Heather reviewed Undertaker's Assistant by Amanda Skenandore
Review of "Undertaker's Assistant" on 'Goodreads'
The Reconstruction period after the Civil War was a time when the hopes of the newly freed African-Americans were built up and then dashed by the resurgence of white supremacy. This book looks the life of a black woman during that period.
Effie is a fish out of water. She escaped slavery as a child. Her first memory is being taken in by a Union army camp. She was cared for by an Army doctor who took her home with him to Indiana after the war. She was raised as his ward and trained to help him with his new career as an undertaker. Now as an adult she is drawn back to New Orleans to try to find out more about her life. Did she have family? Can she find them?
Her instinct is to stay to herself. She has an introduction from her guardian to an undertaker who …
The Reconstruction period after the Civil War was a time when the hopes of the newly freed African-Americans were built up and then dashed by the resurgence of white supremacy. This book looks the life of a black woman during that period.
Effie is a fish out of water. She escaped slavery as a child. Her first memory is being taken in by a Union army camp. She was cared for by an Army doctor who took her home with him to Indiana after the war. She was raised as his ward and trained to help him with his new career as an undertaker. Now as an adult she is drawn back to New Orleans to try to find out more about her life. Did she have family? Can she find them?
Her instinct is to stay to herself. She has an introduction from her guardian to an undertaker who was a Union officer in the war. She gets a job that takes up most of her time but she slowly starts to meet new people. She gets involved in Republican politics after developing a crush on a black state senator. This exposes her to the ambitions of people who were formerly enslaved. She also meets a Creole woman and her mother. They are biracial upper class women who mourn the loss of status and wealth that has come about because of the war. These two groups of people allow the author to explore the effects of the end of slavery on several different classes of black and mixed race people.
I would have liked to known more about her employer. He was a southerner who chose to fight the for Union and then came back south to his hometown. Stress from the war and his unwelcome reception back in town have started him drinking. Over the course of the book he works on acclimating back into upper class white society. He needs to abandon the beliefs that would have led him to fight for the north to do this. Because we don't see his point of view, it appears very random and arbitrary. I would have like to have seen this change explored more deeply.
I loved this book. It shows how historical fiction can be used to explore many points of view and experiences in the same time frame. Using Effie as an outsider to all of them is a good device to see everyone clearly.
About the Author
Amanda Skenandore is a historical fiction writer and registered nurse. Between Earth and Sky was her first novel. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Readers can visit her website at www.amandaskenandore.com.
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Blog Tour Schedule
Tuesday, July 23
Review at The Lit Bitch
Review at Broken Teepee
Wednesday, July 24
Review at Coffee and Ink
Review at Reading the Past
Interview at Jathan & Heather
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Review at Jennifer Tar Heel Reader
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Review at CelticLady's Reviews
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Review at Jorie Loves a Story
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Review at McCombs on Main
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Review at A Chick Who Reads
Review at Clarissa Reads it All
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Review at Based on a True Story
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Feature at Mama's Reading Corner
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Review at Bibliophile Reviews
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Review at 100 Pages a Day
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Review at A Bookish Affair
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Feature at What Is That Book About
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Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Wednesday, August 14
Review at Amy's Booket List
Thursday, August 15
Review & Interview at Passages to the Past
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away two signed copies of The Undertaker's Assistant by Amanda Skenandore! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
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The Undertaker's Assistant
This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story