Brought to you by OBS reviewer Sarah

Synopsis:

Changing racial perceptions in the tumultuous 1960s brings conflict to a rural Southern family. A short story. (Goodreads)

Review:

I ended this short story wanting more.  Augusta Trobaugh’s written dialect is outstanding and brings you right into an African American home, but leaves too much to the imagination.  I was far more interested in this family than the story line.

The story is simple and taps into two mainstream ideas; what does Jesus look like and could he walk among us?  Focused around two young boys, one with a Dr. King-esque idea that Jesus could indeed be black, just like he could indeed be white.  The other is skeptical, mad about the dumb idea, and suppressed like the rest of his family.  A preacher comes to the home, a black man, who could very well be Jesus, walking among us, but the young boy’s family dismisses the preacher.

The story is poignant in that we all have our own beliefs despite growing up in the same family.  We are unique individuals; some of us follow the path our family sets forth and some of us create our own. I’d much rather have read about the turmoil of this family in every day situations, not the turmoil surrounding religion.