s[r] Goodreads #FridayReads

Enjoy this recent review on our Goodreads.com page from s[r] staff, Julie Matsen.

QuakertownQuakertown by Lee Martin

The unfortunately true story of an African American community’s upheaval in 1920s Texas focuses on the reactions of two quasi-fictional families, one white and one black, who are integral in the town’s shift toward further segregation and its fiery aftermath. Little Washington Jones, a talented gardener, has to adapt to changing attitudes towards people of color, making a life for himself in a white man’s world while trying to protect his daughter Camellia. Andrew Bell, a banker, tries to make life in nearby Denton more palatable for his fellow townspeople while taking care of his alcoholic wife Tibby and crippled son Kizer. When the demands become too great after a public shooting, both men have to choose between their families and the town they hold so dear. Their children must also live with the often-heartbreaking consequences of their own actions as well as those of their parents.

Though it may be billed as nonfiction, Lee Martin’s Quakertown reads as what it is–an engaging novel from a talented translator of the past.

You can read The Last Words of Boneheads and Fraidy Cats by Martin in s[r] Issue 8.

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