Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Twenty five years have passed since Gillam Hale and his family lost their freedom to thieving slavers. They were shanghaied and sold to plantations across the south. He escaped his captors, exhausted his search for his family to no avail, eventually settled with a woman, Rena, and fathered a son. In the first of many coincidences, Gillam's long lost son Joseph, on a thirteen year search for his father, literally stumbles into his backyard. Reunited with Joseph, Gillam leaves Rena with reckless abandon and returns to the Low Country to reclaim his remaining children and the love of his life, his wife, the beautiful mulatto, Queen Esther. Unbeknownst to Gillam, Queen Esther, while "property" of her former master, bore two children for her owner. Thus upon his arrival, the long awaited family reunion is a bit awkward to say the least. Queen Esther is not so sure that Gillam is the man for her after experiencing some levels of independence with her very successful restaurant business. The former slave owner is quite possessive over the still beautiful Queen Esther and is not happy with Gillam's arrival. His children are happy but unsure of what it means to have a father in their midst again; while her "other" children grapple with mixed emotions regarding this man from their mother's past. However, with the assistance of a supporting cast of eccentric characters, prayer, and some Gullah root working, it appears that the Hale Family may be on the road to recovery.
If you enjoyed the debut, The Legend of Quito Road, there is little doubt you will enjoy The Knees of Gullah Island with equal measure because the latter references many of the same characters, is written in the same storytelling manner, and uses the same writing style, same cadence, and voice. Unfortunately, these very points caused consternation while reading the debut and haunted me again in the sequel. My hope for improvement and growth was not realized in this offering. A few things really stood out: one being there were so many interrelated characters introduced so frequently. There was a near constant need to consult the three family tree diagrams just to keep the characters aligned in my head; doing so became a recurring necessity rather than an optional reference. Another was the overlapping plotlines were a bit convoluted and filled with entirely too many coincidences. A major plus was I truly enjoyed the local anecdotes and lessons the author infused into the story. Disappointingly, much of his style relies on "telling" rather than showing which results in choppy delivery (almost to the point of interrupting the story) or uneven pacing when he pauses to explain some aspect of history, culture, politics of the day, etc. which was often used to justify character motivation, an outcome or prelude to some event, or simply to set the scene for action. Finally, I was left with a few unanswered questions, but perhaps another book is under development to address them and other loose ends.
Overall, while I thought the execution could use some work, the premise of the novel was good. This saga revisited the Hale Clan and illustrated the devastating effect that chattel slavery had on them. The family separation, long-suffering loss/anxiety, rapes, and other unimaginable hardships were addressed along with the complex social, racial, political, and economic ties that accompanied the trade and evolved during Reconstruction. The book did not focus exclusively on the Sea Islands as the title suggests; however it provided a brief but accurate introduction to the Gullah people; their origins, unique dialect/language, culture, and pervasive influence on the Low Country and surrounding areas. This insertion proved to be an interesting and educational bonus to the story.
Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club
April 8, 2008
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