First let me say, I loved this book! I'd heard it described as two sisters, one deciding to live as a white woman, the other living as a black woman. A lot of questions came to mind, why? How? Among others. I was curious.
The story covers time from the 1950s until around 1990 and starts in a small town in Louisiana called Mallard. Mallard is so small, it doesn't even make it onto any map and no one outside of Mallard has ever heard of it. The sisters who live the "advertised" lives of a black woman and a white woman come from the family that founded Mallard. It was their great, great, great, great grandfather (give or take a few "greats") that founded the town. With each generation born, their skin tone gets lighter and that appears to be the goal. But, even though by the time the sisters (Stella and Desiree) are born they are light enough they could pass for white, they're still known to be black in Mallard and the lines are clearly drawn.
The young sisters watch as white men, who feel their father has cheated them, storm their house, drag their father out of the house by his ankles, beat him and shoot him. Then when their father somehow survives that, the men go to the hospital to finish the job of killing him. How each sister processes that life event determines how they live their life going forward.
I don't want to give too much away but I will say the characters were very complex and interesting. Multi-generational viewpoints were explored and examined. The "what happens next" wasn't obvious or expected and even addressed the changing times during the 60s and 70s in particular. I didn't want to put the book down.
Given the events occurring in this country as I write this (July 9th), it highlights that despite how far we think we've come when it comes to race relations, it shows just how little things have changed for black Americans today. And sadly it seems like we've been going in the wrong direction in that regard.
Despite that, my recommendation would be the same - I highly recommend it. Well written, great story, complex characters. It really covers the full spectrum of life. It's a great book.
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