Running to the Magic
Nighttime Alabama in the 1960's. Melvin and his fiancee stopped to eat at Otto's. The place is not listed in the Green Book, the black motorist's bible spelling out the safe roadside cafes, hotels, and gas stations for black people. As a result of taking a chance he ended up defending himself against a mob and killing a white man. Stick around for a trial? Seriously? No; it was time to flee that crime scene to Ghana. A volatile third world country promised better odds of survival for an innocent couple than the United States. At the height of America's 1960's civil rights movement the escape is to what once was the biggest slave trading center in West Africa.
Melvin had a good friend in college from Africa. This man, Kwame Nkrumah, has risen to the presidency of Ghana. Melvin figured Kwame owed him and could provide his only escape. There are a few complications: not only is Melvin being tracked by an obsessed FBI agent, Kwame is supressing a revolution and assassination attempts before he is even aware that Melvin is in the picture.
We have Melvin's fiancee, Bernadette. He has convinced her she is just as likely to be prosecuted and must run with him. She loves him but it is dawning on her that Melvin is not the man she thought he was. His irrational jealousy, his quick temper and his rush to drunkenness are undermining their relationship. The man we see at the onset of the story is losing his luster.
A triangle develops with the appearance of a musician, Kwesi Kwayson. He is hugely popular in Ghana and is scheduled to perform for the president. Melvin and Bernadette, posing as a minister and wife, convince Kwesi to take them across the country to the concert. As Melvin begins diminishing in Bernadette's eyes, she and Kwesi try in vain to resist the attraction swelling between them.
There is magic here, too. Drawing from the fireside stories of author Blitz Bazawule's grandmother, we see visions of maternal mermaids and magical guitars spouting flower petals as the magic fills the air and, of course, love is only intensified under these spells.
The flight from the CIA, the dangerous trek through Ghana for the president's help, the revolutionary intrigue and the romantic turmoil all propel us to an unpredictable conclusion. In "The Scent of Burnt Flowers" we can not turn pages fast enough to see where this all takes us.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Nighttime Alabama in the 1960's. Melvin and his fiancee stopped to eat at Otto's. The place is not listed in the Green Book, the black motorist's bible spelling out the safe roadside cafes, hotels, and gas stations for black people. As a result of taking a chance he ended up defending himself against a mob and killing a white man. Stick around for a trial? Seriously? No; it was time to flee that crime scene to Ghana. A volatile third world country promised better odds of survival for an innocent couple than the United States. At the height of America's 1960's civil rights movement the escape is to what once was the biggest slave trading center in West Africa.
Melvin had a good friend in college from Africa. This man, Kwame Nkrumah, has risen to the presidency of Ghana. Melvin figured Kwame owed him and could provide his only escape. There are a few complications: not only is Melvin being tracked by an obsessed FBI agent, Kwame is supressing a revolution and assassination attempts before he is even aware that Melvin is in the picture.
We have Melvin's fiancee, Bernadette. He has convinced her she is just as likely to be prosecuted and must run with him. She loves him but it is dawning on her that Melvin is not the man she thought he was. His irrational jealousy, his quick temper and his rush to drunkenness are undermining their relationship. The man we see at the onset of the story is losing his luster.
A triangle develops with the appearance of a musician, Kwesi Kwayson. He is hugely popular in Ghana and is scheduled to perform for the president. Melvin and Bernadette, posing as a minister and wife, convince Kwesi to take them across the country to the concert. As Melvin begins diminishing in Bernadette's eyes, she and Kwesi try in vain to resist the attraction swelling between them.
There is magic here, too. Drawing from the fireside stories of author Blitz Bazawule's grandmother, we see visions of maternal mermaids and magical guitars spouting flower petals as the magic fills the air and, of course, love is only intensified under these spells.
The flight from the CIA, the dangerous trek through Ghana for the president's help, the revolutionary intrigue and the romantic turmoil all propel us to an unpredictable conclusion. In "The Scent of Burnt Flowers" we can not turn pages fast enough to see where this all takes us.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
