Helpful Score: 1
I love this book--- The time is 1947, the place Durham, North Carolina, in the segregated South. Sirus McDougald is a leader of the thriving, self contained black community there. Successful in real estate, founder and president of the local bank, strong and self confident, he is an emblematic figure, devoted to his wife and child, and willingly shouldering responsibility for the well being and advancement of his people. But now his adored little daughter has senselessly died. At the same time, the white power structure is applying ruthless pressure for a business alliance he fears will betray all who trust him. Thus the stage is set for a novel that superbly recreates a world of black community, power and pride invisible to the white world, even as its vividly varied characters play ouy a drama as universal as Job in the portrayal of a good mans struggle to keep the faith in the face of crushing tragedy and seemingly omnipotent evil.
