3 Stars
Ten-year-old Ebby Freeman hears the gunshot that kills her older brother Baz and shatters a family heirloom known as Old Mo, an old stoneware jug handcrafted by an enslaved ancestor. The Freeman family, one of the only Black families in an affluent New England enclave, faces a media frenzy. This is repeated eighteen years later when Ebby’s fiance, Henry Pepper, doesn’t show up on their wedding day. Ebby flees to France where she spends time reflecting on what she and her family have lost and how to move ahead.
A major theme is how the past informs the present. It’s certainly obvious that trauma has shaped the lives of many. Ebby has never recovered from the death of Baz as her relationship difficulties indicate. Ebby’s parents, Ed and Soh, also have never recovered; Soh, for instance, has become overly protective of her daughter.
But another theme is one that is also found in the author’s previous book, Black Cake: how poor communication causes relationship problems. This is not just the case between Ebby and Henry, but also between Ed and Soh and between Ebby and her parents. So many times, I wanted to scream at the characters, “Just talk to each other openly and honestly.”
The book has multiple points of view. I usually enjoy this narrative technique, but this novel includes the perspectives of secondary characters which add little to the story. For instance, what’s the purpose of including the point of view of the two robbers? We already know how Baz dies, so why do we have to have his viewpoint? Because there are multiple timelines and the novel jumps amongst characters and time frames, the result is a disjointed novel.
The book is much longer than it needs to be. The story tends to be repetitive. Over and over again, we have Ebby’s interior monologue always focused on the same thoughts about her brother’s death, the media focus on her family, and Henry’s disappearing on their wedding day. How many times must there be teasing reference to the secret message of hope inscribed on Old Mo? Repeatedly withholding information doesn’t create suspense; it just becomes annoying. Then there are the events that serve no purpose. What, for example, is the purpose of Henry’s injury? Yes, Avery and Ebby connect as a result, but are their interactions really necessary? The many extraneous scenes add quantity but not quality. The reliance on coincidences also weakens the narrative. The section in France is particularly full of chance events.
Good Dirt suffers from another weakness also found in Black Cake: the impression of a checklist of issues that the author wants to mention. So many problems faced by Blacks are covered: their history not being seen as part of American history because Blacks are still perceived as being worth less; the difficulty of their being accepted as capable, successful and affluent; the dangers faced by young Black men; the tendency to blame Black families that have encountered misfortune; and the disapproval of mixed-race marriages. And of course there’s the horrible treatment Blacks suffered from the beginning of their being brought to the country. All of these certainly deserve attention, but trying to address all of them in one book may not be the best approach.
The book needs tightening. It meanders all over the place and touches on so many characters and so many issues that it lacks focus. It would be a more powerful book were unnecessary repetition and elements omitted.
Note: In return for an honest review, I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
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