American Blues: A Novel

In 1973, Lily Vida Wallace is dropped into Greenville, South Carolina, and returns to Manhattan to pursue theological studies and struggle with her erratic engagement. When her fiancé flees, Atlanta attorney Rodney Davis lands in her path, and a new love grows, challenging her naïveté about race. Twenty years later, Reverend Vida and Lucius Clay reunite in Oakland, California, and Lucius is dispatched to cover Black church burnings, including Lily's hometown in Texas. American Blues offers no neat resolution, inviting readers to confront their own assumptions and complex experiences of race and gender in America.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 360 pages
Publication date: 26 May 2022
Publisher: She Writes Press

In the aftermath of the tragic lynching of Black church sexton Sam Jefferson in 1973, Lily Vida Wallace finds herself abruptly relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, a place where she feels like an outsider. Despite her return to Manhattan to continue her theological studies with the hope of overturning a centuries-old male-only priesthood, Lily grapples with the challenges of her erratic engagement. However, her life takes an unexpected turn when her fiancé flees after discovering professional impropriety, and Atlanta attorney Rodney Davis enters her path. Against all odds, a new love blossoms, challenging Lily's preconceived notions about race and accelerating her understanding of the complexities of interracial relationships.

Fast forward to the present day, and high-profile interracial nuptials in Oakland, California, bring together the Reverend Vida and Lucius Clay, the journalist she met in South Carolina during her tumultuous time. Their reunion is filled with anticipation and nostalgia, but it is short-lived as Lucius is dispatched to cover the alarming trend of Black church burnings, beginning with Lily's hometown in Texas.

Writer Hilton Als aptly remarks that America is not a monolithic narrative but a tapestry of diverse stories. American Blues, with its timely and thought-provoking narrative, invites readers to confront their own assumptions and deeply personal experiences of race and gender in America. It does not provide easy answers or tidy resolutions but rather encourages introspection and empathy.

Through the lives of Lily and Lucius, the novel explores the complexities of interracial relationships, the scars of trauma, and the search for healing and redemption. It sheds light on the ongoing struggles faced by marginalized communities and challenges readers to confront the systemic injustices that perpetuate inequality. American Blues is a powerful testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Dimension: 215 x 139 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781647420772