Synopses & Reviews
The year is 1862, and the Civil War rages through the South. On a Virginia tobacco plantation, another kind of battle soon begins."A fascinating and gripping novel about the Civil War. The slave, Cassius Howard, is a great fictional character, and his story is part mystery, part love story, and a harrowing portrait of slavery that reads with the immense power of the slave narratives."
--Pat Conroy, author of Beach Music and South of Broad
"David Fuller vividly and movingly describes the life of Cassius, a slave on a Virginia tobacco plantation. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Sweetsmoke resonates with unforgettable characters, and is a gripping story of loss and survival."
--Robert Hicks, author of The Widow of the South
"Fuller works hard to give us a mid-19th century world that feels authentic, from small details . . . to the larger sprawl of the plantation . . . captivating."
--The New York Times Book Review
"The plot unfolds at a brisk pace, and Fuller does an especially good job with the battle scenes . . . Cassius, who has never drawn a single breath as a free man, is a compelling character from the start. Sweetsmoke is a well-imagined and researched novel of survival and courage."
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Featuring slave traders, smugglers and spies, the novel transports us to a chilling milieu in which human beings are humiliated, and the slaves have a forlorn hope of freedom, decency and dignity . . . Sweetsmoke haunts us long after the final page is turned."
--Tennessean.com
Synopsis
Set on a Virginia tobacco plantation in 1862, this novel follows a skilled carpenter and slave who risks everything to learn the truth concerning the murder of a freed black woman.
Synopsis
The year is 1862, and the Civil War rages through the South. On a Virginia tobacco plantation, another kind of battle soon begins. There, Cassius Howard, a skilled carpenter and slave, risks everything -- punishment, sale to a cotton plantation, even his life -- to learn the truth concerning the murder of Emoline, a freed black woman, a woman who secretly taught him to read and once saved his life. It is clear that no one cares about her death in the midst of a brutal and hellish war. No one but Cassius, who braves horrific dangers to escape the plantation and avenge her loss.
As Cassius seeks answers about Emoline's murder, he finds an unexpected friend and ally in Quashee, a new woman brought over from another plantation; and a formidable adversary in Hoke Howard, the master he has always obeyed.
With subtlety and beauty, Sweetsmoke captures the daily indignities and harrowing losses suffered by slaves, the turmoil of a country waging countless wars within its own borders, and the lives of those people fighting for identity, for salvation, and for freedom.
About the Author
David Fuller has been a screenwriter for 25 years. He became fascinated with the role of African Americans in World War II as a young man when he befriended an African American pilot and worked closely with him for years. Fuller lives in Los Angeles with his wife, a VP for Twentieth Century Fox, and twin sons. Sweetsmoke is his first novel.