Fiction Review: Black Cloud Rising

I know I've been here the whole time talking about Booktopia at the Northshire Bookstore in Vermont this past weekend, but this was an amazing and unique event! One of the nice things are the extraordinary books and authors presented and invited by the booksellers to the event. One of eight writers this year is David Wright Faladé with his powerful historical novel, Black Cloud Rising. This unique Civil War story is engaging, heartwarming, thought provoking and captivating.

The novel begins when the narrator, Richard Etheridge, is a boy on Roanoke Island near the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Richard was born a slave but his father was the owner of the John Etheridge house. John took his nephew Patrick, who was the same age, so the two boys - one black slave and the other white slave - grew up together as brothers. However, as Richard grows up, he realizes that they are no longer the same and never will be, that Patrick has privileges he will never have, and while John clearly loves Richard, he can never be his "real" son. . When the boys turn 20, the Union Army explores their territory, freeing the slaves and offering them the opportunity to join the Union Army. To John and Patrick's dismay, he calls himself Richard and becomes part of an all-black regiment. In fact, thanks to the education received by Giovanni through the education of his daughter, Riccardo soon became a sergeant. The regiment, including many of Richard's childhood friends, was made up of freed slaves led by several white officers engaged in abolition. They roamed the swamps of eastern Virginia and North Carolina, going from house to house and farm to farm, fighting Confederate rebels and freeing slaves from sometimes uncooperative slave owners. Overall, Richard recalled moments from his childhood and reflected on how he would adapt to society in the future.

At first glance, this is a historical fiction about the civil war - and it sheds full light on the unknown aspects of the war - but it is more than that. There is an emotional complexity here that is also a very intimate story about Richard and his newly discharged soldiers. All characters are fully finished and offer a different perspective on this extraordinary event. Richard's family origins add to the complexity of the racial relationships presented here, as some white officers viewed black soldiers as mere physical strength and few realized their full potential as wise and sentimental men. This superfluous detail captures echoes of the racial issues we still experience today. This novel is also beautifully written, wrapped in a compelling story with lots of action and suspense. Like many historical novels, I was completely immersed in a little piece of history that I did not know, but I was also intrigued by the rich emotional lives of Richard and the other characters. This is the author's first adult novel and I can't wait to see what he will write next.

290 pages, Atlantic Monthly Press

Registered book

I really enjoyed meeting David Wright at Faladé Booktopia and hearing interesting discussions about his book. To get a feel for this interesting author, check out these 12 quick things Video by David Wright Falad from Bookfinity :

 

This book is part of the 2022 Reading Challenge :

Reading diversity challenge

(This - believe it or not, this is my third book I've read so far this year set in North Carolina!)

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