Customer Reviews

Dominion: A Novel

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Calvin Baker is masterful in his use of textured language and layered plot to color the characters. Baker doesn't provide a lot of physical descriptions of the characters; instead, the reader is invited to draw his own pictures based on the author's adept telling of behaviors and motives - and showing how each character is seen and touched by others. This is a universal story of a young man's conquering the wilderness by wrestling adversity, yet never accepting defeat. This man, Jasper Merian is an African, an orphan, who leaves bondage in colonial Virginia to write his own history in the Carolinas. Baker makes clear Jasper's origins and those of several other characters. However, except to illuminate specific incidents, "race" is almost incidental to the heart of the book. Baker doesn't bring out a lot of villians to fuel the action. I counted two truly bad guys, and even they were infused with such real human frailities that I could not slow down to hate them. The archaic syntax (and the demon as metaphor), which can be off-putting in the hands of a lesser talent, is fitting and vital to setting the story's mood and time. Baker writes so beautifully that I re-read aloud whole pages just to hear his words spoken.

I do not understand why Dominion did not become an instant classic. It should be required reading for all middle school students. Baker is a talented author who has put a fresh spin on the American classic, a family saga set in early America. Baker is not afraid to exhibit flawed male characters even when it is politically incorrect. Nor is this book about Black Americans. This book is about all Americans, but more importantly it is about the American story. As sure as to Kill a Mocking Bird is a part of the American fabric, I find myself wondering if with a little more restraint and white characters whether or not this book would have become required reading for all.

Calvin Baker is one of the best writers of his generation, and Dominion is his finest work yet. Novel after novel Baker has honed a unique, uncompromising vision until he has emerged here, with his finest work yet-- a powerful tale of love, history and art. It is at once a novel of America and the world; of individual men and mankind as a whole. With this book Baker lays claim to the ancient tradition of asking the unimaginable, but essential question, and delivering the timeless answers. This quite simply might be a masterpiece.

Dominion is a wonderfully imagined novel set in Colonial America at the cusp of the Revolutionary War. The story focuses on freedman Jasper Merian, his sons (Magnus and Purchase), and grandson (Caleum). The story opens with a young, anxious, and ambitious Jasper arriving in untamed Carolina territory with nothing but his drive and determination to earn enough money to purchase his enslaved family (Ruth and son, Magnus) from the Virginia plantation he left behind. He is sold "cursed" land that the locals shun because of the roaming anathema, Ould Lowe (or is it really Old Love?), whose banshee-like howls echo against the mountains and is heard for miles. He battles the demon and banishes it to the bottom of the lake and moves forward to conquer the land with backbreaking labor and an unconquerable vision of utopia. He is met with a myriad of challenges, but succeeds slowly to mold the land into a profitable farm where tobacco flourishes. When he realizes he needs a helpmeet, he seeks a wife initially for convenience. After a short courtship, he marries an older widow, fathers a son, and names his estate Stonehouses.

Baker cleverly ties the legacy of the Merian men to that of Stonehouses; their choices in life have direct bearing on their families and the estate. Jasper, Purchase, Magnus, Caleum are full-bodied noble characters, each wonderfully broken, succumbing to their passions and hiding their wounds from heartbreak deep within their souls. The author builds a rich community of friends, neighbors, and enemies around these four key characters. It is through their interrelationships that the social climate and attitude of the day, rules of courtship and class structure, complexities of the pre-Revolution political climate, the pain and cruelties of slavery, the hypocrisy of unjust slave laws, and the hard living and dying of man and beast alike are revealed. He adds in folklore and an ethereal element when casting out evi l spirits and connecting with African ancestors for protection, guidance, and strength.

I really enjoyed this book on so many levels. It was so carefully crafted and perfectly paced. The writing was awesome - He gave me "just enough" to see the images, feel their pain and loss, and celebrate their successes. The historical references caused me to research and learn more about the era. The culmination of Caleum's homecoming and the circular slant of battle-worn hero combating Ould Lowe just as his grandfather had done years before was an unexpected and well thought-out conclusion - I loved it! Bravo!

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club

I just finished reading this wonderful poetic historical novel and can't recommend it highly enough! Baker reinvents language and makes us see the world anew.

A rare novel in a time when mid-list is pronounced literature and great literature denounced as inflated!

The book was enjoyable enough; but the bit about the ghost "Ould Lowe" on the land, chained to the bottom of the lake, simply did not tie in to the rest of the story and seemed hokey and contrived. The book was a little slow giving one the impression of the passage of time and generations.