Sweetsmoke - Book Review
Sweetsmoke by David Fuller
Release date: Tuesday, August 26th
Okay, wow.
Sweetsmoke is a novel told through the eyes of a slave in Virginia, during the Civil War. Cassius is, luckily for him, different from other slaves. As the plantation carpenter, he doesn’t have to work in the field under the slave driver; neither does he work in the ‘big house’ under the watchful eye of his master. Cassius is relatively free, as slaves go - he is also very intelligent, which is a tremendous help to him when he finds a friend murdered and sets out to avenge her death.
Clearly, when I saw this book listed on the LibraryThing Early Reviewers page I thought it looked interesting. Then I was chosen to read and review it, and that’s what I started getting nervous. A slave travels around the upper South during the Civil War to avenge the death of a friend, a free black woman? It sounded as if it might be ridiculous, or just plain stupid. I believe that I was getting cold feet due to the fiasco that was the last Civil War historical fiction book I reviewed. I thought that one looked interesting too. How wrong I was.
In this case, however, my first instinct was correct. This book was simply fabulous. Cassius was a strong and expressive character. Actually, he was the master of hiding his thoughts and feelings to his masters, but David Fuller wrote him in a way that made his very being shine through the pages. Never once did I feel that I was reading about a fictional character, I felt more that I was following Cassius on his quest.
One of the most interesting choices that Fuller made in this book was a stylistic choice. Whenever a slave was speaking, Fuller left out the quotation marks. He did not omit quotation marks throughout the book, when white men and women, and even free blacks spoke they were granted quotation marks, but not the words of slaves. I was sure this was going to annoy me, and yet it did not. In fact, it helped me feel even more the dehumanizing effects of slavery. I wondered sometimes if the white men and women were really hearing Cassius when he spoke, with the inequities of the quotation marks.
“Sweetsmoke” by David Fuller is, simply, a remarkable example of historical fiction and a moving story of a slave during the Civil War, with all of the upheaval that brought. You should read this book.
Read a Q&A with David Fuller about “Sweetsmoke”
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August 14th, 2008 at 9:47 am
This was such an amazing book, wasn’t it? I’m so happy that you liked it as much as I did. Now you see why I had such a hard time picking a favorite book last month.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:53 am
It really was a fantastic book. I’m not looking forward to having to pick my favorite book this month, I’ve already got 4 or 5 contenders, and the month isn’t even half over!
August 14th, 2008 at 10:01 am
[...] Between the Pages, A Bookworms Dinner and Devourer of Books If I missed yours please let me know so I can post it also. You can [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Hi Jen, Thanks for your comment! I am dying to read this myself:) They told me they didn’t have any arc’s left. I linked your review on my giveaway of it.
August 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Thanks for the review.! I think Gone with the Wind was the last civil war novel I read. Truly, it’s time for me to move on … I’ll give Sweetsmoke a try.
August 14th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I enjoyed reading your review. I just heard about this book earlier this week and kept thinking either it’s great or weird! Glad to hear it’s fabulous and am adding to my TBR list.
August 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
That use of punctuation to illustrate a person’s status as slave sounds very interesting. I’ve ready plenty of books that didn’t use quotations for anyone’s dialog, but none that used them selectively. How curious. I wonder if it would bug me or not.
August 14th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I also found his use of quotes really interesting. I just love the way he did dialogue, it felt so authentic and really helped Cassius jump off the page. Great review. =)
August 26th, 2008 at 6:01 am
[...] by David Fuller - My Review - Purchase this [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 7:01 am
[...] general, I like to have a strong plot with strong characters, like David Fuller’s Sweetsmoke (review), for instance. From time to time I like to read a book that is mostly plot, but over all it is [...]
August 31st, 2008 at 6:52 am
[...] by David Fuller My Review - Buy on [...]
September 29th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Okay, now I really want to read this book. It sounds simply fantastic!
October 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am
i get nervous when i read books in which some of the characters are slaves b/c i’m always worried that the language used will be offensive/stereotypical, like jar jar binks or something…but i wanted to get this one on early reviewers and didn’t…
October 14th, 2008 at 9:11 am
[...] Sweetsmoke - A very well-done book about the life of a slave during the Civil War. Loved it. [...]