With her debut novel, Tangleroot, Kalela Williams hit one out of the literary ballpark. It is rich, nuanced, vibrant, vulnerable, and straightforward. It reminds me of a s'more with the marshmallows perfectly toasted and the gooey chocolate holding everything together because it's three layers--an evolving, often problematic mother-daughter relationship, the fight for justice in a small Southern town, and the search for very significant but overlooked parts of its history--create a highly engaging read for its target demographic and way beyond.
When her mother, Dr. Radiance Castine, becomes president of Stonepost College, narrator Noni has her plans and life hijacked. She was going to have one last pre college summer with her best friend. She'd landed a perfect internship. But she has to accompany her mother from liberal Massachusetts to a small, rural Virginia town where the past is very much alive and racism is accepted. (Noni and Radiance are Black).
Radiance is starting her new job in social justice mode. She's campaigning to get the school's name changed. Her research has shown that it was founded by one of her ancestors for people of color and then taken over by whites. Needless to say to say Board members are not happy campers.
Radiance, feeling that Noni is being selfish and immature insists that she get a job for the summer. There isn't much in the way of work. But she manages to get hired at a restaurant/farm. Her coworkers seem friendly but she's not really interested.
"But what was the point in reconciling, or making friends, when I was moving five hundred miles away in a few weeks? Besides, the Charm servers weren't the people I would hang out with. They listened to country music. Some of them had kids. Fluvie was even a farmer."
Noni and Radiance are living in what had been the master's house of a plantation. Noni becomes fascinated by the life of a long dead former resident. While researching to learn more about Sophronia she uncovers some secrets about the town and her own family.
I'm going to highly recommend Tangleroot to my daughters and to everyone else who enjoys a rich, nuanced and thought provoking narrative.
The story behind the story is its own kind of fascinating. Tangleroot was decades in the making. Williams was first inspired by a field trip to an enslaved community.
"I had wanted to know their names, these people who had lived, involuntarily labored, and died on that land--people who were like my ancestors had been. But that hope evaporated like sweat."
Ten years later she had a vision for the book. But it took many years of writing and revision and copious amounts of research to bring it to fruition. The publication of her novel that advances her mission--illuminating history through fiction--was for her a dream come true.
And reading it was a dream come true for me. I hope that you too will find it both satisfying and thought provoking. And I hope that she is hard at work on her next masterpiece.
On a purrrsonal note, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles. If you're a reader of this blog you know how hard having to eliminate sugar from my severely restricted diet has been on me. Yesterday Catherine gave me a package of no sugar added chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I wasn't holding my breath since sugarless candy in my experience bears as much resemblance to candy as decaf has to coffee. Basically none. But when I tried a cookie it was delicious 😋 😜. (They're Voortman Bakery's Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies.) And Catherine says she'll hook me up with another flavor. Oh happy day!
A great big shout out goes out to Catherine for her excellent detective work and kindness, to Voortman Bakery for creating and selling such a much needed treat, and to Hannaford for carrying them.
Jules Hathaway
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