Customer Reviews

So Far Back: A Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Durban's insightful and often haunting descriptions of personnal relationships and struggles to overcome ingrained prejudices elevate this novel to a great read for all ages. Her character development is exquisite, and the subjects of aging and racial relationships are daunting but sensitively portrayed. A definite book club choice for me, this novel gives new meaning to historical fiction.

This hypnotic novel about Charleston past and present is a brilliant exploration of racism - its bitter roots and its modern disfiguring effects. But it's also something else: an act of alchemy in which years of painstaking historical research have been transformed by Durban into what can only be called "living history." She has so completely imagined her fictional universe - its sounds and odors, its self-justifying strategies, its specific cultural dementia, its continuously tragic but nevertheless human failures - that one feels somehow present in the past, but this time blessed with an understanding that is always missing from the actual present. This is really a fine, thoughtful, and ultimately unforgettable book.

It is very rare to find a work of fiction as rich and emotionally complex as SO FAR BACK. A writer of remarkable insight and compassion, Durban explores the complexities and contradictions of race in a story that expertly weaves present and past, and provides an understanding of humanity that will resonate with readers whether they grew up in the South or not. This is, quite simply, a haunting and beautiful novel.

While some readers may not understand all the nuances of Charleston's society and her traditions, they will nonetheless be captivated by Miss Durban's fluid writing. It is a novel that one could finish in several hours without putting it down.

She is one of the finest Southern writers I have experienced in years.

If someone were watching you while you read this novel, they'd see your eyes widen with amazement at the mysterious parts, or frown at the injustices suffered by women and blacks in times past. So Far Back is the best novel I've read since Charles Frasier's Cold Mountain. Both are beautifully written and conceptualized, whether or not they have anything to do with regional history. However, Durban's sensual, mystical descriptions absolutely capture the real city of Charleston, ancient and modern. More important, Durban's insights into racial and class dynamics are as valuable as the diaries of Mary Chesnutt and others. If you want to learn about other romantic Southern locales, don't read the excruciating Sullivan's Island or Big Stone Gap. So Far Back is far superior in every way.

I think Pam Durban portrays slavery and modern life incredibly well. With great discription and an awsome story, Durban should write more! I think this should be made into a film.

Even if you are from the north - or a transplant to the south from the north as I am this book is a MUST READ. I live near Charleston but travel to Columbia and Savannah also - and this depiction of the push/pull between the races is an amazing truth. Ms. Durban has become the skin of southern life and takes you back to the origin of today's feelings between the old white and black feelings. There is an understanding in her writing that tears the heart and opens the valve of communication for today. Please read this book - if you read no other this summer. You will be rewarded for the time spent and will "crave" more.

So Far Back is the story of two women--one a contemporary Southerner, the other her 19th century ancestor--and their shared history. When Louisa Hilliard discovers a long-buried journal of her slaveholding ancestor, she begins a journey into the past and learns about the life of Diana, a slave whose descendants have continued to work in some capacity for the Hilliard family. This novel is a rich, thought-provoking book about race, class, and the lives of women who "keep house". Our reading group chose this on the recommendation of a bookseller, and a number of us found it relevant to our own lives and to those of our grandparents and great-grandparents. Recommended for reading groups who want a book with some issues and historical backdrop.

The combination of an exquisite writing style and the story that was both historically informing and sweetly dream-like, enthralled me.

This is one of the best Southern novels I've read in years. In some ways, it is like a feminine _Absalom, Absalom!_, but more immediate and contemporary--especially in its dealing with race relations. The writing is lyrical, at times poetic, but never overdone, and the many distinct voices Durban uses remain in the mind long after the book is finished.