This tale has it all:
1. Successful immigrant family living the "American Dream"
2. Sibling rivalry
3. Marital strife
4. Mysterious co-worker
5. Loveable pet (as plot device)
6. Thwarted lover
7. Ominous warning from spiritual leader
8. Murder
9. Family secret(s)!
Honestly, what more could you want?
I love a teeny book. I'm not gonna lie--that's what prodded me to pick up this gem. However, the whole thing is so lovely that I metered my time with it to one chapter a day, in order to absorb it more fully. The opening page states that Mr. Hawke found this letter from an ancestor, a knight, who died in 1483. He then had it translated, and on to us it came. Or is it all fabricated? Who knows, and really, who cares? It's a little book with a big punch. Lessons for anyone to live by. The icing on the cake is that the illustrations were done by his wife. It's a keeper.
This first book by Dominique Dubois Gilliard (second was Subversive Witness) is a good and informative effort on a difficult subject, but it would have been even more powerful with some good editing. This Christian spin on systemic racism and the cancer it causes societally hit the mark, and there were some worthwhile passages and insights, but too much real estate was taken up by rehashing other books' messaging. I'm all for a reference, but I felt as if I were re-reading the originals a little too often. Aside from that, there was more than a little clean-up that needed to happen and got missed. He's a good author, though, with a powerful message. I would recommend as an overview for those who have not read a lot on this topic.
