Cane River (edició 2001)

4.5/5

Confessions of a Book Freak for my thoughts ( )

3.5 stars This book was interesting. I enjoy genealogy and this book was the genealogy of a family in Louisiana. Elizabeth, a slave from VA was sold to a family in Louisiana. She was the house cook. Her man was Gerasime, a field hand, but he also was a skilled fiddler. I believe he was Indian and they had children.
Their daughter Suzette worked in the house with her mom, but was also companion to the white niece. Suzette was raped by a French man, a friend of the family. She was a teen, about fourteen if I recall. She ended up with two children from this jerk. He finally left her alone, going to live with a free woman of color.
Suzetter gave birth to Philomene who also worked in the house, when the war came and the slaves were freed. Philomene has "visions" and could see snippets of the future. She used this to her benefit or detriment, depending on how you view the situation. A white man started staring at her when she was about 10. This is a grown man. Can you say perv? She tried to marry herself a young black man whom she loved, but this perv, Narcisse interfered. He eventually told her she could come to him willingly or not but he would still have her. She used her "visions" to manipulate him to care for her and their many kids, eight. Her behaviour reminded me of a woman on welfare calling to find out how much more money she could get a month if she had another baby, or perhaps a shrewd prostitute. This may seem harsh, but she wasn't a slave nor was she stupid. I think she could have found a better way to deal with the situation.
After reading this story, Louisiana felt like it was it's own world; speaking French and being told by the community what was acceptable or not.
Which leads me to Emily; their eldest. She was spoilt. And Narcisse didn't want the Carpetbaggers (northerners) telling him how to raise or educate, (public education), his children. Emily learned to read and write.
The women seemed to be fixated on color. And as Elizabeth called it, the "bleaching of the line". It didn't end with Emily either. She chose a French man. Her daughter, Angelite, chose a French man. All teenage mothers, unmarried, and illegitmate children. Wouldn't it have been better to marry a black man and be happy instead of being so focused on the color of your child's skin?
Emily's man Joseph had promised to never leave her or their children, but the "night riders" started making visits to white men and pulling them out of bed in the night, burning their property, threatening, sometimes doing bodily harm.
How is it that the slavery institution allowed this same behavior of micegenation, but after the civil war, cowards started taking the law into their own hands to keep "evil" out of their community? Who were these "night riders"? And all of this strife could have been avoided if these perverts had maintained their lust.
Emily had two daughters, Josephine and Mary, whom never married because Emily didn't deem any black men worthy of them and they couldn't marry white. Josephine is quoted as to have said, 'if I would have known now what I didn't know then, I would have married the blackest man I could have found and had a bunch of babies.' My heart aches for her.
A lot of the heartaches this family endured were because of the choices of Philomene and Emily, who were so focused on color. (and of course the idiot white men raping these poor girls, as I mentioned above).
Suzette had told her daughter Philomene when they were both women about the racism of all;
the slaves against each other; house and field, etc. a poignant moment. She was angry at a man she had manipulated for years. She didn't consider herself complicit. Was it easier to think of herself as a victim in all situations?
This book had me fascinated with all kinds of things, like how do the natives say Natchitoches? nah-codish or nak-uh-dish, depending on who you ask. What is their accent? Do the French speakers have the same accent in English?
I loved the pictures and copies of records included by the author.
All of the members of the family were beautiful. I do wish a picture of Bet had been available. Also, Eva looks very Samoan to me. Does anyone else think so?
The end of the book in 1936 with Emily going into town to a store saddened me, but I'm glad the author included it. The book is very thought provoking on many levels and well worth the time to read it, especially if you like genealogy. ( )

Built from an exploration of her own ancestors, Tademy's Cane River is an impressive melding of historical documents and fiction, pulling together multiple generations of a single family and offering a novel which offers the best of what historical fiction can be. From generation to generation, the story unfolds with incredible attention to both daily life and character, weaving a tale which is all but impossible to put down.

Absolutely recommended to readers of historical fiction. ( )

An extraordinary amount of painstaking research went into this work of fiction based on the author's family history covering 4 generations living in rural Louisiana.

As often happens in these multi generational epics, much time is spent on setting up the story and the introductory characters. The reader has a better knowledge and understanding of their lives than the later characters which are not drawn in such detail or given as much room for their stories to unfold.

Nevertheless, I found the novel riveting and meticulously written. I enjoyed learning about the role of the Creoles and freedmen who lived side-by-side with the white French masters, the slaves and their mixed race children.

Some readers may find this book slow going but as I have an interest in the era I enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed the appended photos of the family members.

The author has done a tremendous job of bringing her ancestors to life and in retelling their stories. I look forward to reading more of her work. ( )

A historical novel centered around Ms. Tademy's family history. Generations who survived and thrived amidst the injustices of slavery in rural Louisiana. With characters (family members) who come alive on the pages and a knack for storytelling, Ms. Tademy shows us the complex lives of slaves and "masters". Not my usual novel but, one that was recommended and I'm glad it was as I feel more informed, understanding and appreciative after reading Cane River. Thank you Ms. Tademy for shining a spotlight on this time in American history. ( )