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If I hadn't lost my job last year, and if my fight with social anxiety disorder wasn't so severe, I would no doubt have found a replacement by now. And if I was currently working I would not have the free time that I do which in turn would have kept me away from the computer. If I had not spent so much of that free time at the computer I wouldn't have started entering sweepstakes and giveaways and reading the articles on the blogs and sites on which they were posted. In turn, I wouldn't have decided to start my own blog and, most certainly, I would never have embraced books that fell outside of my preferred genres. And if I had never explored those other genres I would never have entered, and won, a giveaway for 'Glorious' and I would have slept better these past few nights and not had the contents of this book haunt my waking hours. 'Glorious' really is that powerful.
As in the style of the paragraph above, although far more expertly crafted, the novel begins with a prologue that runs through a series of life changing events that lay the foundations for what will transpire in the life of the main character Easter Bartlett.
A few words if I may regarding the name of the main character. This is a very deep novel that, at first, seemed like it would be a very quick read as Ms McFadden's writing style was very fast paced. Yet there is so much depth within the story that I found myself purposely stopping at the end of each chapter and musing upon what I had just read. Think of reading this book as being on an train journey if you will...one can go from city A through city E directly and enjoy the commute. However, if the passenger takes the time to stop off at locations B, C and D along the way then that passenger will get far more out of the journey and learn a few things along the way. It's with this in mind that I get back to the main character, Easter. Easter, in terms of the religious holiday, is a day born out of the despair and anguish of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth but culminating in the joy of His resurrection. His resurrection signified a new beginning and the washing away of sin. The character name of Easter then is no simple coincidence as her journey is one born of despair and anguish yet it ultimately leads to redemption in her life. It's a simple connection yet a connection that can be easily missed if one just hurtles through this novel like the proverbial express train to New York.
One thing you will either love or hate about this novel is the constant evolution of Easter signified by her constant upheaval from one location to the next. As she is moving from one geographical place to another the characters Easter interacts with come and go from the novel very quickly. In the case of the performer Rain (another name that is expertly chosen by McFadden) I found this disheartening as I was loving the character so much. In Rain the author has a character with history, depth and unique substance and I can only hope Ms McFadden has plans to reintroduce Rain, perhaps as a main character, in a future novel as I'm certain there are many stories to be told regarding that character.
I mentioned at the beginning of this post that this novel has haunted me. Now bear in mind that I am an avid reader of horror and have been since I was a young teen more than twenty years ago. However, what constitutes real horror is the context in which the horrific action takes place. For instance, watching a horror movie where Jason decapitates an annoying college student does not hold the same power as a real life hostage being decapitated by his Al Qaeda captives. As such, when 'Glorious' deals with the rape of a child or the burning to death of a pregnant woman, for example, it hits a raw nerve due to having roots that are based in fact. And make no mistake, Ms McFadden, doesn't pull any punches in relation to the graphic elements of this novel. It does get the desired response though and I for one, as an Englishman living in America with little knowledge of black history, have felt compelled to spend some time researching slavery and the conditions and situations that the slaves had to endure. I have been educated by this book.
As solid and expertly written as 'Glorious' is there was one element of the story that had me at odds with Easter and how I was supposed to feel about her as a character. In chapter six of the book Easter is a teacher and she proceeds to have sexual relations with a male student who is fifteen years old. The text tells us she assumes him to be older and that is the solitary defense offered when her sexual relationship is ultimately exposed by the boy himself when he moves on to another female. Regardless of the male's cruel intention in my mind that made Easter a sexual predator as she committed statutory rape which, in turn, removed a lot of the sympathy I had for her up until that point. Perhaps that's just a modern day mentality viewing something that perhaps wasn't such a big deal in 1910 or so but it did ultimately change my feelings toward Easter and the immediate aftermath of what occurred.
There's so much more I could share about this novel as I feel I've barely scratched the surface of the content and it's depth but I don't wish my review to appear like an essay, if it hasn't done so already, and so I will leave you with the one word that describes the book and also happens to be its title...glorious.