Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2022
Faladé's (English, Univ. of Illinois; Fire on the Beach) first adult novel tells a story of the tangled web of race relations during the U.S. Civil War. Sergeant Richard Etheridge is the enslaved son of a slaveholder. Richard desperately wants the approval of his father, but that is not forthcoming. There is a longtime rivalry with his cousin, a Confederate guerrilla, and Richard's forces are searching for him. While Etheridge wants his cause and freedom to succeed, he can't quite cut ties with his blood relatives, regardless of their goals. Etheridge works to free other enslaved people, especially Fanny, the woman he wants to marry. This book offers a thoughtful picture of the war as well as the internal conflicts of the participants during and immediately after it. VERDICT Recommended for those interested in race, U.S. history, and the Civil War. A possible selection for high school students, though the vernacular of the time may be hard to comprehend.—Cheryl Youse
FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile
James Shippy impeccably narrates this little known event in Civil War history. One-armed abolitionist General Edward Wild led the African Brigade to rout Confederate irregulars and bushwhackers to free Virginians and North Carolinians who were still enslaved. Listeners meet Wild’s contingent of formerly enslaved people. Most interesting is highly educated Sergeant Richard Etheridge, the Black son of a white slaveholder. The action surges when Etheridge leaves the plantation to join Wild, who increasingly entrusts him with more responsibility. Lurid reports from front lines via NEW YORK TIMES reporter Tewksbury add authenticity. Shippy flawlessly conveys diverse accents, personalities, and conversations vital to the account. Audio enriches this sublime look at African-Americans in American history. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 10/18/2021
The story of the African Brigade, a unit of Black freedmen who fought for the Union during the Civil War, gets its due in this superior adult debut from Faladé (after the YA novel Away Running). The brigade’s efforts to hunt down Confederate guerrillas in North Carolina in the fall of 1863 are conveyed by Richard Etheridge, a historical figure who was born into slavery on Roanoke Island and fathered by his master, and whose white half-sister taught him to read and write. That upbringing left him with some ambivalence after he was freed; having enlisted in the Union Army “to help destroy” the Confederacy and its dehumanizing culture, Etheridge still retains some fond memories of the time before his liberation. As the brigade prepares for military action in hostile terrain, Etheridge flashes back to his past and to his time with Fanny Aydlett, the love interest he left behind to join the fight. Those recollections alternate with taut combat sequences as the unit struggles to pacify the area. Etheridge is made a fascinating figure, well suited to serve as the focal point for Faladé’s exploration of the complexities of Etheridge and his comrades’s rapid shift from powerlessness to armed military duty. Engrossing and complex, this will have readers riveted. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Black Cloud Rising:
“Faladé’s book is so accessible and rousing, though, that you hope it becomes available as a mass-market paperback, in packaging that more clearly announces: This book is a straight-up page-turner. There are no braided points of view here, no too-pretty words, no splintered syntax. No leaden diagnoses of the human predicament belch on the smoky skyline. The nature of the American experiment is implicitly questioned but not burned to the ground...This is a classic war story told simply and well, its meanings not forced but allowed to bubble up.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times
“The story of the African Brigade, a unit of Black freedmen who fought for the Union during the Civil War, gets its due in this superior adult debut from Faladé . . .[Richard] Etheridge is made a fascinating figure, well suited to serve as the focal point for Faladé’s exploration of the complexities of Etheridge and his comrades’s rapid shift from powerlessness to armed military duty. Engrossing and complex, this will have readers riveted.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Tensely wrought…A masterful depiction of the precarious nature of Black life during the war and of slavery’s unrelenting assault on human dignity.”—Booklist (starred review)
“In this profoundly reflective novel, Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award winner Faladé uses real-life Civil War sergeant Richard Etheridge to explore the immediate consequences of emancipation…A triumphant examination of U.S. history and race relations at a crucial juncture, as seen through the eyes of the well-wrought, ever-questioning Etheridge; highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Wright Faladé’s richly detailed, grippingly told story breathes life into a revolutionary moment when the U.S. moved a vital step forward toward achieving the ideals we’ve always proclaimed.”—Charles Frazier, National Book Award-winning author of Cold Mountain
“David Wright Faladé’s thrilling, revelatory Black Cloud Rising turns Civil War history upside down and makes America give up one of its darkest secrets—that our racial tension is literally a family feud.”—James Hannaham, Pen/Faulkner Award-winning author of Delicious Foods and The Pilot Imposter
“Black Cloud Rising is riveting and authentic—an intimate and brilliantly written portrayal of former slaves who risked everything to fight in the African Brigades during the Civil War. It's a compelling and deeply moving story of race, war and the eternal pursuit of freedom.”—David Zucchino, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Wilmington’s Lie
“The brilliant portrayal of crucially defining matters of racial history in America will rightly draw great acclaim to David Wright Faladé’s Black Cloud Rising. But this novel’s power is transcendent. Told in an exquisitely distinctive and nuanced voice, it reaches deep into the universal human condition and engages the core yearning of us all: our yearning for a self, for an identity, for a place in the universe.”—Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
“Black Cloud Rising is the story of a minor engagement in the Civil War, a footnote in most history books, but it is the story of a major part of American history: the hard fought, still continuing battle of African Americans to rise from slavery to equality. From a single time and place, like a hologram it generates a three-dimensional picture of the difficulties, complexities, and nuances faced by Black people then and now. If you like history, if you want to better understand the struggle for equality, no matter your personal history or race, and if you want a good story, read this book. It’s a triple threat.”—Karl Marlantes, New York Times-bestselling author of Matterhorn
Praise for David Wright Faladé:
“This true-life story is akin to Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm, except that the storm here is on shore as well. The story roils with the terrifying racism of slavery's aftermath, as Wright (English, Univ. of Illinois) and Zoby (Caspar Coll.) indicate in this story of the life and times of Richard Etheridge (1842-1900)…More than one man's story, this mix of personal and institutional biography brings to life the daily challenges and triumphs of blacks pushed aside, but no less valuable, in a New South.” —Library Journal
“African-American, Civil War and naval history enthusiasts will find this of interest.” —Publishers Weekly
“Fire on the Beach is a grand American adventure story, perfectly paced and surely told, filled with lore, meticulous detail, and a dozen perfect storms.” —Tom Franklin, author of Poachers
“Wright and Zoby recount an extraordinary story of perseverance, courage, and professionalism in the face of extreme racial prejudice…The authors have revived a remarkable long-forgotten chapter in the annals of African American history.” —Booklist
“Combining a thrilling narrative pace with meticulous research, David Wright and David Zoby have restored for us all a vibrant chapter of our common history that should never be forgotten.” —Philip Graham, author of How to Read an Unwritten Language
Library Journal
★ 12/01/2021
DEBUT In this profoundly reflective novel, Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award winner Faladé (Fire on the Beach) uses real-life Civil War sergeant Richard Etheridge to explore the immediate consequences of emancipation. In autumn 1863, thousands of formerly enslaved men joined the ranks of the Union Army as it capitalized on its Tidewater Virginia foothold by eying eastern North Carolina, where Confederate irregulars still lurked. The African Brigade, formed by outlier abolitionist general Edward Augustus Wild, was tasked with routing out these bushwhackers after others (which is to say, white troops) had failed. The moral center and relentless questioner at the heart of this narrative, Etheridge must face down complex feelings about his past; he's the son of an enslaved woman and the man who enslaved him, and he's actually vested in his Etheridge heritage, even as he struggles with his father's indifference. He must also square off against another senior sergeant who accuses him of hating his own Black skin, confront thoughts of his swaggering white biological cousin Patrick, and help his corporal find missing family, all while worrying about his own ma'am and his beloved Fanny. VERDICT A triumphant examination of U.S. history and race relations at a crucial juncture, as seen through the eyes of the well-wrought, ever-questing Etheridge; highly recommended.—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile
James Shippy impeccably narrates this little known event in Civil War history. One-armed abolitionist General Edward Wild led the African Brigade to rout Confederate irregulars and bushwhackers to free Virginians and North Carolinians who were still enslaved. Listeners meet Wild’s contingent of formerly enslaved people. Most interesting is highly educated Sergeant Richard Etheridge, the Black son of a white slaveholder. The action surges when Etheridge leaves the plantation to join Wild, who increasingly entrusts him with more responsibility. Lurid reports from front lines via NEW YORK TIMES reporter Tewksbury add authenticity. Shippy flawlessly conveys diverse accents, personalities, and conversations vital to the account. Audio enriches this sublime look at African-Americans in American history. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
