Procure Sweetsmoke Produced By David Fuller Distributed As Publication

hardest thing to get used to while reading this book, is the author chose not to use quotation marks to denote when the slaves were speaking, only the white people and freed slaves conversations were separated by quotes.
I found myself having to reread sentences as I realized they were verbal comments, But the adjustment is quick, I read this book, and it along with others is the reason I doubt that White people can write from the Black perspective, Whenever I read where a Negro character wants to perserve his place in slavery because they have it so good, I always look up the author and invarabily it is a White person.
This book is no different and it ruins my ability to enjoy the book, While I don't think every book should be about the horrors of slavery, I do think that writers should do research and write characters who were believable and consistent with their time period.
In the slave narratives I have read, the pleasure of slavery was never mentioned, certainly not a theme, So it makes me suspect that the writer had a book in mind, and really didn't have a love or knowledge of the time, Please do your research before writing about a world or time you don't know, War and Slavery

Slavery , at times, and the Holocaust were similar in some ways, This book showed me that slaves were led to believe they couldn't think or reason or even care for anyone, The phrase, "Love brings death," was used, Love a spouse the owner could sleep with your wife, sell your husband and children, and then blame it on you, It makes me so ashamed to think that perhaps my ancestors owned other humans, This was well written and much research went into this book, This is set on a Virginia tobacco plantation inand is ostensibly a murder mystery which a slave, Cassius, sets out to solve, However, it is much more about the crushing inhumanity and daily indignities of the slavery system than the fairly slight mystery eventually bound up with the Civil War which Cassius risks his life to investigate.
There are a few flaws and too familiar tropes in the narrative but the portrait of rich and poor southern whites, the capricious nature of slave life, the ultimate significance of the War and Cassius experience of battle make up for it.
Really good! Sweetsmoke
By David Fuller
stars
pp,

Sweetsmoke by David Fuller is a mystery, Sweetsmoke by David Fuller is a character study, Sweetsmoke by David Fuller is a historical fiction, It is truly all of these and more, David Fuller spent eight years researching and writing this novel about a plantation called Sweetsmoke set induring the Civil War, His work is deeply moving, with prose that brings the reader into the setting and characters which are complex and interesting, Fuller does not shy away from the conflicts and personality disorders which occur when one group of people "own" another and this is part of the appeal of the story and it is a gripping and exciting story.


I was so impressed with Fuller's development of the central character, Cassius Howard, a slave who was trained by the plantation owner, Hoke Howard, as a carpenter and as such was given certain freedom and

was on occasion lent to other plantation to help them in their buildings.
Cassius is a reflective, intelligent and secret individual with great strength of character along with many internal conflicts:

"Sounds of the plantation slipped in clear and bright, then were just as quickly muffled, a fragment of work song followed by a ghostly stillness, the drifting laughter of children, blown away by the rush of overhead wind.
A deep ache built inside him as he listened to people living, working and being together, A fierce and terrible melancholy gripped him and he did not understand why the feeling made him desire to live,
Finally, a breath of breeze passed under the brim of his hat and cooled the sweat, and Cassius was released from the moment, "

When Cassius learns that Emoline, the free woman who helped him when he was deeply injured, has been murdered, he vows to find out who murdered her and avenge her.
While Cassius is given certain freedoms as a carpenter his quest his still fraught with such danger, that it keeps the reader on edge and unable to put the book down.
I know as I read through much of a night,

The Civil War is ever present and the way in which Howard managed to incorporate into the book is interesting and exciting, For the civil war enthusiast, I believe this will prove to be a must read, I found that I needed to do some research while reading it and was reward for doing so, a secret I will not divulge in this review,

Fuller is a screenwriter and I could easily see this adapted as a movie, I hear that Fuller is working on another novel and my hope is that he writes another book about Cassius, because I want to know what will happen to him next.

This book is part mystery, part historical fiction, part character study, All of the pieces were fit together by the author to show the brutality of slavery, the horror of the Civil War, the good and the bad of all of the characters in this story.
Cassius the main character of this story is a slave that is trying to find his place in the changing world, The changes that are hinted at in the beginning of the Civil War, He is chaffing under the plantation system, he thinks there is something better for him but then there are times he is afraid to see any change, He is part of the "plantation family" a family run by those who feel they are taking care of their people, but who can turn on them on a whim.
Cassius is also trying to find who killed the woman Emoline who nursed him back to health after he was whipped, The writing is so descriptive, you find yourself drawn into how things may have been for any one of the characters in this story, The battle scenes show the futility of war both sides feeling they are in the right with those who are slaves the pawns stuck in the middle, A powerful story weel worth the read, Written from the perspective of Cassius, a slave, back during the early days of the Civil War, this is a very nicely done tale of just how intertwined the lives of the slaves amp their white owners/families were.
Cassius is a slight step up from the rest of the slaves, because he is a carpenter, a man with a trade, so he has more liberties than some of the rest of them, amp he seems to get away with more sass because he is the favorite of his master Hoke.
Through Cassius' travels, amp the events of plantation life, we experience in our minds what it was like to have lived back then, amp are horrified by the punishments given out for infractions, or even perceived infractions by a temperamental mistress.


This book is fascinating, amp it draws you in, Very good read, comes highly recommended, Rated/if the site allowed it, David Fuller is a screen writer, thus he has an excellent command of pacing, which was evident in this book, Although this book read like a characterdriven novel, there was action at every turn,

Cassius is asomething slave on a Virginia tobacco plantation, Sweetsmoke, owned by Hoke Howard, who has been his only owner and had named him at birth.
The whereabouts of his parents is never discussed, but he was raised by old Mam' Rosie, who also raised Hoke's children,

Hoke and Cassius have a complex relationship, part longstanding affection, part fear on both sides, and part grudging respect, Early in the book Hoke tells Cassius the bad news that Emoline, a former slave freed by Hoke some years before, and a woman who had saved Cassius' life after he fled the plantation, had been murdered.
Though Hoke had clearly once loved Emoline, he seems to feel no interest in who the murderer is, Cassius, however, feels he must uncover it and avenge her death,

The reader really feels the plight of the slaves, and one of the ways it's made obvious is that whenever anyone who is free speaks there are quote marks around their speech.
If they are slaves, there are no quotes, Thus, the reader is always aware of the difference in position of the speakers, even between a slave and a freed negro,

The descriptions of slave life are often very gritty and give the reader an excellent idea of how horrible it was to be property of another human, one who felt their property was subhuman and inconsequential.
Also, the description of the battle at Sharpsburg is one of the best battle scenes I've ever read,

It is also apparent that the slaves themselves are jockeying for position and will often do whatever is necessary to advance themselves, even at the expense of another slave.
There were several instances when women usually the flowers of the South, so often thought to be so kind and benevolent were spiteful, manipulative, or cruel, to the ultimate degradation, horrible pain, or death of the slaves.


My only argument with the book was that Cassius' life seemed to be charmed both when he was young, and during the events of this book, There certainly was a period of about five years when his life was very, very bad, but otherwise he seemed to be able to get away with nearly anything he wanted.
Fuller was careful to explain all those instances, but still it stretched the imagination too far,

I loved many quotes in the book, The following are a few that stood out:

"Cassius still found it odd to be spoken of as if he were deaf or invisible, It happened often whites simply said whatever was on their minds from front of their 'people,' bluntly revealing their thoughts and secrets, knowing he was taken so lightly made him feel small, "

"Humiliations from planters, their families, and every other white man, woman, and child in the county are more easily borne when your new partner hasn't been witness to your history of degradation, thus allowing you to maintain a small measure of dignity.
"

"Hoke looked at Cassius and his eyes were burdened with the helplessness of a terrible knowledge, In dismay, Cassius felt Hoke's empathy enfold him and finally understood his punishment, He did not intend to sell Cassius, Cassius was to witness the results of his actions, actions that had brought Tempie to this place, and thus be foreced to confront his conscience, The bleached muslin of the tent, warmly lit and close, embraced a history of anguish and grief and apprehension, the last place so many, God, so many people, would ever see their sons and daughters, their mothers and fathers and grandparents, their sisters and brothers and playmates before they were sold, and as the side of the tent bowed and shuddered in a soft breeze, Cassius heard a collective moan.
"

"A pet is something to love, a dog particularly, He loves you without opinion or judgment, he does not speak to you indignantly, he does not confuse your affections with foolish ideas and odd perspectives he merely loves.
I sometimes think of how easy it was for my father to favor you, Cassius, " Cassius, a secretly literate slave on a Civil Warera Virginia tobacco plantation, is determined to track down whoever killed his mentor and surrogate mother, Emoline Justice, a free black woman.
Making liberal use of his limited freedoms, Cassius takes to the road, playing the obvious disadvantages of life under the yoke to his favor, Along the way, he encounters slave traders, Underground Railroad conspirators, Union amp Confederate soldiers, Northern spies and a wide assortment of AfricanAmericans, slave and free, Edgar Award for Bestst Novel nominee, Sweetsmoke, is the name of a fictitious southern plantation owned by Hoke Howard, The story takes place sometime during the Civil War when the roles of owner and master are hanging in the balance, Slaves are running to taste freedom and owners are desperate to maintain the status quo by creating horrific examples of those who dare to flee, Both master and slave are afraid, for the future is precarious and unknown, returnreturnHoke Howard is the owner of Sweetsmoke consisting of the land, tobacco crop, livestock and most important of all his slave chattel, Cassius is one of Hoke s favored slaves and for some unexplained reason he is treated differently, Their unique relationship is noticed by the slave community as they perceive freedom given to him that others do not have, returnreturnreturnEmoline Justice is a freed slave living in town who was once owned by Hoke, She lives in town and is a conjurer, a healer, who nurses Hoke back from a serious injury, During the time he spends with her he learns to read, a punishable offense, often by death, This being Cassuis weapon, he keeps his secret from everyone, One day, Emoline is found dead, murdered by a crushing blow to her head from behind, Cassius becomes enraged with anger when he is told and has no choice but to seek vengeance for the death of his friend and teacher, To search for the killer, Cassius must leave the plantation requiring all his wit and skills to survive, He has never had so much freedom, but will he run given the chancereturnreturnFuller s storytelling is mesmerizing as he unveils hidden secrets of the Sweetsmoke Plantation that intertwine between the slave quarters and the big house.
His book is destined to be a major classic of American literature, It should be included on any reading list choice in high schools where there is an American History curriculum and also included in the study of US History in college.
returnreturnDavid Fuller s writing is beautifully poetic, written with lyrical verse and deep passion, returnHe is an accomplished storyteller whose years of screenwriting experience shows in this debut novel, As in any great movie, I couldn t wait to find out what happens, At the same time I wanted to savor the story and prolong the ending, Let s hope his next book is not too far in the future, .