Book 3 of The Olivia Series Vintage Contemporary, United States (1967) Historical Fiction, United States (1840s) Women's Fiction
Note from the Author Book 3 answers the question asked in its title and provides a narrative account of what happened to Olivia, Mourning, and Little Boy, but it is not a continuation of Book 2 in the same sense that Book 2 continues Book 1. Whatever Happened to Mourning Free? skips forward three generations and focuses on descendants of the Killion and Free families, who still face many of the problems with which Olivia and Mourning contended. Readers who are impatient to find out what happened to Olivia and Mourning can feel free to skip ahead to that section, and then come back to the beginning section about Charlene, Reeves, and Charlie. Just search for the following text: Detroit, Michigan – May 24, 1843
Book Description It's 1967 and Charlene Connor has just graduated from the University of Michigan, without her "Mrs." Her mother recently passed away and soon afterwards her father fled the silence to a new job on the other side of the state. So Charlene is going "home" to what is now an empty house.
Two things make this long, hot summer bearable: Reeves Valenti – the high school sweetheart she left behind – and the lawyer who unexpectedly knocks on her door, bringing information about the woman she idolizes - her great-great-great Aunt Olivia Killion. Charlene can't wait to get Olivia's journals from him and finally learn what happened to Olivia and her friend and partner Mourning Free; she doesn't know that the answer to that question will deepen the connection she feels to Olivia and bring a new person -- and a fundamental change -- into her life.
Is It Autobiographical? No. Just for fun, I gave Charlene the shell of my life. I grew up in the Foundation, attended Edsel Ford High School, and began my college education in Ann Arbor. So on paper, Charlene and I have a lot in common. In fact, am I anything like her? No. Is my life anything like hers? In my dreams.
I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, in the house on the cover of Book 3 of the Olivia series, not far from the location of Olivia's farm. While studying at the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, I spent two summers in Israel and ended up coming back to make my life here. Since then I've spent a lot of time traveling between the Middle East and the Midwest, loving both my homes. While living on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim I learned the story of the Etzion Bloc during Israel’s War of Independence – from people who had lived through it. It was many years before I dared to try to put it down on paper. At that time, fantasies aside, I considered writing nothing more than a hobby. I did, however, post the first chapters of The Lonely Tree on a writers' workshop run by the London Arts Council. There it received a Book of the Year award and Holland Park Press of London asked to see the complete manuscript. Not long afterwards I received an email from them. “We want to publish your book.” Hey, you never know when a fantasy is going to come true. For years I had been researching the backdrop for Olivia's story and based many of the details in the Olivia Series on letters and journals passed down through my family, over seven generations of lives lived in the American Midwest. I also received a great deal of information and insight from my sister Martha, who lived with her husband in a modern log home, hunted her own land, cut her own firewood, and was as independent and stubborn as Olivia. Then self-publishing happened. The prospect of being able to publish that story independently was a great motivator, and I finally completed and published the five books of the Olivia series.
I very much enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this one disappointed me. I guess I wanted more stories about Olivia and Mourning Free and not so much about more recent events.
* SIGH * Where do I begin ? I loved the first two books in this series . Politis is most certainly a beautiful writer and author of very captivating books . I fell in love with Olivia and Mourning - both are such strong and delightful characters . I could have read a 100 book series on the both of them !
That being said , despite being well written I found the third book in this series a little disappointing . I STILL don't know what happened to Mourning Free really . I wanted to know ...I'd like to know ....
Maybe it's just me , but I found it hard to more forward in time so far from Mourning and Olivia without the blanks in between being filled in . I understand bringing Charlene , the great-great-great relative of Olivia to life in this third book . Again , a delightfully deep character with her own struggle ( which is that she really has no struggles ! ) . I guess my struggle was this book just read so much differently than the first two ......
I absolutely loved the first 2 books in the series. When I tarted. The 3rd one and it was set in the 60's I was so bummed! It took me a long time to get into this style and I nearly quit but the book was redeemed in my eyes! I only gave it 3 stars because I thought the story would have been so much better staying with the same format and have Charlie's story be a 4th book! It was a wonderful story!
She's back! Fans of Olivia, here is the answer to the question spelled out in the title.
SPOILER WARNING--if you haven't read "Olivia, Mourning" and "The Way The World Is," skip this paragraph - Readers of the first two books already know and love the brave woman who fell in love with a free black man in the 1840s, bore his child in secret and gave the baby up via a minister who arranged a sort of private adoption. Olivia runs a boarding house in Dearborn, Michigan, while risking her life to help slaves to safety via the Underground Railroad. At the end of Book Two, our parting image is Olivia seeing her baby from afar, in the arms of another woman who stands beside Mourning Free. Haunting!
A hundred-plus years later, the Civil War is history, slavery is a bad memory, but race relations are still an issue. The turbuluent 1960s are the setting as Charlene Connor revisits her great-great-great Aunt Olivia's diary. She always felt a connection to her distant aunt and wondered what happened in the years after the diary ended. A stranger at her door supplies the answer. He represents a young black boy, Charlie, who is apparently a direct descendant of Mourning Free.
To avoid plot spoilers, let's just say Charlene gets the sequel to that early diary. The novel segues into a third-person narrative of Olivia's story, as it happened, rather in the the form of a diary. Some critics have complained that this story should have been delivered "free standing" without the context of Charlene and Charlie in 1967, but I strongly disagree. The two sagas are inextricably bound to each other.
The genealogy fascinates me. Fans of Book One know how very nearly Olivia could have born the child of a rapist, rather than the son of the man she loved, but couldn't claim as a husband, race relations being what they were (and still are, even though to a lesser extent, today). We don't know if Mourning is alive or dead at the end of Book One or even if he's the father of Olivia's child. The horror of his possible death brings to mind a line from Richard Dawkins ("Unweaving the Rainbow"): "We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara ... because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here."
It is stupefying that Charlie exists in 1967. He would not exist, if not for one brave white woman who dared to love a black man.
The final section of the novel shifts racial riots in 1960s Detroit, taking on the suspense of a thriller, yet keeping all the authenticity of historical fiction at its best. Yael Politis delivers a satisfying closer to a splendid trilogy. Be sure to read Books One and Two first.
This novel is the 3rd in the Olivia series by Yael Politis. However, it takes a departure from the story of Mourning and Oliva and moves a few generations to the future and is set in 1967. The main character, Charlene Connor, has just graduated from the University of Michigan and has come back home to pack up her old home near Detroit since her mother had died recently and her father had taken a new job in Grand Rapids, MI. Olivia from the earlier books in the series is Charlene's great- great-great aunt, and she has heard many family stories about her. Olivia Killion is a legend in the family. Charlene is also brought back into contact with her old boyfriend, Reeves, who she broke up when she graduated from high school. Shortly after her return home, she receives a visit from a black lawyer named Billy Bates who shares a journal with her written by her Aunt Olivia.
In this journal, Charlene finds out about Olivia's relationship with Mourning Free and their son. She had known nothing about him before. Next she receives a call from a 15 year old black boy named Charles who tells her he doesn't want any money from her. She wants to meet him and from that meeting a relationship begins to develop.
Interwoven in the plot is Charlie's description of being part of the Freedom Ride down to Alabama and race riots of 1967 in Detroit. The author vividly bring the riots to life and they make a turning point in the relationship between Charlene and Charlie. A significant part of this novel chronicles the difficulties of being a black person in the United States long after they were emancipated with the Civil War.
I have given the novel a 3 star rating because I was really disappointed that it did not continue the story of Olivia and Mourning. I also felt that the characters of Charlene and especially that of her boyfriend Reeves were a little too perfect. Everything seemed to just fall right into place in the latter part of the novel as if there were no more problems to face for Charlene, Charlie and Reeves.
However, I did enjoy the novel and would recommend it to others---especially those who have an interest in the Civil Rights movement and the race riots of the 1960's.
I delayed reading this book. Despite having sought it the minute I'd finished book 2 of the Ollivia Mourning free serirs. I couldn't face the risk of disapointment. I should surely find. In this presentation. Probably 6 weeks really. Finally conceding I'm ready now. Omg why did I wait. This continuation, picks up 3 generations later by a few twists into each Ollivias family and Mourning Free's. Artfully done, with Yael Politis, extraordinary craft and flair during the 1960s civil rights & Ante Vietnam activism. With Olivias great great great grand niece, Charlene O'Connor. Who has read the 1st & original diary and found an affection and affinity to her very distant relative Ollivias drive; courage, & energy. Drawn to meet Charlie Freeman. Through quite feasable circumstances, and his equally plain speaking honest & conviction of Mourne Free's thrice great grandson. This book had me cracking up with laughter at times. Admirably purported the missing threads and story lube continuation, masterfully. A must read for the authors fans. Ask for those who enjoy American or Historic fiction. It's wonderful as the other 2 in the series. Enjoy.
This third book in the Olivia Series jumps 120 years to 1967 when Olivia’s many-times-great-niece reads Olivia’s diaries and meets Mourning’s many-times-great grandson. I loved the first two books of this series; but, while this was a well-written book and was historically well-researched, I was a little disappointed. Set in the Detroit area during 1967, the middle of the book gave me the distinct feeling of a video of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” trying to cover everything from the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till to the Freedom Riders to the 1967 Detroit riots—too broad a subject—and came pretty close to “white savior complex” in some situations!!! That being said, I’m still glad I read it and had a hard time putting it down. Yael Politis is an excellent author.
This series is a must read! I know it's a fictional story, but it is so thought provoking when it comes to all that goes on in racial tension. I was worried when I started this book, as I didn't want to jump ahead to the 1960's. I wanted to stick with the story about Olivia and Mourning. This book does go back and continues with the story about Olivia and Mourning. The story about Olivia's niece several generations later is also so endearing. This book shows that so many generations later we still have racial tensions to deal with, how it all evolves while continuing to captivate you.
This book was a good glimpse into descendants of Olivia and Mourning and her brother, Toby. It was interesting to see how much the character, Charlene was so much like Olivia in her compassion for equality for Charlie and the sacrifices she was willing to make in an attempt to balance all the bad things he had encountered being a young black male in a disadvantaged life.
this series is the most compelling i've read. I keep thinking that's enough but then i can't stop thinking about what happens next and how it will all come together. The lessons you can learn about simply being a good person without all the sermons and banging heads are simple and earth changing. I just ordered the 4th in the series and it will take me back to Olivia and Mourning. I can't wait.
This third book in the series begins in the 60s then returns back to the 1800s when the protagonist finds Olivia's diaries, then returns back to the 60s. An author that can jump times smoothly! Olivia's story delves further into her activities with the Underground Railroad and her search for Mourning. Charlene's story from the 60s centers around the riots in Detroit and her discovery of one of Mourning's decendents. These books have me hooked. Have already started Book 4.
Book #3 of the Olivia Series. I highly recommend this entire series, but this book didn't answer all my questions about whatever happened to Mourning Free's family. Perhaps I expected too many answers. Some were answered in later books, but even after I read the entire series, I have questions about the descendants. This was probably the weakest of the books in the series but still kept my attention.
I just finished the last of the series "Olivia Morning". I LOVE the whole story,please start with the first one to fully appreciate a truly unique historical novel. There are so many life lessons that will take you to a new level of understanding the eighteen hundreds through today. .Five stars just aren't enough. Many thanks to all involved in this series
Although the book was good, it was not as good as the first 2. It would have been better to continue the story off the other two, instead of suddenly throwing us into 1967. I had no clue where it was going at first. Then it takes us back to 1847 and back to 1967 again. I'm not a big fan of these types of stories.
Second time I read this book, which was one of my favorites a few years ago. Since I remember the tension in the late 60s in the U.S., it was interesting to read another person's perspective on the time of the race riots. I continue to love the characters and am looking forward to the next book in the series.
This was probably my least favorite of the Olivia series. Not because the book wasn’t interesting and engaging but I just felt like it didn’t flow. I personally feel like it could have been at the end if the series instead of in the middle. Plus, it totally left you hanging on what happened to these characters. I truly felt it disrupted the flow of the story line.
Wow..the question I have asked several times since reading the first book taking me up to the birth of Little Boy. Thank you..this was WONDERFUL. Well done. Loved the young people, the revisiting of the rioting, the truly great history lesson. Can't wait to read more
I really was not impressed with this book plopped down in the middle of this series. The title isn’t even really appropriate. Not to mention it was corny and clumsy with a book written inside the book and, and, and…. I read it on Kindle Unlimited but would have been ticked if I had paid for it! Not to mention, the ending. ????? I’m ready to get back to the real story.
Book 1 grabs reader and 2 continues with unimaginable events continuing to hold reader interest. #3 is a surprise answer about what happened to Mourning Free in the 1800s, with extra bonus of telling the ramifications of those happenings in 1960s. Fascinating, well written & edited.
You will become a Slave to this Story, you cannot put this very well written Precise Story Down! It is so easy to give Yael Politis, Author 5🌟 for a Master Piece. Remember to begin your Read with Book 1&2.
There are four books in this series. This review is for all four. i enjoyed these books more than any I have read in a long time. I was very impressed with the authors way of telling this story. Very enjoyable
I was a little disappointed. It is mostly retold of the first two books with a twist of a corny love story. Unlike the first two books, I was not too anxious to turn the page to find out what happened next. It is as boring as the picture on the cover.
FINALLY found out "what happened to Mourning". One has to do one heck of a lot of reading to find out what one is COMPELLED to know. This modern saga was a bid tedious to read, but I'm certainly still motivated to read the full series.
Love this whole series!! Book 3 is just as good as the first two. Part is set in the 60s where we see the prejudice and bigotry is still prevalent. I loved the juxtaposition of the different eras. Read all 5! You will love All of them!!
I was afraid the author would lose Olivia and Mourning. I Enjoyed getting to know these 2 characters and all their experiences that I couldn't see h ow they could be still alive a