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Synopsis
In Crossing Bully Creek, acclaimed author Margaret Erhart chronicles change through generations. At the story's heart is the owner of Longbrow Plantation, Henry Detroit — now on his deathbed as the 1960s come to a close. Around him swirl servants, retainers, workers, and family, all gathered to preside over his death, and the death of life as they know it in the South. The book moves back and forth from the 1920s to the 1960s. From Henry's wife Rowena, to the servant Rutha, from his saucy granddaughter to the man running the plantation for his son, characters white and black move through a time when old traditions linger, yet begin to give way — subtly transformed through the small, determined acts.
Library Journal
The last gasp of the Old South and the rocky transition to modern times underlie this collection of vignettes, which never quite come together as a novel. In the late 1960s, Northerner Henry Detroit, owner of the Longbrow Plantation, is dying, and his family, neighbors, and servants-as well as the descendants of the former slaves of the plantation-gather around. Flashbacks to the 1920s reveal back stories of the disparate characters, but there are so many that the effect is choppy and hard to follow. Race relations and the shadow of the Civil War (e.g., old Henry's wife is a descendant of William Tecumseh Sherman) color the relationships and outlooks of the 20th-century Detroits and Davises, who run the plantation. Despite some flashes of genuine storytelling and interesting personalities, Erhart's fourth novel (after Old Love) is not fully developed. Of interest to regional fiction collections.-Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.