Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Lay that Trumpet in Our HandsLay that Trumpet in Our Hands by Susan Carol McCarthy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Here is one of those rare and remarkable debuts that herald the appearance of a major new talent on the literary scene. Inspired by real events, Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands is a wise and luminous story about a northern family, a southern town, and the senseless murder that sparks an extraordinary act of courage.

To this day, my family is in disagreement as to precisely when the nightmare began. For me, it was the morning Daddy and Luther discovered Marvin, beaten, shot, and dying, in the Klan’s stomping grounds off Round Lake Road. My brother Ren disagrees. He points to the small cluster of scars that begin just outside his left eye and trail horizontally across his temple to the top of his ear. Ren claims it started when the men in white robes took the unprecedented step of shooting at two white children. Others say it was when Mr. Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP and Mr. Hoover’s FBI came to town. Mother and Daddy shake their heads. In their minds, the real beginning was much earlier.... -Good Reads synposis.

I found this book by chance while looking for books to purchase from Paperback Swap. I thought it sounded like it would be a good southern novel and it definitely was.
I tells the story of the civil rights movement from the perspective of a young girl and the way in which the division between blacks and southern whites divided a small community. It depicts the civil rights movement from withing Fla which you don't often hear about as most of these type books are set in MS or ALA.
I fell that Susan Carol McCarthy captures the southern voice as only a southerner can and this book evokes To Kill A Mockingbird and The Help.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone who loves good Southern Literature.

2 comments:

Sue said...

This sounds really good and very interesting...thanks for the review.

maggie moran said...

Now, I am intrigued! Is this a kin of Cormac? :D