomes ever more difficult to discern. Red Clay is a tale that deftly lays bare the ugliness of slavery, the uncertainty of the final months of the Civil War, the optimism of Reconstruction, and the pain and frustration of Jim Crow.
With a vivid sense of place and a cast of memorable characters, Charles B. Fancher draws upon his own family history to weave a riveting tale of triumph over adversity, set against a backdrop of societal change and racial animus that reverberates in contemporary America. Through seasons of joy and unspeakable pain, Fancher delivers rich moments as allies become enemies, and enemies—to their great surprise—find new respect for each other.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The granddaughter of a man born into slavery learns his story from a descendant of his enslavers in this immersive debut novel from journalist Fancher. On the morning after Felix Parker's funeral in 1943 Alabama, his granddaughter Eileen Epps is approached by an octogenarian white woman, Addie Parker, who stuns Eileen by saying, "A lifetime ago, my family owned yours." Fancher then rewinds to 1864, when eight-year-old Felix and his parents are enslaved on the Parker plantation in Red Clay, where their master, John Robert Parker, nine-year-old Addie's father, entangles him in a macabre fraud. Facing catastrophic financial losses, John Robert kills himself, leaving Felix to claim two men shot him, thus ensuring his life insurance benefit will pay out to his family. After the Civil War, Felix builds a life for himself as a carpenter, and Fancher intersperses the sprawling narrative with Addie and Eileen's present-day conversation, as Eileen informs Addie of her grandfather's bitter memories of Addie treating him like a pet. Despite some purple prose (prayers are likened to "messages in bottles drifting on a cosmic sea"), Fancher imbues the narrative with a rich humanity as Eileen and Addie each attempt to grapple with the past. There's plenty for historical fiction fans to admire.
Customer Reviews
Red Clay
A vivid, well-researched story about life on a fictional Alabama plantation during and after the U.S. Civil War. I thought about knocking off one star for the upsetting elements of Reconstruction-era history that a well-read reader would expect to find—and will. (Spoiler alert: No one knew how to conduct their lives when slavery abruptly ended.) However, the story’s twists kept me engaged with the characters and turning the pages.
Loved it!
It was a page turner for me!