A Haven Amidst Perdition
by Sidra Owens
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Pub Date 27 Apr 2017 | Archive Date 4 May 2019
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Description
In the backdrop of the South in the 1940s, Eve, a mixed race girl in the deep country, has a not-so-memorable past and a less-than-hopeful future. Living with Mae Evelyn, her neglectful mother and Bear, her malevolent stepfather,
Eve is forced to suffer physical indignities and abuses, in order to carry out the domestic duties, of which she is solely responsible. When Bear observes her having to put down the family cow, her courage and sorrow unexpectedly softens him towards her, allowing him to see the woman she is becoming. Hoping for a chance at autonomy, Eve attempts to work with her mother at the local courthouse, but winds up incurring the elder's wrath, as Eve's no nonsense personality ignites the interest of the hiring boss, Judge Latham Honeycutt.
In a torrent of discovery, the slow burning embers of real love cause Eve to flee from her abusive home, running into the arms of uncertainty, where at every turn she guards herself against the fury of her mother, the uncertainty of her employer and the outright hatred from the society in which she lives.
Advance Praise
"A Haven Amidst Perdition is very accessible in its use of language and setting, but the novel is at the same time dense in its themes, plot, imagery, and tragic aesthetic. You cannot tear through this novel, no matter how avid a reader you might be. The author has woven an unsettling oppression into her novel’s aesthetic that I think sets it a part of similar pastoral novel’s like The Color Purple and Beloved." "For something to give me joy, it has to impress upon my mind as well as my heart: A Haven Amidst Perdition did such for me. I found myself thinking about the protagonists" lives as if they were real people, and I actually 'felt" their lives through the authors' heart-felt expression of their sorrows and their hopes as they traveled through life in search of love and happiness."
Featured Reviews
marta a, Reviewer
Poor, black family: mother MaeEvlyn works as office-cleaner in the night, 14 yo daughter Eve stays at home no school, step-father Bear works in the mill during the day.
the life is hard fo all, about all black people, in small village in south Usa, in year 1940, with no friends and no relatives.
the book is strong, for adults, a little difficult for me because I'm italian and the book is written in young-slang-english (example,page 5: I'on't e'en know his name)
the theme of the book is good, realistic, hard,you can feel the sentiments of the characters.
I give it 4 stars because of the language.
Librarian 487660
This book was very heartwrenching. I loved how she grew as a character. I also loved how Lantham was with her & how nothing clouded his judgement as far as she was concerned. I also jus loved the whole story!
Liliyana S, Reviewer
A brilliant and at times heavy, read. Going into this, you need to be ready to deal with some things that will weigh you down as well as some things that will make your heart sing. A captivating read you won't be able to put down, the best and worst of humanity is laid on display amidst the south in the 1940s. Be prepared to lose yourself in the pages for hours once you start.
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