Sister of Mine (Georgia #1) by Sabra Waldfogel

Sister of Mine (Georgia #1) Reviews

• 
  Lois

  Slavery from the owners point of view
  
  This book is a mess. The author has researched Jewish chattel slave owners in the US but does not seem to have studied slavery from the pov of the enslaved.
  The characters don't behave in realistic ways. This feels like white guilt wrote a book.
• 
  Chrissie

  I wavered with this book, back and forth between three or four stars. Some sections grab you, pull you in and won’t let you go. Other sections are weaker – ordinary, cute or holier-than-thou. Unfortunately, the ending was for me too neat and too sweet, the result being I gave it three stars. I liked the book. I can recommend it to others. Many adore such endings.
  
  The book covers many themes – the production and trade of cotton, the relationship between sisters of different color, Jews in the South, Jewish traditions, discrimination of Blacks, the bloody events of both the Civil War and the chaos afterwards when the Unionists won. What the book does best is make the reader feel emotional forces binding and tearing individuals, between father and daughter, daughter and mother, between sisters and between lovers. How did it feel to be black and discriminated against? Think again....how did it really feel? Can we understand this? Can we put ourselves in their shoes, but forget it, they often didn't even have shoes?! Each character is not good or bad, but both good and bad. This made them believable.
  
  There are love scenes, some quite explicit and lengthy. Too lengthy?
  
  I appreciated that the book concludes with an afterword documenting the history and the presence of Jews in the South during antebellum times. How many actually had slaves and how did this come to be given their own heritage of discrimination in Europe and slavery in Egypt?
  
  Bahni Turpin narrates the audiobook. She dramatizes. In my view, when an author's words are themselves emotive further emphasis is really not needed! One easily hears who is speaking - infants, youngsters, Blacks, Whites, slaves and gentry. There are even shrill chirping birds……which I felt were too loud!
  
• 
  Rachelle

  Sister of Mine explores a rarely discussed part of the Antebellum South - the Jewish community, many of whom were wealthy slaveholders. Through the lives of Adelaide Mannheim and her sister Rachel who is her slave, we get an intimate look at slavery's destructiveness. Both women are severely limited by society's laws and expectations. We see the pervasive cognitive dissonance of Adelaide's friends and family who recite the Jewish prayers and remembrances of when the Jews were slaves in Egypt and when they were discriminated against in Europe and yet are able to justify the slaves they own that provide their wealth and status. Waldfogel shows a deft hand with both description and dialogue as she explores the unhealthy intimacy and inequality between masters and their slaves that create complex, painful and at times loving relationships.
  
  Note: Book provided by Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Sonya Heaney

  It's not perfect, but I'm giving it five because of how interesting I found it.
  
  Also posted
  HERE.
  
  This is an epic sort of story, one that seemed to take me a while to read, but one I’m very glad I did. Dealing with slavery and sisterhood in the lead-up and duration of the US Civil War in the mid-nineteenth century, Sister of Mine is told from the perspective of two young Southern women, one the daughter of a rich Jewish landowner in Georgia, and the other her slave (and secret half-sister).
  
  If you’re not from the United States you might want to familiarise yourself with the basics of the war (and where the various states are positioned) before starting – if you want to get the most out of the book.
  
  I can’t tell you if every detail of the history is correct, but there does seem to be a staggering amount of research that went into this. It’s not that it overpowers the story, but that the casual mentions of everything from foods to fashions seemed to have been carefully researched before being put on the page.
  
  This is historical fiction, which means there’s plenty of sadness to go with the better times. There are a few points in the story where you’re going to find some of the major players (very) difficult to like, but that seemed realistic to me, and it left lots of room for them to change and grow over the years and through the war.
  
  Nobody is perfect here, and it is all much more complex with the topic of slavery and seeing a war through the eyes of the losing side, especially as some of it is told from the perspective of people who own slaves. I thought it was really brilliant how the author managed to turn characters’ minds around, and how she found a way for them to be on both sides of the conflict – sometimes at the same time.
  
  Mostly, this is a bittersweet sort of story. It’s not fluff that you read through in a few hours, and it was exactly what I’d been looking for after one Regency ballroom too many in my recent reads.
  
  
  Review copy provided by NetGalley.
• 
  Carole

  This will be one of my favorites for the year. A Goodreads friend recommended it to me. She said it was a self published book, and hadn't been advertised. The story is of 2 sisters, both daughters of the Master of a cotton plantation. One born to the mistress of the house, the other to a slave. The owners of the plantation are Jewish, and the story explores slavery in Egypt to slavery in the south. It's a beautiful tale of love and hardship, one that creates characters with depth. If you enjoyed "The Kitchen House" or "The Invention Of Wings" you will want to read this page turner! I very highly recommend it!
• 
  Mrsbear

  Listened to the audio book. I feel this is one of those times when the audio book was better. The narrator was one of the best that I've heard.
• 
  Deborah Bailey

  ***Contains spoilers***
  
  A complex and layered story that drew me in to the point where I couldn't put the book down. What happens when emotions come in conflict with a system that rationalizes and perpetuates a cruel and inhumane practice? Can you be enslaved and yet allow yourself to love and commit in a world where you cannot call your body your own? It amazed me that a first-time author, Sabra Waldfogel could weave these strands together so well and create a story that's both moving and disturbing.
  
  The main characters, Rachel, Henry and Adelaide are locked in a triangle. Bound by family ties and (in Rachel's case) literally bound in slavery. Rachel is enslaved and at the mercy of the owners, which include her father and sister. The memory of her mother's death haunts her and she's left to determine what the relationship could have been between her slave mother and slave-master father.
  
  Adelaide is, in her way, bound to convention and tradition -- both the tradition of the culture and her religion. She must marry in spite of her own desires, and she's faced with a match that may lead to disaster, only to chose one that might deliver the same fate. Henry is conflicted between his own heritage and religious beliefs, and the customs of the country he now inhabits and wants to succeed in. Though Adelaide and Henry could make the choice to walk away - and risk everything that comes with rejecting religious and social mores - they do have the choice. Rachel does not. So the ties that bind depend on where one is in the hierarchy.
  
  In a heartbreaking scene at a slave auction, slaves try to make arrangements for their own sales in order to stay with family and loved ones. This shows that the enslaved were not mute, passive victims. They were actively working to make a way out of no way, and taking charge of their survival the best they could within the constraints that imprisoned them.
  
  Rachel's story reminded me of stories from my own family, particularly when it came to slaves making deals (or using trickery) to learn to read and write. Yet, at the same time, they had to hide their intelligence and strength lest they incurred the wrath of the slave-master. Rachel must hold her own feelings in check, and try to navigate between staying in her "place" while reserving the right to call her soul her own (even if she can't say the same for her body). It's a precarious path that could lead to death, or even madness.
  
  The author did a great job of showing the conflict within the slaves who must stay subservient, hiding their true feelings and thoughts under the "slave mask." Their need to work to keep Henry's place going comes mostly from their desire not to be sold off. Working to keep him successful keeps their families intact, and lessens the chance they'll end up in an even worse situation.
  
  As the story continues, each character must face various trials as their relationships are tested. Adelaide's growth comes at a price, but she is able to finally come to terms with the world as it is after the war. In fact, it just might be a world where she can finally stop being subservient to her father's bidding. Her growing acceptance of the real nature of her relationship with Henry, also frees her to connect with Rachel, woman-to-woman. This realization is put to the test when they're threatened by people who see their success (and freedom for the slaves) as a threat that can't be tolerated. Adelaide finally comes into her own and shows she is not the person we saw in the beginning. In addition, the author shows how the seeds for present-day racist resentments were sown as the various social and economic classes of whites clashed at war's end. Once the veil of order and gentility is ripped away, a new reality must be faced.
  
  Henry's letters give startling and horrific glimpses of war, and his transition also comes with a price. Although he still maintains a bit of idealism (evidenced by his decision to live his life on his terms with the woman he really loves) it also reflects his new found awareness. However it is important to note that the people he leaves behind - slave and free - are the ones who keep things going. Thanks to them, he returns to a better situation than others who either didn't return or lost the status and riches they once had.
  
  Rachel's transition, for me, is about her acceptance of her positions as sister, sister-in-law, lover, daughter, mother. Through it all she keeps her sense of self while navigating a landscape filled with danger. She's at the center of a knot of family ties that are also master/slave ties, tangled and almost impossible for a reader in the present day to comprehend.
  
  The author's research is evident, and it gives the story richness that never makes it ring false. It's not an easy read, and there are questions asked that are still being answered today. This is not a sweeping saga with larger than life characters, but an intimate look at people whose fates are intertwined for better and for worse during a time in this country's history that is still resonating today. (Received a review copy.)
  
  
• 
  George Bristow

  Well written
  
  
  The story pulled me along until the two sisters end up with the same man. Then it was strange...I also didnt think so much sexual details was necessary for the story. Would have been better without it.
• 
  Ariel Uppstrom

  The first half of this book was great. It really captured the complexity of the South during slavery and the relationships between slaves, mixed slaves, and their white masters. However, then the white mistress's (Adelaide) half black sister (Rachel) "falls in love" with her master and starts a relationship with him. The idea that she was actually in love with him and allowed the relationship to go as it did seemed so against her earlier character. Then the fact that the sisters were able to come to a positive understanding about their situation while the master was away at war seemed so unlikely and so rapid that I just couldn't believe it.
• 
  Trudy

  I'll admit the title of this book turned me off. Just felt like it was going to be unrealistic fluff.( BYW, I enjoy a fluffy book when I'm in the mood.). However a Goodreads friend, Carole, gave it very good reviews and we share many books in common. So, I decided to give it a try.
  It is a very well researched story presented in a rather "lite" manner. That fact alone will give it positive reviews. Reminds me of what I used to do as a teacher when presenting certain subject matter to my students. The gist of the story is that Jewish slave owners, who were slaves themselves at one time, now owned slaves of their own. Many of these slave owners slid seamlessly into their new roles as "masters", so glad to be on the "other end", while others endured many inner conflicts about slave ownership.
  I've read so many books about the horrors of slavery, it was difficult for me to come to grips with some of the incidents in this story. In honesty, though, I haven't experienced many books where the relationships between slaves and slave owners were tolerable. While reading I reminded myself that like all tragic events in our history, there were decent heroic people, who spoke out against evil, with their voices and their actions.
  All in all, a good engaging read.
• 
  Nancee

  My thoughts ~
  
  Daughter of a Jewish cotton planter, Adelaide develops a friendship with her young personal maid, Rachel. Mordecai Mannheim fathered the half sisters born to different mothers, one Jewish, the other a black slave. The girls became friends, and Adelaide taught Rachel how to read and do numbers. Forbidden to slaves, Rachel's reading and numbers became her advantage as time passed.
  
  The Civil War is well researched. Varied, but believable characters make up the substance of this book. Life in the mid-1800s is so well delineated that through reading this book, details were realistic and authentic. Civil War history is one of my favorite topics, and this book satisfied my interest on numerous levels.
  
  Relationships became tempestuous and intense as forbidden activities develop between main characters. Although I found the book to be a bit slow at times, it is intriguing, passionate and complex. If you love Civil War tales, this one is a very detailed and satisfying read.
  
  Warning: Contains explicit intimate scenes.
  
  Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads contest in exchange for my honest review. All expressed opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.
• 
  Clarissa

  I was prepared to go into this book because the American Civil War is something that interests me greatly. However, I wasn't entirely prepared.
  
  Myself, I'd be considered a Yankee, since I was born on the North side of the Mason-Dixon line. I may live in the south now, but at heart, I'm a yankee. I'm also bi-racial, so I know that I'd have either been picking cotton or I'd have been a house slave, like Rachel. Rachel is a slave but she is also the master of the house's daughter. Her sister, Adelaide, is the Mannheim's only child and is spoiled, pampered and is a southern belle though she is loathe to be one. She learns quickly that even though she's white, her father is looking to marry her off to someone for his own advantage. She is little more than a pawn and she sees that she is being sold as well.
  
  When Adelaide finally marries a neighboring planter, Henry Kaltenbach, she has everything that Rachel has been denied. It's a challenge for Adelaide; she is used to a house full of servants to do her bidding. With a skeleton crew, so to speak, Adelaide is forced to learn how to become mistress of her own house, thus leaving Rachel and another slave, Minnie, to run the house themselves, whilst the rest are out in the fields picking cotton. She is also not used to Henry's being so kind to the slaves. Prior to their marriage, he even sat at the same table and would eat with them. Things begin to change once Adelaide's husband falls in love with Rachel. The tension is strong between the sisters...will they be able to patch the wound between them? Will they lose the man that they love in the war? What will happen to the slaves once the Emancipation Proclamation is announced? There is a great deal on the line...and no matter the outcome, their lives will be forever altered.
  
  The book is full of strong characters, some likable, some not, but you'll be captivated from the first chapter to the last. I read it in one day (again, I'm a fast reader) but I took time to write my review as I wanted to fully process what I had read. It isn't to be taken lightly and I suggest that you do take your time in taking it all in. This book was surprising because not only did it speak of slavery, the war, but the family was Jewish. It was mentioned how the Jews were once slaves in Egypt and now, here they were in Georgia and were slaveholders. It was really thought provoking and I found myself quite fascinated. The touch of Jewish traditions and heritage was a fascinating twist on what I thought would be a somewhat straight forward Civil War-era book.
  
  My fedora is off to Ms. Waldfogel. I enjoyed this more than I can say and I look forward to seeing her next novel as well.
• 
  Shomeret

  I was interested in the Jewish aspect of this novel and received a free copy of the e-book through the Slave and Sister blog tour.
  
  It’s important to realize that slavery was part of ancient Jewish history. The Biblical patriarchs owned slaves. Abraham had a child with the slave Hagar who was Ishmael, the ancestor of the Arab peoples. Just like the Mannheims, the household of the patriarch Abraham contained Isaac, his heir who was the son of his wife, and Ishmael, the son of a slave, growing up side by side.
  
  So the abolitionism of Adelaide's husband, Henry Kaltenbach, was not Biblically based. It was an ethical conviction rooted in his profound sense of human equality. In Germany, he had been a revolutionary, and he brought this background to the New World. He was actually quite an extraordinary man, but he never seemed to realize it. I admired both his principles and his innate humility. He was a decent human being in a society where cruelty and injustice abounded. In Yiddish, the word for decent human being is mensch. Henry Kaltenbach was a true mensch.
  
  Rachel also stands out as a character. If the characters in this novel were compared to those in Gone With The Wind, we would find that Rachel has no parallel in Margaret Mitchell’s classic masterpiece. Mitchell was limited by her values and perceptions. She couldn’t have imagined a literate slave with a powerful intellect, and a pragmatic understanding of the business of running a plantation. Yet I should also point out, that in the period when GWTW was published, few would have believed that a character like Rachel could have existed even if Margaret Mitchell had been capable of imagining her. I was born nearly twenty years after the publication of GWTW. I consider Rachel a credible protagonist due to what I know of African American history, and my belief in racial equality.
  
  In conclusion, the characters and the dramatization of the novel’s themes through its compelling plot makes Slave and Sister a novel that I recommend to readers who like to see unusual perspectives in historical fiction.
  
  For the blog version of this review see
  http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2014/...
  
• 
  Tracy

  **Some Spoilers**I like the story and the characters drew me in. I hated each of the main characters at different points in the story. Of course you hate the slave owners for their deep rooted evil, I was surprised to find myself angry at Rachel and Henry for their betrayal. It struck me as laughable that they were angry at Adeline for being upset about their affair. These were all good in the book, you want to feel emotions good or bad when reading because it means you are invested in the story. I would have given the book 4.5 stars if it had not been for the ending. MAJOR SPOILER...
  Rachel sees yet another hungry soldier plodding up the driveway and says it another mouth to feed and then stops short because she recognizes the gait of his walk despite his limp then takes off running to him....it's Ashley, OOPS I mean Henry. (Totally stolen from Gone With the Wind). I realize historical books tend to be similar due to some facts of the time period but that particular scene was just too exact for my taste. Sadly this would have been a great book if it would not have been for that plagiarism at the end.
• 
  Maya B

  This turned out to be a very interesting love triangle between a slave, her sister and her master. This book had history and romance with a splash of 50 shades of grey. what made this story unique is that I usually read about Christians owning slaves but this time around the author focused on a Jewish family that owned slaves. I really appreciate when the author's research shows in the writing. My only flaw with this story was that some parts were too wordy. Its a big book that could have been shortened by at least 75 pages.
• 
  Terri Bullock

  I loved every word of this novel. Characters so well developed and the story so real that I almost felt that I was there, experiencing their pain, anger and sorrow. I would love to see this novel made into a movie. The way the author writes, I could almost feel the heat, the breeze, and see the cotton fields, and the slaves working until they were so weary they could barely fall asleep. I can't wait to read more from this author.
• 
  Emily

  Points for great story line, characters, and historical accuracy. It was good until it got to some R-rated scenes and because of that I decided to stop reading it. I only read about ten percent.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
• 
  Holly H

  This book was great! The narrator did a wonderful job reading this story. I hated for the story to end.
• 
  F. Glenn

  This is an excellent and well researched historical novel. Made all the more interesting because I was unaware that there were planters of the Jewish faith in the antebellum south. Adelaide is the spoiled and pampered daughter of the richest planter in the county. Rachel, a kitchen slave, is gifted to Adelaide and the girls form a bond. Eventually they realize that they share the same father. Sisters often have complex relationships. Adelaide and Rachel’s relationship, slave and mistress, rivals and allies, is profoundly explored in this powerful novel. When Adelaide marries a man she does not love, the relationship between her and Rachel becomes even more difficult. As the Civil War looms the sisters experience betrayal, distrust, and bitterness.
  
  The war brings a different set of problems and while Rachel has always been the stronger of the two, Adelaide is forced to grow up and acknowledge some grim truths about herself, her father and her marriage.
  
  I really could not put the book down. This is one that will stay with me for a while. If you like reading books about this time period, I urge you to get a copy of Sister of Mine. I’m sure you will enjoy this reading as much as I have.
  
  
• 
  Kim

  It's not perfect, but I loved the story and characters and didn't want to put it down!
• 
  Superbunny

  I liked how complex the characters here were. Jewish people who used to be slaves in Egypt are now in the position of slave owners. Adeliade who has her own half sister as her lady's maid, teacher her how to read and protecting her from her fist fiance, then later hating on her when Rachel becomes her husband's mistress. So much hypocrisy and passive aggressive behavior in every page it's just gold. This isn't a feelgood book, but it's a pretty good book if you're interested in reading about Antebellum South and the complex relationships that existed then.
• 
  Tonya Johnson

  I loved it!!!
• 
  Barbara

  Sister of Mine is a fast-paced story of plantation life in Georgia around the time of the Civil War., of a Jewish family owning slaves.
  The story is of 2 sisters, both daughters of the Master of a cotton plantation. One born to the mistress of the house, the other to a slave.
  The novel deals with slavery, but the focus of the story is the ordinary lives of people.
  
• 
  Denice Barker

  We don’t always think of Jews as being slave holders in the South but if a planter had cotton they couldn’t do it without slaves. As the only Jewish planter and thus slave owner in Georgia, Mordecai Mannheim had a lot to protect. Among these things, his daughter Adelaide.
  
  For her birthday as a child, Adelaide was given Rachel, a slave. The two grew up together, Adelaide taught Rachel to read and write, they became friends and confidants. But Rachel must always be conscious of her place. When a grown Adelaide is paired with one of the few Jewish suitors in the state, it is because of Rachel’s treatment by him that Adelaide breaks off the engagement and this breaking of the engagement is a scandal and a mark on Adelaide’s life for years.
  
  When Mordecai discovers Henry Kaltenbach, a dry goods merchant, he brings him home and sets him down in front of Adelaide. Both Adelaide and Henry know what is meant by this introduction and they comply and marry.
  
  Henry wants to make his fortune as a cotton planter and enlists the aide of Adelaide's father. But Henry also grapples constantly with the fact the Jews were held slave in Egypt and here he is, a slave owner himself, for the only purpose of making his fortune. He is a kind, fair, gentle man and this torments him.
  
  When the Civil War comes to the family, there are real choices to be made, family secrets revealed, life decisions to be made. And when deep inside the war a company of Union soldiers happens on the Georgia plantation to find a Union flag flying from the roof, the story all comes together.
  
  There are thousands of books about the Civil War and finding something different can be difficult but this author did bring things I didn’t think of and wrapped her story around them. It was a refreshing take.
• 
  Rachel

  A challenging read for the end of Passover! This story chronicles the experiences of Jewish slave owners and their slaves in the antebellum south.
  
  “My earliest readers were surprised that Jews, with their long history of persecution in Europe, suffered so little from anti-Semitism in the South and given their long memory of enslavement in Egypt became slave owners with so little difficulty,” Waldfogel wrote in the author’s note of the Lake Union edition of her book. (Fun fact: she first self-published said book, and then it was picked up by Amazon!) There’s a lot of philosophy, psychology and social history that could be delved into within that statement. But this is a novel, and, as such, characters are inhibited by personal choices and beliefs above a more comprehensive understanding. I have my own theories, based on research and speculation, but they may or may not match what’s on the page.
  
  We are following the Manheim and Kaltenbach intermarried families, who live as planters in Northern Georgia. Mordecai and Rosa Manheim immigrated from Germany some decades back, and now own a prosperous plantation with fifty slaves. They are looking to marry off their daughter, Adelaide, and after a scandal in Savannah, Mordecai kinda cooks the books with another, more recent German Jewish immigrant named Henry Kaltenbloch. Henry wants to start his own plantation, which means a wife and slaves to help with the labor, and he quickly finds himself in debt to Mordecai.
  
  Mordecai’s driving ambition seems to be greed/money obsession, and in a couple of scenes it made me wary, what with the inherent antisemitic canard. But it turns out his main antagonist is another Jew (Henry,) so. I hesitate to say Henry is Mordecai’s main victim since the man owns slaves. He’s not a sadist, like Samuel Prichard in THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DU BOIS, but he buys into the racist paternalism/”lesser beings” aspect of antebellum slavery, whenever anyone challenges him on the subject. Mostly, he’s just comfortable with his own status quo.
  
  Henry is a more empathetic man and a more hypocritical one. He leaves his family to come to the States after failed revolution in Germany, and the promise that as a Jew, he’ll never be a full citizen. He immediately understands the cardinal sin of slavery in a so-called democracy. But he wants the financial advancement that planting cotton brings, and so with Mordecai’s help he buys slaves. He may toil with them in the work and treat them with seeming dignity, but he still owns them.
  
  Our primary Black viewpoint comes from Rachel, who is Adelaide’s personal maid and also, it turns out, her sister. She turns Mordecai in particular into a more complicated character, because despite his many flaws, he cares for her in a way. He teaches her mathematics and she becomes a help to him in running the plantation. She ostensibly gets more education than Adelaide, who longs to write and attend higher education, but instead is set to the lady’s work of snagging a husband. After a first, failed attempt with a passionate but philandering man, she lands with steady, kind-hearted Henry. But their relationship turns stale due to differing backgrounds (Adelaide comes from more wealth and is much more comfortable with shrugging off slavery,) and then Rachel and Henry start a romance.
  
  The drama continues from there, but I don’t think it’s too soap operaish—well, besides for Mordecai railroading Henry into the Confederate Army, lest he call in his whole debt early. But Waldfogel has too much sympathy for her characters to turn them into complete caricatures. They grow and change along the way—maybe too fast near the end, or maybe I expected too much hand-holding. Shrug.
  
  I think the biggest challenge in reading from a 21st century perspective is understanding their feelings and actions from within their societal construct. Most of the slaves are deferent, even encouraging Henry to be more hard sometimes; and Henry and Rachel find themselves legitimately in love. I don’t want to dismiss the culpability of slave owners, but it did make me think about how society can force people into roles. Henry couldn’t go into equal business with his slaves, or free any of them until he died, under Georgian law. Adelaide (and her mother) struck out against Rachel because their voices carried little weight with the men in their lives. And many of the slaves, it seems, would find it easier to promote positive feelings for their masters, or even acceptance of their place in the social order, lest they rebel and even worse things happen to them. Or maybe it’s some form of Stockholm syndrome. But it’s real for these characters in this context.
  
  The Jewish content felt like an interesting in-between place. Living so far from a Jewish community, the Manheim/Kaltenblochs were much more involved with their gentile neighbors, and often didn’t observe halacha to the letter. Of course Waldfogel paid particular attention to including a few Passovers in the plot, usually for Mordecai or Adelaide to ignore the obvious slavery connections, or for Henry to grapple with them. There was also, I think, a compelling scene where Adelaide tried to come to terms with some of her shortcomings in time for Yom Kippur. Maybe that’s my bias, because Judaism for the most part in this story was perceived as some sort of burden or requirement, not something with intrinsic value. Though there was some affection for familial heirlooms and recipes passed down. Basically, I’m trying to be very liminal with something Waldfogel wove into the background fabric, heh.
  
  Overall, I liked this story and it made me think. Also seems apparent that the author did her historical research. The ending was a little neat, with noble Union soldiers being convinced of the family’s goodness so that they wouldn’t lose everything in the war (the Union torched a lot of planting land as they went through the south.) It’s certainly nice to think of the Manheim/Kaltenblochs and their former slaves being able to go on in more equanimous circumstances. Reconstruction was the promise of something good, alas, before white supremacy found a new form. But looks like Waldfogel’s sequel novel might stay in that fleeting stretch of time.