March, Geraldine Brooks
This historical novel set in 1861 war-torn America follows the actions of March, an abolitionist chaplain.From Concord, March becomes a chaplain for Northern soldiers but his reformist sympathies and involvement with a slave leads to his demotion to educate black workers at Oak Landing, a liberated estate. All that liberation promises is not delivered and March is left to question his vision and his country’s future when guerrillas desecrate the estate and capture its occupants. Brooks borrows her protagonist March from the classic children’s book Little Women and conjures up a poignant tale of suffering and uncertainty that clouds a man who hopes for slave reform. The absent father in Little Women is given a voice and life so distant and remote from the trials and tribulations of Alcott’s four girls, that only fleetingly does this book correlate with the classic.
This adult book, with images of violence, death and grievous human error captures an unerring sense of reality. March’s indecision and earnestness fittingly depicts a man who is trapped between duty to country and duty to his family. March himself, has faults and his views on equality are not always synonymous with the slaves themselves. His involvement with Grace, an educated black slave, leaves our sympathy with March’s wife who picks up the narrative three quarters of the way through.
As the reader, we are very much left to question the aims and foresight of March. Also, historically this book is important as a reminder of a past America which hid behind a veneer of freedom but in reality was far from this. The recent anniversary of the abolition of slavery brings to the fore abolitionary texts and this is a great starting point for anyone wishing to gain a brief insight through the viewpoint of a fictional character .
Abby Thetford
