Customer Reviews

Stand the Storm: A Novel

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Breena Clarke's Stand the Storm centers on the story of "Sewing Annie" Coats and her son, Gabriel, expert tailors who manage to purchase their freedom at the cost of entering a less than lucrative business arrangement with their former owner. Nonetheless, hard work and thriftiness allow them to purchase Ellen (Annie's equally talented daughter) and her daughter, Delia. Prosperity reigns but the clan is happy for only a short while. The threat of re-enslavement looms at every corner as the reality of the times are made clear with the risk of being illegally captured by "pinchers" and sold South never to be seen again. There was also the ever-changing laws and complicated slave/freeman policies that deceitful slave owners misuse to extort and exploit freemen, not to mention the nerve-wrecking uncertainty of their status living in a district surrounded by slaveholding states as the country enters the Civil War.

The history lessons are supplemented with interludes of courtship and conflict featuring some colorful, charismatic and lovable, yet sympathetic characters who serve as love interests and arch nemeses for Annie and Gabriel. Luck and courage are also factors in their adventures propelling the "freedom train." Their industrious and ingenious survival skills are demonstrated during their humiliating encounters with whites and other undesirables. Unsurprisingly, for a story rooted in this era, the ugliness of racism and sexism are a given and Clarke does not skirt the realities of the degrading, violent sexual abuse that women and children of color endured at the hands of slavers, owners, or any white male in a position of authority. However, through Delia, the author broaches the sensitivities of colorism and the complications that it brings to the Coats's household.

Told largely from the freedmen's perspective in Washington's Georgetown district, this literary novel will appeal to Historical Fiction buffs in that it evokes the cadence and archaic vocabulary of the antebellum era and elicits the bittersweet nostalgia that comes with it. The author conjures poignant images to transport the reader back to the bustling rat-infested waterfronts, the narrow, muddy thoroughfares lined with trendy businesses and salacious bordellos, and the horrors of blood-soaked, body-littered battlefields. It is these circumstances that prompts a forlorn Annie (depressed when her beloved Gabriel joins the Union Army) to reminisce about her early years enslaved on the plantation and yearns to return to perceived safety, quiet, and comfort of it. The author continues down this conflicted path as she delves into the complicated familial interrelationships of the Coats clan, the ramifications and hardships of a (slave) mother's love, and its ultimate affects on the ties that bind. This title is well researched and recommended for literary, historical fiction fans or those interested in the challenges of African Americans in the antebellum period.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
July 25, 2008

Sewing Annie Coats is a slave on the Ridley plantation. She's the best there is at her craft (taught by Knitting Annie) and she teaches her son, Gabriel, everything he needs to know about sewing so he can avoid working in the fields. As a young boy, Gabriel begins working for Abraham Pearl, a tailor. The man is kind to Gabriel and soon Gabriel learns the tailoring business and dreams of earning enough money to buy his freedom and the freedom of his mother.

Gabriel eventually earns his freedom and builds his life producing uniforms for soldiers and suits for men who want only the best. Annie works as a seamstress and does laundry. When Gabriel meets Mary, a runaway slave, they marry. The family also begins to help other slaves escape to freedom. But just when they think everything is working out for them, they discover that their children (born of free parents) might in fact, belong to their former master, Jonathan Ridley.

Clarke's story is compelling and fraught with brutal injustice, hope, redemption, joy and sadness. It's a harsh, yet beautiful story. There were brief moments when I felt the writing was a bit flat and left me wanting for some deeper emotion-but then Clarke rose to the occasion and delivered far more than I expected.

Armchair Interviews says: Stand the Storm is a must read.

The book starts out well enough -- a story about a slave family that struggles to purchase their own freedom. The most unfortunate part of the book is that the climax of the story occurs quite early. At that point I begain to wonder, with the central conflict so quickly resolved, where's the story going to go? The answer: nowhere. The book meanders through the lives of the Coats family without any clear direction.
The book does have some redeeming qualities, however. Clark is a talented writer with a creative style and eloquent prose. Nonetheless, without a central conflict to drive the story forward, the book becomes quickly boring.
By the end I found myself simply not caring about the main characters. On top of that, when I finished the book, I found myself quite angry. I'd rather have Gabriel, the main character, die as a soldier fighting in the Civil War. Instead he comes to a far less interesting end.
It all comes down to storytelling. Clark is certainly a talented writer, but she could use some practice with basic storytelling techniques.I think I finished the book more out of spite than interest.

I chose this book after reading the great review by Time. However, I didn't care for or about the characters much because they never really came alive. The whole story felt flat to me. There was not much in the area of conflict-- everytime I thought there would be conflict and, therefore, interest, something happened to make the conflict go away and settle things in a good way. Also, I thought there were more sexual/bathroom descriptions than were necessary. I just didn't like it. A much better book was the one I read before this, Jubilee.

This was a beautifully crafted story. IT relates the story of a mother and her children during a coming of age story during slavery in the American South. Told in an easy going way, it was like the patterns of knitting stitches. Each part meshed into the next. THE pacing was wonderful, clean and clear and in a straight line. Just like the even, humming of the needle through the cloth. You learned to care about each of the characters, FREE or SLAVE, and how historical events impacted their lives.The people in power, and those without power were well described. With the background of the Civil War it touched on many emotions, but never in a maudalin way. This novel was a great read, and the characters truly touched me. I expected to read at the end that this was a real family; the ancestors of the Breena Clarke. Not since ROOTS, has there been such a well done story of the African-American experience during Slavery.

Set from the mid-1850's to about 1870, Breena Clarke's historical novel "Stand the Storm" (2008) tells the story of a persevering African American family that through its own efforts makes the difficult path from slavery to freedom. The story begins in southern Maryland on a plantation owned by one Jonathan Ridley. The primary characters are a woman known as Sewing Annie, who as her name implies is renowned for her skill with the needle, her son Gabriel, and her daughter Ellen. Gabriel is the pride of Annie and inherits much of her talent. Ellen, the younger child, also is gifted at the sewing and embroidering craft, but the mother's heart belongs predominantly to her son.

The book moves between the plantation and Georgetown and Washington. (During the time of the story, Georgetown was a separate municipality from Washington, D.C.) When Gabriel is a child, Ridley hires him out to a tailor in Georgetown, Abraham Pearl, who is reluctant to use slave labor but needs the help. Over the course of years, Gabriel learns the business. He determines to free himself, his mother, and his sister from bondage. With Annie's help, Gabriel is able to save money to purchase his family's freedom from the conniving and dishonest Ridley. The family takes the surname of "Coats" due to their skills as tailors. With the impending war and the influx of people into Washington, the hardworking Coats family achieves a degree of economic success in their business as tailors, embroiderers, and laundresses. The purchase of family freedom occurs relatively early in the novel, but it is only the beginning of the family's troubles.

Besides telling the story of a difficult freedom, Clarke's novel also explores the family and sexual dynamics of the Coats'. The book suggests that Annie is inordinately attached to Gabriel at the expense of both her son's own independence and of Ellen and other women who become part of the family. Annie also sacrifices some of her own sexuality through her overprotectiveness towards her son. Other family tensions arise when Ellen adopts a baby girl under straightened circumstances and both Annie and Gabriel have difficulty accepting the child. Some of the best scenes in the novel are those showing the inherent difficulties of blended families. When Gabriel marries a former abused ex-slave named Mary, Annie leads his way and perhaps plays too large a role in the couple's life. Gabriel and Mary have four daughters in a short time and love them dearly. But both Annie and Mary worry that Gabriel is displeased by the lack of a son. The overriding sexual tension of the novel results from the pervasive sexual abuse of African American women, as shown in Annie, Ellen, and Mary, by slaveholders and by the institution of slavery.

The book offers a good portrayal of life in Georgetown in the years leading up to the Civil War. At the time, Georgetown, and Washington City, had a mixed and highly volatile population of whites, free blacks, and slaves. Poor areas stood side by side with wealth. There was a great deal of southern sympathy in the city, and free blacks were always at substantial risk to their persons and liberties. The military assumed an increasingly large place and the city, and the brothels were ubiquitous. Clarke captures a sense of African American life in the Civil War District of Columbia that may be unfamiliar to many readers. As the story moves forward, Gabriel and another successful African American businessman whom he has befriended enlist in the Union Army. Clarke again offers a description of the hardships that African American soldiers endured during the War that sometimes does not find its way to the history books.

The style of the book varies. It tends to move slowly and the writing can be awkward or stilted. There are long passages of unconvincing introspection by some of the characters, some wandering of theme, and too much dwelling on scatological details. But portions of the book move well, quickly, and poignantly. With its stylistic deficiencies, "Stand the Storm" still offers a thoughtful portrayal of the strugle from slavery to freedom in the Washington, D.C. area during the Civil War era.

Robin Friedman

Ever since I was a child, I have always enjoyed books that take place around and during the Civil War. When I discovered that Breena Clarke, author of the Oprah selection RIVER, CROSS MY HEART, had written a new book about a family of slaves who had bought their freedom, I just knew I wanted to read it. The book is called STAND THE STORM, and I found it to be a very well-written and touching story.

I have to admit that I didn't find this book to be an easy read. As I was reading STAND THE STORM, I enjoyed the story a great deal (although it was very depressing at times). I thought the author did an amazing job of developing the characters and bringing them to life. I also thought she did a fantastic job of showing the reader what it was like to live as a former slave in Georgetown during the Civil War period. My only issue with STAND THE STORM that I didn't find myself rushing to get back to it after I set the book down. For some reason, I liked the book but I wasn't totally caught up in the Coats' family story.

One thing I will definitely say about this book is that it was a huge wake-up call for me about the lives of former slaves. I guess I just assumed that when a black person bought their freedom that they were truly free. It's obvious to me now that that was not the case -- I probably just never thought about it all that much before reading this book. I found myself frustrated that there were countless slaves, as well as freed men and women, who had to endure so much pain and humiliation; and I'm embarrassed that these things ever occurred in our country.

Another thing that will remain in my thoughts for quite awhile after reading this book were the characters and their individual struggles. I thought so many of the characters were extremely well-developed and they seemed very real to me -- especially given how complex and flawed they were. I was continually blown away by how much they had to endure, and I found their strength and resilience to be very uplifting. As I read this book, it just seemed like no matter how much they accomplished, they were still just a minute away from losing everything. I was saddened by so many of these events, and yet I still considered this book to be one with the ultimate message of hope. Each character seemed to make sacrifices so that their children would have better lives.

Ms. Clarke has a fantastic website, and you really should visit it. I especially loved how she has a page geared towards book clubs. Not only will you find some discussion questions, but you will also find a list of recommended books about the Civil War. Ms. Clarke makes herself available to discuss either of her novels with book clubs. My group wasn't able to work out an author chat with Ms. Clarke; however, you can request one here. Another part of the website that I really appreciated was a section called "About the Book" where Ms. Clarke explains some of the inspiration behind STAND THE STORM. I found it to be fascinating and particularly insightful into the story.

I am very anxious to discuss STAND THE STORM tonight when my Preschool Moms Book Club meets. I am curious to hear whether everyone enjoyed the book, and what their reaction was to the ending -- I almost dropped the book when I read it. Fortunately for us, the paperback version of STAND THE STORM includes a reading group guide with twenty thought-provoking questions. I definitely think this guide will help keep us focused on discussing the characters and their stories.

I definitely recommend STAND THE STORM if you are a fan of historical fiction and especially fiction that revolves around slavery and the Civil War. I found that this book not only moved me because I was so touched by the characters' lives, but I also felt like I gained some additional insight into this time period. It was a very interesting read and well worth my time.

The novel was a very enjoyable read for me as I quickly became immersed in the lives of the Coats family and the skill and art of sewing. The strong mother/son bond between Annie and Gabriel is at the center force of the family as they weathered their storms in a disciplined and unassuming way.

The book deals with the Ripley family and other arrogant slave owner antagonists, but in a simple yet understandable way. It covers the difficult topic without overpowering the positive strength of the story.

Annie is a unique character and really the heart of the story. Ultimately she manages to survive and even thrive through all the challenges; enough that her goodness is passed on to new generations.

I found the most unique and enjoyable part of the book was the choice of period words and the scenes which are painted with them. It gave me a feeling of authenticity about the story and an impression that life, while similar to ours in some ways, was different back then in some good and bad ways.

"Stand the Storm" was interesting from a historical perspective but it did not capture much in the way of the personalities of the time or the characters. While I respected Gabriel and his family, I could not warm up to them. The book was well written but also one that was very easy to put down.

Breena Clarke has done an excellent job in capturing the survival and fight for freedom from the bonds of slavery. Unlike many stories set in the landscape of slavery, this story allows the readers a glimpse of sacrifice and the mind set required to avoid the physical and mental trap of chattle slavery in America. The characters are rich in sprirt,and integrity,however there are some characters rich in ignorance and greed. Ms. Clarke nicely weaves the relationships between characters and she uses those relationship to drive the book's plot.Stand the Storm