Customer Reviews

Magic City: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Magic City: the novel is a work of historical fiction set in 1920's Tulsa, OK aka "the Magic City" due to its beauty and prosperity from the booming successes of the surrounding oil fields. Life is good for Whites and even better for African Americans in the small all-black section, Deep Greenwood, where black-owned banks, businesses, churches, and schools thrive for its middle-class citizens. A segregated but peaceful coexistence is interrupted by accusation of the rape of a white woman named Mary Keane. In a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the central character Joe Samuels, a misunderstood black son of a banker, runs for his life to the bosom of Greenwood. The townsfolk rally to defend their native son much to the dismay of the bigoted deputies and mayor of Tulsa.

In some respects, the theme echoed those in the movie "Rosewood". Only this time, the author lightens the story adding depth and dimension to Mary and Joe. Joe's fascination with his idols Harry Houdini and his older brother, Harry, adds an element of fantasy that reveals inner conflicts, family secrets, and other aspects of self discovery and healing for the character. The author shows us Mary's world and Rhodes' writing style actually allows us to feel for both characters that are caught in a downward spiral of cataclysmic events. The supporting cast of characters adds to the story appropriately without overwhelming the main characters. She uses their voices to share the history of how blacks migrated to the area after the Civil War. She conveys the frustration and disappointment that the African Americans soldiers experienced when returning home from WWI. And she paints an adequate picture of the organized, systematic destruction of Greenwood to intentionally disenfranchise and humiliate its black citizens. The reader also lifts from the pages the resolve and determination of an oppressed people--people who were tired of being treated as second class citizens, people who had fought for freedom overseas only to be denied it at home, people who sought justice and equality, and people who were willing to die to obtain it.

This was an easy read; the novel moves well and quickly. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but Rhodes allows the reader to "fill in the blanks" on their own volition by citing fictional resources in the Author's Notes to allow the readers to follow-up if desired.

I have been haunted by this book. I found the story totally absorbing, the action gripping. When I discovered that Magic City was a fictionalized story based on a true event, I cried, and cried. I am not normally an emotional person, but there was a historical event documented here that I would have never known about, had I not read this book. I recommend Magic City to everyone. Read this book, and then go on to find out the truth of the 1921 Tulsa Riot.

Magic City was a thought provoking, yet enjoyable read. The main characters, Joe Samuels, black, and Mary Keane, white, reared in two different environments with different values, yet had many similiarities. They both had domineering fathers and they both yearned to leave their clutches. They both had jobs that were totally against their fathers' wishes and they were both lonely in their own ways. After their initial meeting in an elevator sent Joe running for his life, Mary did all she could to prove him innocent of a blameless crime. The fact that this novel was conjured from actual events evoked many emotions and made it even more endearing.

Magic City: the novel is a work of historical fiction set in 1920's Tulsa, OK aka "the Magic City" due to its beauty and prosperity from the booming successes of the surrounding oil fields. Life is good for Whites and even better for African Americans in the small all-black section, Deep Greenwood, where black-owned banks, businesses, churches, and schools thrive for its middle-class citizens. A segregated but peaceful coexistence is interrupted by accusation of the rape of a white woman named Mary Keane. In a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the central character Joe Samuels, a misunderstood black son of a banker, runs for his life to the bosom of Greenwood. The townsfolk rally to defend their native son much to the dismay of the bigoted deputies and mayor of Tulsa.

In some respects, the theme echoed those in the movie "Rosewood". Only this time, the author lightens the story adding depth and dimension to Mary and Joe. Joe's fascination with his idols Harry Houdini and his older brother, Harry, adds an element of fantasy that reveals inner conflicts, family secrets, and other aspects of self discovery and healing for the character. The author shows us Mary's world and Rhodes' writing style actually allows us to feel for both characters that are caught in a downward spiral of cataclysmic events. The supporting cast of characters adds to the story appropriately without overwhelming the main characters. She uses their voices to share the history of how blacks migrated to the area after the Civil War. She conveys the frustration and disappointment that the African Americans soldiers experienced when returning home from WWI. And she paints an adequate picture of the organized, systematic destruction of Greenwood to intentionally disenfranchise and humiliate its black citizens. The reader also lifts from the pages the resolve and determination of an oppressed people--people who were tired of being treated as second class citizens, people who had fought for freedom overseas only to be denied it at home, people who sought justice and equality, and people who were willing to die to obtain it.

This was an easy read; the novel moves well and quickly. I was a little disappointed in the ending--I think I was expecting more closure with other characters, but Rhodes allows the reader to "fill in the blanks" on their own volition by citing fictional resources in the Author's Notes to allow the readers to follow-up if desired.

This book was very interesting. It showed us how if you dream it , you can be it. Although we all have lost people that we love if you believe in them hard & long enough they will always be with us & never leave our side. T his book actually made me feel the characters pain. Being black is not easy, even in today's "liberated & non-racial world". It showed how you don't have to be guilty of actually commiting a crime, just being around the scene & being black is enough to convict a person. I t also showed how black men believed in their own. None of the male characters in the book had to stand fight & die for the younger black male, but they chose to because they were tired of being reguarded as nothing but "niggers" that needed to be kept in their place. Hopefully some day the senseless accusations & convictions of innocent black men & women everywhere will end.

A gift from a friend, I devoured this book on my flight back from Phoenix. It was compelling and disturbing. For those of us who did not live in the segregated society prior to 1950 it was an eye-opening experience of a time when color was more than a distinction, it was a determination of your life, and sometimes death. I have saved it for my 15 year old daughter to try to explain a time that I don't fully understand. Read it!

Our book club choose "Magic City" for our selection this month. We were not disapointed. The novel tells a story, which is based on a true event. The reader must accept that this is a work of fiction, however, it introduces history that many Americans (myself included) never heard of. We salute Ms. Rhodes as a great American writer, and a great story teller! You Go Girl!!!!

Magic City is a thrilling retelling of an ugly period in the history of Tulsa, and by extension, most of the USA. The story is told through fictional characters and does not attempt to recreate history so much as to recreate the mindsets of the populations that allowed such a tragedy to occur. And while it is easy and comfortable to imagine that the events in this story, which occurred in 1921, could not happen at the close of this century, the characters in this novel have a disturbing familiarity. We see the attitudes they hold in news stories about police brutality. We see them in the militant antiestablishment movements. If we are honest, we see them in ourselves, and that's when change can begin. That's what makes this book important as well as entertaining reading.

I am an African-American. Generations of my family were raised in the area which was the setting of Magic City. Many times I heard stories of the Tulsa Riots of 1921. Never was the incident so trivalized as in this book. Perhaps it is the times which we live that media tends to take major events in life and package them for public consumption. But in doing so we lose the lesson to be learn. Magic City failed to convey anything meaningful about Tulsa Riots and the estimated 3000 African-Americans that lost thier lives at the hands of not some militia extremist, but our government's National Guard. If you are looking for a television movie of the week in print version of the Tulsa Riots, then purchase this book. It is soda pop writing at it best

Let me start by saying I love this book! It's great. I looked forward to every moment I had to read it. I love when I'm in a good book like that. This book should be read by everyone. I hate racism, and I love how the author shows the feelings of everyone involved, black or white. We're all the same, just different colors. I think that more people should read books like this, many people who are racist don't take the time to think about how people all have the same type of feelings, no matter what your color/creed/sexual background, whatever. This book has great characters that are "real", and it's set in the 1920's, which is very interesting. I look forward to reading more from this author. GREAT read. Must read for all. I'm also going to buy the actual account of the Tulsa Race Riot, "Death in a Promised Land" by Scott Ellsworth. Looking very forward to that and more books by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Great job!