This Other Eden

Beautifully-written, brutal tale of eugenics and racism. The story is devastating and tells the story of Apple Island (based on a true story) from the perspective of a group of people who lived there across generations. A mixed-race collective that was ripped from their home, placed in "schools for the feeble-minded" or state hospitals. This is one of many books of historical fiction (or at least "historical fiction adjecent") up for awards recently, and I'm thinking of this trend part of a broader grappling with history. One version is MAGA, of course, or "parents rights" advocates who are banning books. Another version is this book (or The Maniac or Blackouts...two others I've read recently) that are using fiction to engage with history, telling histories without claiming to be offering just the facts of the case. Using the archive rather than claiming to represent it.