falk reading

As I prepare to read The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, I find myself prepared for a haunting journey steeped in both fiction and very much non-fictitious elements. My husband and I were shopping at a local grocery store when I came across this book. I enjoy reading books with ghosts, or haints as is appropriate for this novel, and decided to purchase it despite having an extensive amount of TBR books at home. I also find myself prepared for real-world horrors given the setting and time-period of this novel.

If you are an African American, you very likely are familiar with the all-too-recent horrors of the Jim Crow South that were experienced by black persons, especially young boys, long after slavery was abolished. As a non-African American person, I only became aware of these horrors (which is frankly not a strong enough word) during my high-school African American History class. Had I not taken this class, I would probably find myself thinking this novel was out-of-touch as boys do not get sentenced to reform school for kicking. You did, however, if you were a young black boy living in the time period and location in which this book is set. What’s more is that this novel seem to be inspired by the real death of the author’s great uncle who died in one such school in 1937 at 15 years of age.

I look forward to this journey and expect that I am going to need some tissues and possibly a place to take out some anger and frustration at some point. I often get emotional while reading books that have tragedy tied into them, but even more so when it involves innocent kids. I get even more emotional when I am ill as I am now while preparing to read this book with a steaming mug of Three Ginger Tea by Pukka teas; this is one of my favorites to settle my stomach. It is a beautiful pre-Spring day and I am blessed to be able to escape from this book at any time unlike those who have lived through this real-life pain and suffering.

Happy reading!

❤ Abbey