Passing by Samaria 💖💖💖
Sharon Ewell Foster, Alabaster Books (div. of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.) (2000)
Texas born author, Sharon Ewell Foster, has made a name for herself in Christian fiction circles. When I purchased three of her titles, at a library sale some time back, I knew nothing of Ms. Foster or her writings. The three books I took home had exceptionally beautiful covers in autumn colors. From a quick scan of the back covers I understood that they were fictionalized accounts of the African-American experience during different periods of the 20th century. That was enough for me. As I began to read "Passing By Samaria" I quickly came to realize that Ms. Foster was an excellent storyteller, who viewed the world through a Christian lens. Not a Christian myself, I wondered if I would grasp the concepts and meanings in each novel. However, I soon found that anyone, no matter their background or religious affiliation, could derive a great deal of inspiration from each of these allegories. It wouldn't hurt to have a cursory knowledge of the old and new testaments, which Ms. Foster refers to frequently. From a literary perspective, common knowledge of bible stories is necessary to fully enjoy and comprehend classic literature, as well as some modern fiction. As a university student, I studied Russian Literature, and found knowledge of the testaments a necessity. I chose to read "Passing by Samaria" first, in that it takes place immediately following the end of the First World War, while the other novels took place during later periods of the 20th century. Reading chronologically made sense to me. "Passing by Samaria" was my favorite of the three, and reading it wet my appetite for more from this author.
Fictional Ellisville, Mississippi is home to Alena, an innocent teenage girl, and her beloved Mother, Evelyn and father, Amos. As the novel opens Alena's life is instantly thrown into turmoil when by accident she stumbles upon a horrific act of savagery which took the life of J.C., her lifelong friend and sweetheart, J.C. (perhaps a bit heavy-handed with biblical reference here) propelling Alena in a direction she never imagined and resents having taken. Knowing Alena to be outspoken and fearing for her safety, Evelyn and Amos put Alena on a train north to Chicago. The days following WWI coincided with the great migration north by African-Americans seeking escape from the violence, prejudice, and economic limitations imposed on them by the Jim Crow South. Up in Chicago, Alena's Aunt Patrice, has devoted her life to the saving of souls through her "Bread of Life Mission". Not only are many a soul claimed for the Lord but many an empty belly is filled a hot homecooked meal and children begin their education in the welcoming atmosphere in the mission. For a young woman of upright background and character, the mission should be a sanctuary, sadly, Alena filled with anger toward her parents for sending her away and even more enraged when she understands that a James, a respectable young man, a former Army officer, a struggling newspaper owner, has been awaiting her arrival. James should be everything Alena would want, yet not ready to see this, she rebuffs even his most innocent attempts at friendship. Thrown into the mix is Pearl a no-good low down scoundrel who spends the majority of his time womanizing. Alena encounters Pearl, a Pullman Porter, onboard the train from Jackson to Chicago. Railway Pullman Porters were almost exclusively African-Americans for decades, and their union and its president A. Philip Randolph, would go on to play an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. Alena a "good girl" is a challenge for Pearl, but her naïveté make her susceptible to his charm. Deacon an older train porter, and another saved soul, spends a lot of time pleading with Pear to turn from his evil ways and repent.
Ms. Foster does an excellent job describing Chicago, (one of several U.S. cities) rocked by racial violence perpetrated by whites who resented the return of African-American veterans from overseas. For African-Americans who had escaped the rural south for the promises of urban oasis, the hatred of the northern whites and the calls to keep African-Americans in "their place" was especially disillusioning. Black veterans who sacrificed for a country that continued to refuse them equal rights began to organize and march for justice and civil rights. It would be almost 65 years before those hopes would be realized with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The abject fear and humiliation experienced by Alena, and the other people at the mission is representative of what the community experienced during these dark days.
"Passing by Samaria" is in many ways an allegory for growing up and learning the world across our threshold is both evil and good. By having white characters who are pure evil like Bates, the southern Sheriff juxtaposed with Jonathan and Dinah, two young people who volunteer at Aunt Patrice's mission Foster indicates that one needs not judge a person by the social, ethnic background from which they come. With Mrs. Bates, the Sheriff's wife, Foster portrays those who want to do what's right but live in fear of the consequences. Historical events are woven seamlessly into the narrative of "Passing by Samaria" providing a context for the world the characters occupy. My only squabble with this novel is that in creating characters to symbolize good or evil, a stereotype rather than a real person with a full range of emotions and motivations exists. I'd recommend "Passing by Samaria" for those who have any interest in the African-American experience and spiritual life.
Riding Through Shadows 💖💖💖
Sharon Ewell Foster, Multnomah Publishers, Inc. (2001)
It is the 1980s when we meet Shirley Ferris, a woman, whose life is in an upheaval. Shirley is readying herself and her two kids for the long car ride from Huntsville, Alabama to Northern California, following the disintegration of her marriage. Very quickly the reader is thrown back in time to 1967 where we meet Shirley as an eight year old girl residing in fictional Centerville, just outside of East St. Louis, Illinois. Only a handful of African-Americans live in the Centerville community, which has begun the process of integration. Shirley, a very smart child, catches on quickly that people of color are not welcomed by the overwhelmingly white majority. She sees she, like other children of color, remain invisible to the white mother's of her classmates at her newly integrated grammar school. Her regular playmate, an older cousin, Rosie, bullies her with taunts about Shirley meeting the same fate as Emmet Till (a lynching victim whose murderers went unpunished). Fortunately, with Mama, Geneva, at home, Daddy, Calvin, on duty during the day at the nearby military base, Big Uncle and Little Uncle constantly visiting, Shirley is immersed in a world of love and security.
Like any good story, happiness is not fated to last long, Shirley will find that events on the other side of the globe will reach East St. Louis, tearing her world apart. Once again, making good use of the historical events, Sharon Ewell Foster, brings the Vietnam War home to the reader and her little protagonist. With one loss piling upon another, the Ferris family collapses, with little Shirley bereft of all the love and security she has depended upon.
Into the chaos steps Mother Johnson, a long-lost relative and Shirley's guardian angel. Sweeping a virtually catatonic Shirley from a Mental Hospital to the sanctuary of her home in Tyler, Texas, Mother Johnson begins the process of saving the lost soul and bringing her back to life. A devout Christian, Mavis "Mother" Johnson, a widow who has raised 9 children, ministers to all those in her community seeking guidance. No one is turned away without some good old mothering and a good dose of biblical supplement to see them on their way.
One subplot I enjoyed was the trials and travails of Mother Johnson's good friend, Augusta Charles, known fondly as "Ma Dear". A heavy-set woman renowned in Tyler for her powerful prayers that can heal the sick. Mother Johnson often counsels her friend to keep her temper in check, as well as her powerful yearnings for male companionship (not sanctioned by marriage). In Mavis and Augusta, the reader is treated to the treasure of an old friendship built on love, companionship, kindness and a good deal of truth telling.
Sheri, a little girl Shirley befriends back in Centerville was somewhat confusing to me. Is Sheri "real", or an imaginary friend to take on those hardships the little girl can't face and the voice of encouragement she craves. In Sheri, a tough little scrapper, unafraid of the big bad world, Shirley creates a girl she wants to be, one who despite the pain and hardship remains unbowed.
Happily, in the paperback edition I chose, there contained the first chapter of the sequel "Passing Into Light" that continues Shirley's story. I am already searching online for that book. I'd recommend "Riding Through Shadows", with the warning that it may be triggering for some people. This 2nd read from Sharon Ewell Foster continued to cement my view that she is a top notch storyteller.
Ain't No River 💖💖
Sharon Ewell Foster, Multnomah Publishers, Inc. (2001)
While the other two novels allowed historical narrative to heavily influence the plot, Sharon Ewell Foster in "Ain't No River" confines her story to the life of one modern day woman. Garvin Daniels is abrasive, short-tempered, ambitious, smart, attractive, hard working, driven and carrying a whole lot of emotional baggage. Like most young attorneys, who have earned a place with large corporate law firm, Garvin is determined to shine. Shocked and disturbed when her immediate superior, Mr. Gooden, confronts her with the news that the client though happy with her win in court did not appreciate her attitude and found her difficult to deal with. Exacerbating Garvin further, Gooden informs her the firm will be making a review of the client's remarks, and during that time she should remove herself from the office and all but the one pro bono case she has been assigned.
As her career teeters on the brink, Garvin is hit by more shocks. Her pious grandmother back home in Jack's Creek, North Carolina has become energized and slimmed down apparently from workouts with her Fitness Trainer, newly retired pro-football player Go-Go Walker. Alarmed that Meemaw, the woman who has devoted her life to church, hearth, home is now in the clutches of a gold-digging ladies man sends Garvin reeling. Desperately in need of one on one time with her best friend, Ramona, Garvin finds herself abandoned. Ramona, critiqued by Garvin as the wearer of too many flashy clothes, big hoop earrings and long painted nails, has disappeared. Finally, phoning to say she has taken a leave from her job, Ramona announces she joined a charity group cycling cross country. Ramona, not the athletic type, has very recently met with a young minister, with whom she is besotted and it is he that convinced her to come along on the ride. Fearing Ramona is falling for another wrong man, Garvin is incensed. Lastly, the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) case she has been handed is not one she can get behind. Believing she used initiative, hard work and intellect to get ahead, Garvin is highly skeptical that Dr. Hemings, who filed the EEO complaint against the hospital where he was employed, was a victim of racial discrimination. Garvin in attempting to overcome obstacles has unconsciously internalized the prejudices around her, and reflects them on Dr. Hemings and her friend Ramona.
Garvin heads south in her Lexus to Jack's Creek, NC in what she tells herself is a mission to save her MeeMaw (Evangelina Hightower) from the hands of Go-Go Walker. MeeMaw has her own ideas of just who needs saving and how to do it. Not letting Garvin sink into self-pity but stand on her own two feet, Evangelina shows Garvin the door -- the one that is attached to the small cottage just behind her own home. In the cottage, Evangelina will provide the means for Garvin to garner strength and empathy she so desperately needs. And in the pews of Evangelina's church Garvin learns that the problems with which she struggles, can be let go and that healing comes from helping someone else.
While the lessons put forth by Ms. Foster were excellent, I felt that the story was similar to the Chick Lit. genre, of which I am not a big fan. It was hard to get on with Garvin, as a protagonist. One had to slog through pages of her complaints, which was tedious. The rest of the supporting characters were well drawn and easier to root for. Monique, the teenage mother, who longs for the baby she gave up, is a special friend to Evangelina, who sees good potential in the young woman. Esther, the single , mom, beauty shop owner, Garvin's childhood pal, could along with the ladies who frequent her shop, be book of their own. Smitty, the purveyor of strawberry snow cones, and Go-Go's inspired wingman was charming and it would have been interesting to flesh him out a bit more.
The paperback edition I purchased contained a recipe for MeeMaw's Pecan Pie, that I am tempted to make for Thanksgiving. "Ain't No River" was the least favorite of the three Foster books I've read.
Cry, The Beloved Country (Audible Edition)(2012) 💖💖💖💖
During September 2020, I listened to Alan Paton's "Cry, The Beloved Country" read by acclaimed British actor, Michael York. Originally published by Scribner's (NY) and Jonathan Cape (UK) in 1948, South Africa born, Alan Paton created a classic piece of literature that brings forth both the beauty of the land and the subjugation of the native people. The Boers (Dutch Farmers) who settled in South Africa during the 18th and 19th century usurped the land of the native Black people, and would ultimately create the racist social system known as Apartheid, controlling not just the land, government but the daily lives of Black South Africans. In Paton's novel the legalized racist system was not in place yet, but calls for such a system were being heard, and were not far away.
Accidentally continuing the Christian religious theme of the three previous novels reviewed above, "Cry, The Beloved Country" is also seen through the perspective of devout Christians. In the village of Ndotsheni resides the good Rev. Stephen Kumalo and his wife. Receiving word that his sister, Gertrude, has fallen into trouble in Johannesburg, Rev. Kumalo on the encouragement of his wife sets out to the great metropolis to rescue her. An innocent in the ways of big city life, Kumalo will be barraged by the evils he finds there.
Rev. Kumalo seeks to bring his wayward relatives back to the faith and back to the home village. Continually met with derision, lies and hypocrisy, Rev. Kumalo is ultimately spurned by those he seeks to save. The ultimate irreversible and most compelling tragedy comes in the person of Absalom, Kumalo's son. Like the biblical Absalom, who rebelled against his father, King David, Absalom Kumalo learns the ultimate lesson (and punishment) that no good will come from spurning the precepts of one's father and the father of mankind. The story could be seen as an allegory for the journey from innocence to corruption to redemption.
My only hesitation about "Cry, The Beloved Country" is that I wondered if perhaps it might have been beneficial to have read either a novel or memoir from a Black South African about the same time period, to give a broader understanding of the life just pre-Apartheid. However, the text was exquisite in form and style, and each character was drawn so completely they came alive in the reading (with the help of the talented Mr. York). The plot was not always easy to follow, and I suspect I might have done better had I opted to read rather than listen to the Audible edition. A definite recommend.
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