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The Seeking
Novelist Will Thomas had been a logger in Maine, a crew member on a fishing boat in Alaska, a prizefighter on the West Coast, a scriptwriter in Los Angeles, and a journalist in Kansas City, Chicago, and New York. In 1946 he, his wife, and three children abandoned a plan to move to Haiti to escape racial prejudice in the United States. Instead, they made the improbable decision to purchase a home in tiny Westford, Vermont, twenty miles northeast of Burlington. At the time, the Thomases were the only non-white members of the community. The Seeking is the grim account of the Thomases' lives before Vermont, their decision to give living in America one last chance, and the moving, heartfelt, uplifting story of their time among the people of Westford--a life, writes Thomas, "not based on race, but on what we and they [were] like as human beings."
Back in print for the first time in fifty years, this edition includes a new introduction that situates The Seeking in the canon of twentieth-century black literature, and a new afterword that follows the fortunes of Thomas and his family in the years after its initial publication. With appearances by the author's notable friends, including the novelist Chester Himes and sociologist Horace Cayton, Jr., The Seeking is both a story of one remarkable African-American family and a story of New England race relations in the first half of the twentieth century.
Back in print for the first time in fifty years, this edition includes a new introduction that situates The Seeking in the canon of twentieth-century black literature, and a new afterword that follows the fortunes of Thomas and his family in the years after its initial publication. With appearances by the author's notable friends, including the novelist Chester Himes and sociologist Horace Cayton, Jr., The Seeking is both a story of one remarkable African-American family and a story of New England race relations in the first half of the twentieth century.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 31, 2019
Exceptional used bookstore find. Initially, I had picked this up because this autobiography takes place in Westford, Vermont--and I was curious whether it would mention my great-grandmother's family or her neighbors. But the story far surpassed these cursory expectations: In 1946, a Black family decides to emigrate to Haiti to escape grinding racial prejudice in America. However, at the last minute, they try to give America one last shot--so they move to a tiny town in Vermont.
I held my breath while reading, certain the story would reveal shameful or narrow-minded behaviors underneath the Norman Rockwell aura of the region and era. However, the author (the family's father) wrote of overwhelmingly positive, deeply neighborly moments. He was surprised--and so was I.
The writing is observant and beautifully honest. And remains absolutely relevant. I really want someone I know to read this book, because I want to talk about its many layers. So hurry up!
Interesting bonuses for the modern reader:
* Dorothy Canfield Fisher has come under fire for her involvement in the eugenics movement--so much so, that a statewide children's book award has been stripped of her name. However, in this story, she is a champion of racial equality, serves on the board of Howard University, and is a beloved mentor of the author.
* The town of Westford has gained recent national notoriety for division, not unity. A resident has a giant wooden statue that flips the "bird" at town officials. (Kid Rock saw it and asked the artist to make one for him, as well.)
I held my breath while reading, certain the story would reveal shameful or narrow-minded behaviors underneath the Norman Rockwell aura of the region and era. However, the author (the family's father) wrote of overwhelmingly positive, deeply neighborly moments. He was surprised--and so was I.
The writing is observant and beautifully honest. And remains absolutely relevant. I really want someone I know to read this book, because I want to talk about its many layers. So hurry up!
Interesting bonuses for the modern reader:
* Dorothy Canfield Fisher has come under fire for her involvement in the eugenics movement--so much so, that a statewide children's book award has been stripped of her name. However, in this story, she is a champion of racial equality, serves on the board of Howard University, and is a beloved mentor of the author.
* The town of Westford has gained recent national notoriety for division, not unity. A resident has a giant wooden statue that flips the "bird" at town officials. (Kid Rock saw it and asked the artist to make one for him, as well.)
June 24, 2019
This one wasn't a fast read. Formal writing and a rather dry subject matter made it almost a slog. The quality of the writing and the interesting perspective kept it from being a bore.
Mr. Thomas, having had experienced his fill of racial prejudice, decides to leave the US with his family, but at the last minute changes his mind for Vermont - the only US state which never allowed slavery. Instead of experiencing prejudice against him, what is revealed is just how deep his own prejudice is against "the whites" (though he doesn't seem to have the sense of self to recognize that, despite very eloquently describing it). To the point that by the end of the book I was beginning to dislike Will. However he may have reacted, the casual racism of the people of Vermont did warrant some aggravation on his part. There is no big dramatic event - no back of bus moment, no big protest, just the day to day life of a man struggling to be seen as an equal, and who, all too often doesn't believe/trust it when he is.
This is probably a great book for a college level class on race relations or some such.
Mr. Thomas, having had experienced his fill of racial prejudice, decides to leave the US with his family, but at the last minute changes his mind for Vermont - the only US state which never allowed slavery. Instead of experiencing prejudice against him, what is revealed is just how deep his own prejudice is against "the whites" (though he doesn't seem to have the sense of self to recognize that, despite very eloquently describing it). To the point that by the end of the book I was beginning to dislike Will. However he may have reacted, the casual racism of the people of Vermont did warrant some aggravation on his part. There is no big dramatic event - no back of bus moment, no big protest, just the day to day life of a man struggling to be seen as an equal, and who, all too often doesn't believe/trust it when he is.
This is probably a great book for a college level class on race relations or some such.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews