On Sunday, April 5, 1936, a tornado devastated Tupelo, Mississippi. More than 200 people were reported dead, and the hundreds of African-American casualties were not even counted. The stories and folklore surrounding the storm flourished for decades—a woman found a baby in a crepe myrtle, a cow flew upside down, etc. In her second novel, Minrose Gwin (The Queen of Palmyra) harnesses the intensity of the tornado and pieces together a dual narrative of survival.

Dovey Grand'homme is an old African-American washwoman, and Jo McNabb is a white 15-year-old schoolgirl. The Grand'homme and McNabb families are connected by more than just the intimate laundry that Dovey sorts through weekly—they are also irrevocably linked by a despicable act. Son McNair, Jo's older brother, raped Dovey's granddaughter, resulting in a light-skinned baby boy named Promise. During the storm, both Promise and Jo's baby brother are lost. When Jo finds a baby in her yard, she assumes it is her brother, and the premise is set for this impressive novel.

Promise takes on the page-turning pacing of a mystery while remaining solidly literary. Gwin's writing is as precise as it is entertaining, and she creates unique rhythms for Dovey and Jo, giving each a distinct pulse. Their memories, supported by a great cast of nurses, neighbors and relatives, bring great richness to the story.

The aid available to the African-American community was obviously insufficient, and literally countless lives were lost for the sake of keeping segregation intact during immediate relief efforts. Humans may have the ability to overcome disaster, but as Gwin illustrates here, segregation neutralizes humanity.

 

This article was originally published in the March 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

On April 5, 1936, as part of a four-day series of twisters throughout the South, tornadoes hit Tupelo, MS, and Gainesville, GA, killing more than 200 people; the Tupelo outbreak reached the top of the scale measuring tornado strength. Tupelo native Gwin, whose Palmyra was a Discover Great New Writers pick, lets us relive the events by telling the story of African American teenager Dovey, who stops by the powerful white McNabbs as she rushes home and discovers a baby boy she's convinced is her brother. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

An opening author's note explains how reports of the devastating 1936 Tupelo, MS, tornado that killed 200 people ignored its impact on the African American community, so this work of historical fiction is intended as a means of deciphering that "fractured landscape"—making it a novel that would appeal to readers of Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings. Black and white characters are equally well drawn in this atmospheric whirlwind of a book, set over the brief period from the moment the unannounced late-evening storm strikes to its horrific aftermath. The story jumps back and forth in time, as confusedly as the protagonists' thoughts, following the parallel paths of survivors struggling to find family members, but persistent readers will be well rewarded. VERDICT Gwin's sophomore effort (after The Queen of Palmyra) is a memorable, dreamlike, if disjointed narrative that vividly conveys what it was like to survive the fourth most deadly tornado in U.S. history; it also brings to light the vast disparity in the care and treatment of white vs. black residents. [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]—Laurie Cavanaugh, Thayer P.L., Braintree, MA