When the Reckoning Comes: A Novel
By LaTanya McQueen
"LaTanya McQueen's When The Reckoning Comes is so deliciously uncomfortable there were moments where I had to put the book down, take a deep breath, and like Mira, its protagonist, urge myself to go further. This is a novel, like Octavia Butler's Kindred, that reminds its readers that as long as people don't acknowledge how much of the past still shapes the present, it will bring its whips, its hatchets, and fists to make us learn." — Megan Giddings, author of LakewoodA haunting novel about a black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind.More than a decade ago, Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse—the boy she secretly loved—arrested for murder.But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine’s wedding at the plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day.But for all its fancy renovations, the Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinks, entertainment includes horrifying reenactments, and the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation’s past have been carefully erased—rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the lands, seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented them, which includes most of the wedding guests.As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.
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When the Reckoning Comes: A Novel
By LaTanya McQueen
"LaTanya McQueen's When The Reckoning Comes is so deliciously uncomfortable there were moments where I had to put the book down, take a deep breath, and like Mira, its protagonist, urge myself to go further. This is a novel, like Octavia Butler's Kindred, that reminds its readers that as long as people don't acknowledge how much of the past still shapes the present, it will bring its whips, its hatchets, and fists to make us learn." — Megan Giddings, author of LakewoodA haunting novel about a black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind.More than a decade ago, Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in the south to forget. With every mile she traveled, she distanced herself from her past: from her best friend Celine, mocked by their town as the only white girl with black friends; from her old neighborhood; from the eerie Woodsman plantation rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves; from the terrifying memory of a ghost she saw that terrible day when a dare-gone-wrong almost got Jesse—the boy she secretly loved—arrested for murder.But now Mira is back in Kipsen to attend Celine’s wedding at the plantation, which has been transformed into a lush vacation resort. Mira hopes to reconnect with her friends, and especially, Jesse, to finally tell him the truth about her feelings and the events of that devastating long-ago day.But for all its fancy renovations, the Woodsman remains a monument to its oppressive racist history. The bar serves antebellum drinks, entertainment includes horrifying reenactments, and the service staff is nearly all black. Yet the darkest elements of the plantation’s past have been carefully erased—rumors that slaves were tortured mercilessly and that ghosts roam the lands, seeking vengeance on the descendants of those who tormented them, which includes most of the wedding guests.As the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse, and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together, and to save themselves from what is to come.
Popular Reviews(1)
Reviewed by Raphaela IIn Kindertagen waren sie beste Freunde, aber auch die Außenseiter an ihrer Schule. Jesse und Mira, aus der afro-amerikanischen Gemeinde der Kleinstadt, die jedoch trotzdem aus verschiedenen Welten zu kommen scheinen und Celine, weiß, aber arm. Gemeinsam gehen sie durch dick und dünn, bis zu dem Tag an dem sie sich auf die alte Tabakplantage schleichen. Dieser nachmittag soll nicht nur ihre Freundschaft, sondern auch ihre Leben für immer verändern. Erst als Erwachsene bringt Celines Hochzeit sie wieder zusammen. Sie hat es in die gehobenen Kreise geschafft und will ihre pompöse Hochzeit ausgerechnet auf der Plantage feiern, die nun zum Touristen Club umgebaut wurde. Doch seltsame Dinge geschehen immer noch auf dem Gelände, das so viel Gewalt und Blut gesehen hat. Eine Südstaaten Plantage als Haunted House, verknüpft mit dem geschichtlichen Hintergrund des Alltags der Plantagensklaven und der Kritikdes immer noch herrschenden Rassismus in der heutigen Gesellschaft... klingt viel versprechend, oder? Ja, dachte ich auch, nur leider bekommt die Autorin ihre anspruchsvollen Themen nicht so wirklich geregelt und verstrickt sich zu sehr in den Rückblenden und dem Versuch der tieferen Charakterisierung ihrer Figuren. Leider schaffen es die Antagonisten nicht aus der Klischeekiste raus, für eine Horrornovelle ist es sehr wenig Horror, die Gesellschaftskritik ist recht platt auf die Geschichte geklatscht und der Leser wird teilweise seitenweise mit Exposition zugeschüttet. Am Ende bleibt man etwas unbedfriedigt und frustriert zurück und hätte gern so viel mehr von dieser spannenden Ausgangssituation gehabt. Da hilft auch die schöne Prosa nicht.