Customer Reviews

The Fall of Rome

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the past,for example during the civil rights era, Blacks tried their best to be respectable, and gain respect by being mainstream. They dressed proper, talked proper, and behaved proper when interacting with Whites so they would be taken seriously. Nowadays, Blacks demand respect without feeling as if they must make "the man" comfortable. This book is about an old era black man interacting with a new era black teen in an unchanged era preppy White boarding school. Although both males share sketchy pasts, it's very interesting the way history here plays on the expression of black culture. The author does not make judgements about which route is better, she just does an excellent job of illustrating the differences. It's true, some blacks may be embarrased when they see other blacks dancing like "a fool" in front of a group of Whites, others may be proud of those same blacks "keeping it real" for their music and their form of dance in spite of the White setting. And then there's the White woman who offers her perspectives on the events leading up to the end of Jamal's freshman year at prep school. Times they are a changin' but are they for the better? It depends on who you ask.

"While the Coliseum stands, Rome shall stand; when the Coliseum falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, the world shall fall." [Venerable Bede (c. 673-735) quoting a prophecy of Anglo-Saxon pilgrims."

It is the figurative fall of "Rome" or the crumbling of the world, as three central characters know it, which is at the core of the gripping debut novel by Martha Southgate. Selected for the "Discovering New Writers Program" at [store], "The Fall of Rome" is a fictional drama set at the Chelsea School, an elite, predominantly white boarding school in upstate New York. I took particular note of this story since the boarding school experience was a part of my educational past, as well.

A fluently told story, which deals with complex issues in a direct and honest way, "The Fall of Rome" is a quintessential coming of age story, but adds the quest for racial identity as a focal point.

Rashid Bryson, a troubled African-American who takes on prep school life to fulfill his parents and brother's dream, is emotional unprepared to deal with the changes in himself, the ignorance and bias of others, as well as the obstacles presented by those who on the surface would appear to be friend and not foe.

Having immersed himself in a school culture embracing the philosophy of ancient Rome, namely a society based on racial egalitarianism, Rashid must delve below the surface of his teachers and colleagues to determine who is an ally and who is an enemy. He quickly learns that individual merit should be determined by the spirit and loyalty of an individual rather than skin color.

By the end of "The Fall of Rome", Rashid learns the lesson ancient Roman Cicero purports: "by doubting we come at truth," Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 AD - 43 AD). Ironically, he does so after unearthing a lie, which threatened to take away his future.

An ever-present factor in Rashid's life is Mr. Washington, the only black professor at Chelsea and a "Clarence Thomas" like opponent to affirmative action and racial solidarity. Mr. Washington soon becomes Rashid's nemesis, but is integral in teaching him the lesson his hero Cicero implies when asking, "where is there dignity unless there is honesty?" Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 AD - 43 AD)

Add to this an interracial love affair and professional differences, between a Mr. Washington and a do-good white professor Ms. Hansen, who believes she can save the floundering Mr. Bryson and Mr. Washington, and it becomes clear to see what undercurrent causes ""The Fall of Rome".

I truly enjoyed this one. It moved quickly (I was never bored) and the characters seemed very real and touching. All in all, a compelling book well worth reading.

When I first choose this book I didn't expect a literary read. I thought this would be another novel just like those I've read in the past; I was happily mistaken. This book was a wonderful journey into the life of Rashid Bryson a glimpse of his brothers death through Rashid his mother and father's eyes, his latin teacher Mr. Washington a man so absorbed in his own pain a racial marathon, he can't see for looking, and lastly but not least Ms. Hansen Rashid's caucasin English teacher who comes to his aid. The Fall of Rome is told by these three main characters.Mr. Washington is a villian you love to hate - and Rashid the character you continue to root for. Ms Southgate outdid herself with this first novel and I look forward to her works in the future...^5 and a courtesy to you Martha Southgate.

The Fall of Rome; What a befitting title that vividly displays the collapsing of ideas that take place in this book. Martha Southgate introduces a triangle of sorts between a Black man, a Black boy and a White woman; All having their own individual issues however linked by an external element in the name of Chelsea, an all-boys school in Connecticut.

Jerome Washington is the only African American faculty member and a teacher of Latin at the prestigious Chelsea. He comes to Chelsea to escape life defined by race, as he had known it to be, and to pursue excellence and comfort in the ideas and standards of the ancient philosophers of Rome and the traditions of Chelsea. Rashid Bryson, a fourteen year-old boy from New York City comes into an unfamiliar environment of Chelsea with fear and a heavy heart looking to Mr. Washington as a possible salvation. Jana Hansen is a new teacher at Chelsea who has seemingly taken an interest in both Jerome and Rashid; Jerome as a potential mate and Rashid as a student with potential. As they get to know each other all three soon find out when one is in unfamiliar territory one should have no expectations. Their journey together is plagued with certain expectations misdirected in the midst of their own personal losses. When their issues lead up to a powerful, and anticipated confrontation we find that the results are unexpected but ultimately not surprising.

This book is complex and layered. There are so many things that could be discussed that one review couldn't cover it all. I can fully see this book as required reading in an English, Philosophy, or Sociology class in high school and college. It is beautifully written and unhurried. The only thing that keeps this book from a 5 star rating is my personal issue with how certain relationships within the book were portrayed. Aside from this, The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate is a highly recommended read.


Kotanya
APOOO Bookclub

Martha Southgate is a novelist new to me but I will be reading more just as soon as I can. This afternoon I polished off her The Fall of Rome. It's brilliant and entirely engulfing, and provocative. It's going on this year's best list. Wonderfully readable!

It's really 4.5 stars but one doesn't get that option here.

This is a beautifully written, insightful novel which does justice to the complexities of racial (and gender) identities and interactions in what some refer to as the "post-civil rights era."

This is one of the best novels about race and class that I've ever read. Southgate is an elegant writer, and the characters in "The Fall of Rome" are so richly drawn that they stayed with me long after I finished the book. It would have been easy for Southgate to hit her readers over the head with observations, but there's something quietly affecting about her style. I can't imagine anyone reading this and not being enriched somehow.

Fall of Rome considers the experience of a Rashid, a black student at an elite private boarding school through the eyes of his assimilating black Latin teacher, his English teacher, and himself. Rashid, who comes from an urban environment and is wrestling with the recent death of his brother, raises challenges to the established norms of the private school environment. Seeing his experience through the eyes of all three characters allows for the reader to have a subtle understanding of what Rashid goes through and how there aren't simple answers to being an outsider in an elite institution.

For his Latin teacher, Rashid challenges his often naive rationalizations for being the lone black teacher at the school. He tries to work with Rashid to turn him into an outstanding cross country runner, but he is harder on Rashid than his other students and is uncomfortable that Rashid raises spectres of the black community that he has left behind to teach at Chelsea.

For his English teacher, the private school leads her to question her own failed marriage and her fatigue with her prior work in a public school. Seeing this type of character, a white liberal teacher who has had some success in urban schools, in this elite environment makes her an intriguing character.

This book would be an excellent book to recommend for high school students and any black family who is wrestling with the decison to attend private school. Rashid's situation highlights the challenges of anyone who decides to leave your neighborhood and family behind to be a relative outsider in private school.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and Southgate must have taught or attended a private school like Chelsea at some point to compassionately capture the challenges of administration, students, and teachers so well.

Strongly recommended...

4.5 stars.

--SD

I read a page, put it down, read another page, trying to stretch the story out. I am so drawn in by the characters Ms Southgate has created. So many layers, so thought provoking. One of my real favorites.