This book grew on me. At first, the book was too broad in focus since all the characters were being introduced, and all at once. Just look at the family trees in the first few pages, and you’ll understand what I mean! However, as the focus narrowed to the titular Drausin and Josephine, I felt like I could settle into the story.

Also sometimes, the book was too poetic, and then it switched abruptly to being quite detailed. The details were a huge part of what made the book interesting, though. I didn’t realize until I was partway through reading it that this story was based on the author’s family, so he had done a lot of research. In fact, the book was described by someone as “meticulously researched,” and from all that I could see, it certainly was. As I got used to the feel and scope of the book, I appreciated the descriptive parts more.

One of the aspects that sticks with me the most is the tone of this book. It does an excellent job conveying the feel of New Orleans, the journey up the Mississippi River, and how different life felt in Cincinnati. There were poems, stories, songs, people, and vernacular in each part of their story that all contributed to giving me a feel for a city I’d never visited, a river trip I’ve never taken, and an experience I’ve never lived. It felt so different, though, from how I expected it to be, based on reading the book’s description. I thought, looking at the fact that the book spans pre-Civil War to during-Civil War, that it would feel more intense, especially as I assumed there would be lots of close calls as they passed white. Rather, the book felt quiet, just as the family more or less stayed quiet to pass.

Another aspect that sticks out is that the book focused more on Drausin than Josephine as it was his life that the book arced around, and more his side of the family that the book focused on. The whole book, therefore, felt like him: musical, listening, poetic, quiet, and emotionally strong. Throughout the book, but especially at the end, he and Josephine questioned what effects their choice to pass as white would have on them and their family and what legacy it would have. Those are, indeed, excruciating questions, and the emotional and mental toll is well-conveyed.


The pace of the book was also fairly slow, with just a few faster parts. It’s more of a “sweeping family saga” than an adventure-filled and plot-based book. It’s also quite long! The author ended up splitting his original work into two novels, the second of which is coming out in 2025.

Content warnings are fairly few. There is some violence and death, since escaping slaves cameoed in part of their story. The Civil War is part of it as well. Since it started in New Orleans, there was some of the superstitious voodoo type stuff which was incongruously (to me) tied in with Catholic and Christian beliefs, almost to an uncomfortable point for me.

Overall, I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s different than what I normally pick up, but I think it was worth it. Definitely more for fans of stories spanning decades and generations or for those who are interested in learning more of U.S. racial history and the black/mulatto experience.

John H. Wulsin Jr. wrote a strong storyline with characters that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. It was everything that I was hoping for from the description and enjoyed the overall feel of this. It worked well in this universe and that the characters belonged in the time-period.