Eighth Wonder: The Thomas Bethune Story

by A.M. Cal, Wendell Wiggins (Illustrator), Susan Wyler (Editor)

A slave born blind, feeble, and left to die in a sweltering smokehouse begins playing Mozart at the age of three. The remarkable true tale of the amazing slave, Thomas Bethune, known throughout the world as Blind Tom. This 19th century epic of imagination and edge-of-your seat suspense is told through the eyes of the aristocratic master who saved the odd, dying, slave boy and went on to rebuild his fortune.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2015

About the author

A.M. Cal (1960s - ) was born in Seattle, WA to southern Louisiana parents (Baton Rouge) and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Communications, Journalism. As a 15-year t.v. producer/writer, A.M. Cal worked with the best in entertainment, including Academy Award winner Mo'Nique, Academy Award nominee Taraji Henson, international star and Golden Globe winner Rutger Hauer, t.v. host/actress Sherri Shepherd (The View), Nick Micheaux (Lincoln Heights) to name a few. As a t.v. writer she wrote for Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Meet the Browns, as well as cable's The Chin Chens and several pilots. Early in her career, A.M. worked as a journalist (L.A, Times, Greenwich), taught in Los Angeles middle and high schools. Her first novel, "Eighth Wonder" is a Library Journal SELF-e "highlighted book" (2015-16).

A.M. Cal was part of the NAACP IMAGE Award writing team for Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Currently, A.M. is working on her second biographical novel.

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing tale! I wonder how much of this material is factual. The author does indicate with a few broad strokes in a note at the end of the novel what is known about these men. I appreciate that she chose cover art by someone related to Thomas Bethune. The author must have done a ton of research to be able to recreate the story of Thomas Bethune and Colonel Bethune's lives for there is a wealth of detail about the years leading up to the Civil War through Reconstruction, both in the US and in Europe. Although as a 21st century woman, I cringed at the frequent use of the "n" word for Black people, I do understand the author was trying to be faithful to the language of the time. She succeeded in making me feel more empathetic towards the Southern slave-holding Colonel than I otherwise would have been. I hope that, before another edition is printed and before this author publishes another book, a good proofreader is employed to fix all the appalling grammar, spelling na punctuation mistakes. At one point I decided a poor typist must have typed it and let spellcheck "correct" everything without proofreading it herself. Although I didn't notice any errors in the French, there were errors in the Italian.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare that you get an opportunity to review a book before publication and land up learning about a section of history that you had no idea existed. I was fascinated by the story of the slave boy who grew up to be the Black Mozart.
The story begins with Colonel Bethune on a day that threatens to expose a secret that he has been hiding for years from the world. The Colonel is arrested and charged with slavery after it is discovered that a previous slave still resides in his house and has taken ill.
We move back in time to discover where Thomas came from and how he was integrated into the Bethune's lives. The story is evocative and rich with imagery, from the hot and humid slave traders in Virginia, to the opulent courts of the kings, queens and emperors in Europe. We follow, and in many places cling to our seats, the life of Thomas , born blind and into slavery. A small child seemingly destined to be tossed aside at an early age. It's as though we are accorded a glimpse into the private and special bond between the Colonel and Thomas. How the child proved to be a musical prodigy and silenced naysayers the world over. Focus is placed on his meteoric rise to fame and the beautiful, but most oft times, cruel path it took to get there. Throughout the story we are allowed to see the impact the relationship had on both the Colonel and Thomas's families, as well as the effect on the world and indeed the world on it. An echo is placed on the price fame brings with it. Politics and the war between the North and South are skilfully woven into the tale and add to the complexity of allegiances and inevitable desires and their actions.
As with most first time novels small faults creep through. Most of the editing niggles were corrected just before publication, and so very few mistakes linger. As a reader one bone of contention I have, is the amount of French used in the story which is not translated. Occasional words and phrases which are commonly used would be easier to read than the sometimes lengthy sentences, which make the reader feel as though they are missing part of the story.
An epic and sweeping saga of fortunes lost and won, loyalties and boundaries pushed, unquestioning and unyielding love being tested; but above all-that nothing will stand in the way of a genius whose light is meant to be shared and shone on the world.