Review: Brings distant and recent New Orleans history to vivid life
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2014
Cotton and sugarcane are going to make Danny Paul Turnrow rich, and his wife will plan the best plantation gardens in the South. But present-day Amaryllis feels “as feminine as a Louisiana yard dog” as she struggles to the porch through rain and mud. A hurricane’s coming, in more senses than one.Sweet dogs and memory remind Amaryllis/Cammie of puppy love, and the reader’s swept away, even as the river rises, in dreams of what might be. When Katrina makes landfall, we’re as ready as Amaryllis to enjoy a good story, and Margaret Jane Turnrow’s diary will surely be just the right thing.Events move quickly, through flood, war and love, and the point of the story’s not danger, but rather the hand that guides, through toil and tears. Land, river, plants and history color the pages with gorgeous detail, while a gentle sense of Christian faith strengthens characters who pray their way through trials. The terrors of flood and escape balance beautifully with the wilting heat of summer and growing things. Modern cellphones contrast with a world of slaves and sugarcane. And snakes, real and metaphorical, lurk in the grass, but never quite come near.Historical and present-day details are woven seamlessly into the tale, adding a fascinating sense of authenticity to the freeing of families from slavery and houses from the ravages of flood. God’s hand unites, as surely as it divides. And dangers are quickly turned to hope through faith, even if the final scenes do hint at the presence of less than faithful ghosts--after all, this is the haunted South.Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review