Customer Reviews

Red River

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bestselling author, Lalita Tademy, returns to a familiar subject in her family history and sheds light on a dark incident during the Reconstruction period in the antebellum South. Her latest novel, Red River, focuses on the atrocities that occurred April 13, 1873 in Colfax, Louisiana. Many of those affected were ex-slaves who were the overwhelming majority in an area nestled among former plantations and rich farmland. After a lifetime of servitude, these newly freed men exercised their right to vote and ousted the long seated bigoted Democratic county sheriff and judge. They embraced their recently bestowed voting rights and elected residents who either sympathized with their plight (scalawags) or those who had recently located to the area from the North (carpetbaggers) after the Civil War. The election results did not sit well with local white supremacists who chose not to recognize the newly elected officials. When their calls to the governor to uphold the election results went unanswered, the freedmen stood up for their rights only to be shot down at the Colfax courthouse waiting for federal assistance that never came. The end result was the death of three white men and a mass murder of over a hundred African Americans, most of whom were lynched after they had surrendered. No one has ever been held accountable for their deaths.

Despite the carnage and the encroaching epoch of Jim Crow, Tademy illustrates that her family's dream did not perish that day. Their vision, determination, and resourcefulness to educate the area's Negro children held fast despite the violent threats and racial hostility. Their family values for education, self-reliance, and self-respect were instilled in each generation and survives in modern day. She celebrates their lives, loves, and births and mourns their losses, sacrifices, and deaths. Readers will admire the family's love, commitment to each other, and loyalty to friends that sustained them through the good and bad times.

The essence of the story is Tademy's ability to conjure authentic images and scenarios using her naturally candid approach to storytelling. She gains reader empathy by opening the novel with the reflections of Polly, her spunky, paternal great-great-grandmother, reminiscing about the event. The author aptly weaves a tenable tale of her family's involvement during that fateful juncture - fathers, sons, and friends were wounded, maimed, and others died defending their rights, beliefs, and dignity. The novel, bolstered by credible artifacts and sources, chronicles the events leading up to, during, and the aftermath of the massacre. As in Cane River, the author softens the facts with a personal touch - actual photos of her family who are the novel's key characters. Although, I did not find this offering as instantly engaging as the previous novel; it is still nonetheless a wonderful tribute to the Tademy family. More importantly, I appreciate its value as an educational instrument for this seemingly forgotten incident in American history. Admittedly, I had never heard of the Colfax Massacre prior to reading this book and was surprised that very little has been published about such a major travesty. For this alone, I say - Well Done!

The first half of Red River contains alot of horror, brutality, and despair. I would not recommend it for pre-teens. It is a true story of how the hopes of Reconstruction yielded to the realities of white supremacy in Louisiana in the "Jim Crow" period of 1873 on.
But the second half of the book tells a more hopeful story of how the black community around Colfax, LA clawed its way out of despair through hard work and education. Lalita Tademy writes with passion, and she uses real events and the history of her own family to add impact. This is a good novel, probably better than Cane River, her first book. While Tademy is not yet a brilliant literary stylist, she tells an important story in a dramatic and effective way. It is worth reading.

RED RIVER is a fictional account of the Easter Sunday 1873 Massacre in Colfax, Louisiana. As the story begins, a newly elected Republican government, elected largely because of the vote of black men vested with voting rights for the first time, is struggling to take office against the incumbent Democratic government. Though assistance from federal troops is expected, the black men of Colfax, Louisiana, voluntarily provide protection to the new officials during the first days of the new term. Sam Tademy, Israel Smith and Isaac "McCully" McCullen join with hundreds of other black men in the fight to protect and secure the new government.

Unfortunately, the incumbents are unwilling to allow the new government to continue in office. Though Reconstruction allowed black men the right to vote and granted them equal rights, many whites are resistant to such changes endorsed by the federal government. These whites vow to keep the black people in their place. Groups such as the White League and the Ku Klux Klan oppose the newly elected officials and vow to return the status quo of the pre-Reconstruction era to this small, Southern town. During the Easter Sunday face-off between the two groups, the incumbent officials and their white supporters massacred more than a hundred black men. In the aftermath of the massacre, the lives of hundreds of families are forever changed; husbands, fathers and brothers have been cruelly taken away, and the survivors are forced to eek out a living in the racially charged town, of which the incumbent government regains control. No one dares to speak of the massacre and the black people of Colfax conduct their daily affairs, careful not to interact with whites unless absolutely necessary.

RED RIVER chronicles the struggle of the Tademys and the Smiths through three generations. Determination and a will to survive are passed on from generation to generation. Though continually tried, the will of the Tademys and the Smiths was not broken. The spirit of these families was undying and unyielding and ultimately led to their survival. The Tademys and the Smiths worked hard to provide for their families, become property owners and to eventually establish the first black school in the region. Because of their tenacity and determination, the Tademys and the Smiths are able to achieve a modicum of success during this difficult era of American history.

RED RIVER continues the story of the Tademys, who were introduced in Cane River, and provides more detailed information about the family's struggle to survive after slavery, through Reconstruction and beyond. As in Cane River, Lalita Tademy does a wonderful job of weaving fact with fiction in RED RIVER. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories she created to support the factual accounts of the massacre and the rebuilding efforts of the families in the aftermath. RED RIVER also documents the Colfax Massacre, an event that has gone unnoticed in American history. I greatly anticipated the release of RED RIVER and am happy to say that Tademy did not disappoint. I am confident that previous fans of her work will enjoy this novel as well.

Reviewed by Hope Denise Murphy
for The RAWISTAZ Reviewers

Family histories can provide fabulous stories, even those where ancestors are not famous. It is often the simple stories of simple folk that highlight the true hardships and struggles to endure and make their successes, however minor, seem phenomenally marvelous. In-depth looks at hardship life illustrate two things: not everyone has it so easy in life, and you probably don't have it as hard. James Agee did it masterfully in his book LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN. Now, Lalita Tademy follows up the success of her debut CANE RIVER with a book, if one can imagine, that is even better.

RED RIVER is the continuing story of the Tademy family and their road from slave life to freedom. It is narrated by Polly, Tademy's great-great-grandmother, and within the first few pages you instantly begin to understand the depth of investigative work that Tademy had to undertake in order to bring this story to the world.

Beginning in the small Louisiana town of Colfax, there is still trouble and hatred between white and black. The Civil War is nearly 10 years gone, and the freedoms afforded the freed slaves is not sitting well with white politicians and residents. On April 13, 1873, Colfax would be rocked by a riot that was really more a massacre, as white militia opened fire on them at the courthouse. Present in that scene were Israel Smith and Sam Tademy. Following the brutal murders of over 100 black men, the repercussions of the long-forgotten riot ripple through the south and threaten the very freedoms afforded the freedmen.

From 1873 to 1937, RED RIVER outlines the survival of the Tademy and Smith families, of Sam's creation of colored schools in Colfax, of the horror of living in Reconstruction-era southern America and the threat of death at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. All of this and yet the Tademy family refused to ever give in, seeking instead to push forward and work together to build a legacy.

Forget that RED RIVER is an amalgam of historical record and fiction. One has to realize the difficulty in setting the family story down, and in creating discussions and thoughts for these "characters," it must invariably be tagged as fiction. The fiction aspects succeed, however, because Tademy keeps the very spirit of the time and, no doubt, the desires of those she is reporting on, true to what one would expect. She has deftly combined fact and fiction and produced a powerful and inspiring literary work.

In her note in the endpages, Tademy says she wanted to honor those who survived those days and that even after her research she cannot fully comprehend what they went through. There is no doubt that, should they ever have been able to open these pages and see how she has set down their story with great care and honesty and love, they never would have been so proud.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

The fictional recounting of the historic events of 1873 that provide the basis for the novel was great. The reader felt very much a part of the scenes around the Colfax court house. Once that scene passed, the book droned on for hundreds of pages with little stories about various family members to the point of utter boredom. I was waiting for a riveting ending but it just abruptly ended. Big disappointment, for sure.

RED RIVER had me weeping almost from the first page, and yet left me inexplicably hopeful after I'd read the final sentence. A multi-generational tale that begins with the Colfax Riot of 1873 and ends in 1937, it was, for me, an eye-opening tale of courage and violence, love and community, and the necessity of dreaming for ourselves and for those who will follow us.

(5-CD unabridged set--also available as a book)

Lalita Tademy did an amazing history of her own family. It catches the reader in its grip and doesn't let go till the end. The story begins with Polly Tademy who is one hundred years old, speaking of the massacre that took place in Colfax, Louisiana in 1873. History books say it was a riot but she knows differently. Polly tells us, "This is a story not to go down easy," but that it needs to be told.

The first Tademy arriving in America was a free man. He came from Egypt and worked a year on a cargo ship to earn passage. Once arriving in this country he was captured and forced into slavery. The story of their proud heritage was passed down from father to son through generations. When things got unbearable, and it looked like there was no way to succeed, the tradition was to go outside and shout the name TADEMY. It stood for courage, perseverance and freedom.

Sam Tademy's dream was to have the first school for black children in Colfax. Following the destruction of that day in 1873 everything had to be rebuilt. It was a hard battle spanning a whole generation. Obstacles ranged from rebuilding their farms to the Ku Klux Klan burning down the very first school that was built. These obstacles were met and surpassed.

Red River is an incredible story of what can be accomplished during the worst of times with faith and a strong will to succeed.

Tim Cain and Gammy Singer did a wonderful job of narrating. They made the story come alive and did an excellent job of portraying the personalities of the different family members and friends.

Armchair Interviews says: a 5-star story and a 5-star reading.

From the 1800's to the 1930's, RED RIVER tells the story of several generations of the Tademy and Smith families as they struggle to survive in Colfax, LA.

Lalita Tademy again creates a piece of fiction that tells more truth than not. The Tademy and Smith families represent many families in this era who struggled to maintain and obtain what was rightfully theirs. Lalita Tademy's writings have inspired many to research their roots and create stories of their own that can be passed down from generation to generation.

It is a story of inequality, of racially motivated violence and inequity. At the same time, it is a story of resilience, of faith, of courage, and of hope for a better future.

Ms Tademy shows us history through the eyes of her family members. The events of Easter Sunday April 13 1873 in Colfax Louisiana, identified by some as 'the bloodiest single act of carnage in all of Reconstruction' saw 153 people lose their lives.

The first part of the novel leads us up to these events. The second part deals with life beyond and of the continuing struggle to establish a 'coloured school', and the battles of people to reconcile the idealism of equality with the reality of survival. For some this is reinforced by the strong belief in the power of the 'written word to help you flesh out those things you know and those you don't'.

I do not know much about this period of American history, and I will be attempting to redress this. This is a story worth reading and I recommend it highly. I suspect that this will be one of my outstanding reads for 2007.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

In Red River Lalita Tademy chronicles her father's family. The book was well written. It was sad, and disturbing but it chronicles three generations of the strong Tademy family whose motto was God, family and community. A must read for those who enjoy historical fiction.