Sunday, January 15, 2012

Red Tail Heart

Red Tail Heart by Kenneth W. Williams reminds the reader of the inequities perpetrated that Dr. Martin Luther King is revered for having confronted and opposed.  The author provides glimpses of a time when Jim Crow laws and segregation continued to divide a society that was willing to accept the sacrifices provided by people of color but not to acknowledge their contribution.  The story is a bit awkward to read and has a disconcerting number of errors but offers interesting vignettes of the time with sprinklings of beautifully creative descriptions.  There are odd shifts in points of view and voices (particularly during the confrontation between the German soldier and the female Resistance fighter and the journal entries and letters which purportedly give insight into Roy's life and reason for his actions) and I struggled to finish the book but ultimately, it is a love story...just meanders around for awhile before it gets there.  There are a lot of injustices depicted in the book so it is particularly apropos that I read it near Martin Luther King Day.  I expected there to be much more detail about the Tuskegee Airmen so I was a bit disappointed but I did feel that there were redeeming elements to the story...provided one is patient enough to read the whole book.  My Night Owl Review is at this link

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