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Journey to Colonus: A Novel of Race, Espionage and Redemption
It is the summer that man first walks on the moon, the Vietnam War is dragging into its sixth year, and riots are breaking out in American cities. At a black pride university two young men on opposite sides of the racial divide come to know an elderly and enigmatic teacher with the reputation of an Uncle Tom. Through the power of Professor Doswell’s character and the unfolding of his mysterious past, their lives are transformed. Inspired in part by the true story of Whittaker Chambers, this novel is grounded in meticulous research based largely on discoveries from the previously undisclosed Venona Project as well as KGB files opened to Western scholars following the fall of the Soviet Union.
- GenresFiction
312 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 15, 2017
This is an historical novel, a novel of ideas, and a journey into and out of darkness.
I received a review copy because the author, Franklin Debrot, liked my review of Witness, by Whitaker Chambers. There are parallels between Chambers' autobiographical work, written in the early 1950s, and this novel. Both bring to life the world of the communist movement as it existed in the 20th century, and both place that world within a larger context. The collapse of communism, which in its heyday almost annihilated western civilization, should not lessen our interest in this subject. It's apparent demise can be no lasting comfort, for its after effects remain with us, a symptom of something gone wrong in the heart of the West that has never been healed.
The novel weaves backwards and forwards in time, but its "present tense" is the end of the 1960s, in an historically black college in North Carolina. Two young men, Vincent and Jim, are recruited to help an aging professor, a certain Thomas Doswell, teach a great books course. Vincent is an idealist; he wants to fulfill the dreams inspired by his childhood hero, the celebrated Paul Robeson. Jim is emerging from a broken childhood, and trying to fit in as a middle class white man in an unsympathetic environment of militant blacks and wealthy white liberals. And Doswell is an outcast. The younger men are warned against getting too close to him. He is the object of hatred and not a little fear on the part of the college administration -- an old man, an “Uncle Tom” whose ideas are out of touch with The Movement. But as both Vincent and Jim get to know Doswell, another picture of the man begins to take shape.
Over the course of the novel, Doswell recounts the main events of his life. A black man born in the era of Jim Crow, he qualified for entrance to Harvard, the white man's most elite university. As a student, he rejected the religion of his father, a strict Protestant minister. He was instead intoxicated by the ideas of the Russian Revolution and its promise of a new world. That promise drew him into the service of the Communist Party, both in the USA and abroad.
Doswell recounts his role in the famous textile strikes of the 1920s in Patterson and Passaic. By the time those events are over, he is something of a legend. In the process, he has learned a great deal about mass movements and the art of leadership. He also learns the right way to play the American media, and through them, the American ruling classes. Then as now, it is surprisingly easy to get them to sign on to almost anything – just tap into what's fashionable.
The Party recognizes his talents. They recruit him for more difficult and delicate work. He is trained in the theory and practice of spy craft. He is assigned to work closely with that curious Soviet agent and American capitalist, Armand Hammer. This part of the story is one of a long disillusionment, of terrible crime, and an unexpected awakening. In the 1940s Doswell breaks with the Party. He goes underground, but he knows the Party never forgets and never forgives.
By the time the main story resumes, Doswell still has his enemies. In fact, he is a more isolated figure than ever, carrying a weight of guilt and knowledge he cannot easily share.
That guilt and knowledge point to something striking about this novel, as well as Chamber's writings. Simply put, many readers will experience a sense of vertigo while reading either of them. They will encounter a portrayal of recent American history that contradicts much that they think they know. There is a real possibility that, no matter how soberly the facts are stated, the truth conveyed by this heavily documented historical novel will be ignored or misunderstood. There are good reasons for my saying this. But perhaps that will not be the case. After all, there is such a thing as the long view.
I received a review copy because the author, Franklin Debrot, liked my review of Witness, by Whitaker Chambers. There are parallels between Chambers' autobiographical work, written in the early 1950s, and this novel. Both bring to life the world of the communist movement as it existed in the 20th century, and both place that world within a larger context. The collapse of communism, which in its heyday almost annihilated western civilization, should not lessen our interest in this subject. It's apparent demise can be no lasting comfort, for its after effects remain with us, a symptom of something gone wrong in the heart of the West that has never been healed.
The novel weaves backwards and forwards in time, but its "present tense" is the end of the 1960s, in an historically black college in North Carolina. Two young men, Vincent and Jim, are recruited to help an aging professor, a certain Thomas Doswell, teach a great books course. Vincent is an idealist; he wants to fulfill the dreams inspired by his childhood hero, the celebrated Paul Robeson. Jim is emerging from a broken childhood, and trying to fit in as a middle class white man in an unsympathetic environment of militant blacks and wealthy white liberals. And Doswell is an outcast. The younger men are warned against getting too close to him. He is the object of hatred and not a little fear on the part of the college administration -- an old man, an “Uncle Tom” whose ideas are out of touch with The Movement. But as both Vincent and Jim get to know Doswell, another picture of the man begins to take shape.
Over the course of the novel, Doswell recounts the main events of his life. A black man born in the era of Jim Crow, he qualified for entrance to Harvard, the white man's most elite university. As a student, he rejected the religion of his father, a strict Protestant minister. He was instead intoxicated by the ideas of the Russian Revolution and its promise of a new world. That promise drew him into the service of the Communist Party, both in the USA and abroad.
Doswell recounts his role in the famous textile strikes of the 1920s in Patterson and Passaic. By the time those events are over, he is something of a legend. In the process, he has learned a great deal about mass movements and the art of leadership. He also learns the right way to play the American media, and through them, the American ruling classes. Then as now, it is surprisingly easy to get them to sign on to almost anything – just tap into what's fashionable.
The Party recognizes his talents. They recruit him for more difficult and delicate work. He is trained in the theory and practice of spy craft. He is assigned to work closely with that curious Soviet agent and American capitalist, Armand Hammer. This part of the story is one of a long disillusionment, of terrible crime, and an unexpected awakening. In the 1940s Doswell breaks with the Party. He goes underground, but he knows the Party never forgets and never forgives.
By the time the main story resumes, Doswell still has his enemies. In fact, he is a more isolated figure than ever, carrying a weight of guilt and knowledge he cannot easily share.
That guilt and knowledge point to something striking about this novel, as well as Chamber's writings. Simply put, many readers will experience a sense of vertigo while reading either of them. They will encounter a portrayal of recent American history that contradicts much that they think they know. There is a real possibility that, no matter how soberly the facts are stated, the truth conveyed by this heavily documented historical novel will be ignored or misunderstood. There are good reasons for my saying this. But perhaps that will not be the case. After all, there is such a thing as the long view.
August 22, 2017
Some books are literary junk food: easy to read but neither nourishing nor wholesome. This novel is the opposite. Perhaps it's literary kale, often maligned but actually delicious as well as nutritious. Journey to Colonus addresses the important yet often misunderstood fact that the American federal government was influenced by Communists (both within the government and without) in the early/mid-2oth century, affecting foreign affairs in numerous ways.
Everyone knows that Sen. McCarthy was overzealous and irresponsible, and the Red Scare overblown, right? That's how the majority of the HUAC senators treated the proceedings, how the media portrayed the HUAC hearings, and what history books usually say. These days, if you want to malign people, you call them "Nazis," but rarely "Commies," since Communists just don't seem to be that bad (at least not in the United States . . . ignore the Communist governments that have killed millions of their own citizens, for example).
Long before "fake news" became a thing, though, the Red Scare was whitewashed -- and records uncovered in recent decades give more evidence of Communist influence in the State Department and other areas, including ways Communists affected U.S. relations with Russia, China, and Japan.
Debrot's use of nonfiction books discussing such Communist activities forms the core of his novel and is, to me, the novel's most interesting part. I would like to read more of these books.
I didn't find the fiction -- the story of a humanities professor in the communist underground in his youth, and the young professors who work with him at a black college in the late 1960s -- that compelling. As an editor, I read this book often wishing Debrot had had a better editor advising him. To me, this read like a draft of a good novel, a gemstone in need of further cuts and polish.
It's a shame, I think, because Debrot is in many ways a fine writer. His technique is lacking, but the substance is good, which is more important. It's easy to find acclaimed modern novels that are nihilistic, sensationalistic, and morally empty. In contrast, this one seems guided by a strong sense of traditional moral ideas such as the importance of truth, the challenges of loving others as you should, the dangers of pride. (The most important character teaches Great Books . . . Debrot also teaches at college, and I would bet that his area of expertise is similar to that character's.) Debrot handles complex issues -- Communism, of course, but also racism and 1960s race relations -- well.
It's not an easy read, but worth it. I like kale, though.
I received a review copy of this book in return for my honest review of it.
Everyone knows that Sen. McCarthy was overzealous and irresponsible, and the Red Scare overblown, right? That's how the majority of the HUAC senators treated the proceedings, how the media portrayed the HUAC hearings, and what history books usually say. These days, if you want to malign people, you call them "Nazis," but rarely "Commies," since Communists just don't seem to be that bad (at least not in the United States . . . ignore the Communist governments that have killed millions of their own citizens, for example).
Long before "fake news" became a thing, though, the Red Scare was whitewashed -- and records uncovered in recent decades give more evidence of Communist influence in the State Department and other areas, including ways Communists affected U.S. relations with Russia, China, and Japan.
Debrot's use of nonfiction books discussing such Communist activities forms the core of his novel and is, to me, the novel's most interesting part. I would like to read more of these books.
I didn't find the fiction -- the story of a humanities professor in the communist underground in his youth, and the young professors who work with him at a black college in the late 1960s -- that compelling. As an editor, I read this book often wishing Debrot had had a better editor advising him. To me, this read like a draft of a good novel, a gemstone in need of further cuts and polish.
It's a shame, I think, because Debrot is in many ways a fine writer. His technique is lacking, but the substance is good, which is more important. It's easy to find acclaimed modern novels that are nihilistic, sensationalistic, and morally empty. In contrast, this one seems guided by a strong sense of traditional moral ideas such as the importance of truth, the challenges of loving others as you should, the dangers of pride. (The most important character teaches Great Books . . . Debrot also teaches at college, and I would bet that his area of expertise is similar to that character's.) Debrot handles complex issues -- Communism, of course, but also racism and 1960s race relations -- well.
It's not an easy read, but worth it. I like kale, though.
I received a review copy of this book in return for my honest review of it.
June 18, 2017
First of all, I thank Franklin Debrot, for the gift of his book ! I have to say that this book was a slow read for me ... I found it difficult to get into as it starts rather slow and tedious.
Having read, Whittaker Chamber's memoirs (Witness), I did find similarities in that both books lay open the dark and isolating nature of working for the Communist government under-cover in America. The thing is, I didn't quite understand that the main characters were Communist or former Communist for a while as they were portrayed as fighting under the banner of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's. Perhaps that too, however, is how the author underscores the subtle way in which those working to introduce Communism into American thought work. The main character, Professor Doswell, is the mentor to two younger college professors who are being swept up in the Civil Rights Movement and the Communist party. He influences their lives by going back to his younger days in which he himself was a Communist agent in America ... he shares how disillusioned he became with the Communist party and shares his journey out. His life profoundly effects the two younger professors.
Would I recommend this book? I have to say that I probably would not as I have read others on this same subject that I found much more engaging.
Having read, Whittaker Chamber's memoirs (Witness), I did find similarities in that both books lay open the dark and isolating nature of working for the Communist government under-cover in America. The thing is, I didn't quite understand that the main characters were Communist or former Communist for a while as they were portrayed as fighting under the banner of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's. Perhaps that too, however, is how the author underscores the subtle way in which those working to introduce Communism into American thought work. The main character, Professor Doswell, is the mentor to two younger college professors who are being swept up in the Civil Rights Movement and the Communist party. He influences their lives by going back to his younger days in which he himself was a Communist agent in America ... he shares how disillusioned he became with the Communist party and shares his journey out. His life profoundly effects the two younger professors.
Would I recommend this book? I have to say that I probably would not as I have read others on this same subject that I found much more engaging.
December 15, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars"Oh Saving Victim, who opens the gate of heaven, war rages round us, give strength, bring help . . ."
By Sue A. Freivald on December 10, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition
First a disclaimer: I was gifted with a copy of this book by the author, based on my review of Witness by Whitaker Chambers.
Historical fiction can be pretty dicey. Is it true to the history itself? Is it well documented? Can you trust it as historical fiction? The answer to all three questions with respect to Journey To Colonus, is yes. Absolutely yes. This was a period of time through which I lived. And like many I was oblivious to many of the undercurrents of the time. History, per se, can be dry in the telling. Debrot brings the well documented currents of this crucial time in our nation to passionate, breathing, life. The use of fictional protagonists is beautifully, believably done. I was brought through all of the stages of getting to know the three primary characters - and I found them frustrating, annoying, engaging, and recognizable. I came to care about them. And worry over them. And yes, even identify with them.
Debrot brought history into personal focus. The echoes of vital issues we face today reverberate throughout the book. Debrot does not shy away from the deep and serious questions about who we are as men, and what truly matters and why. The quote that summed up Doswell for me, and reflected the growth of the other two protagonists is this :". . . .he had the same hungry, utterly serious need for truth . . ." and from one of his young men's reflections on Plato that "the worst kind of ignorance isn't the absence of knowledge but false opinion embraced".
Journey to Colonus is about individuals coming to terms with the choices one makes. It is about the struggle to truly see not only one's own self, but the truth about the world around one. It is a candid and often painful examination of a time in our country's history that is not yet finished. It calls us to do, as individuals, what we can, to examine and uphold truth. It challenges us to confront the hard questions head on and do whatever we need to do to understand and see the battle through.
It does all this with grace and beauty. Debrot is a gifted teller of tales. He swept me up with his characters all the while shining a brilliant light on the times and struggles they faced. And that we face. He made me laugh, and cry and scratch my head. He made me search out some of the resources he cites. And frankly, he scared the hell out of me.
Don't miss this one.
By Sue A. Freivald on December 10, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition
First a disclaimer: I was gifted with a copy of this book by the author, based on my review of Witness by Whitaker Chambers.
Historical fiction can be pretty dicey. Is it true to the history itself? Is it well documented? Can you trust it as historical fiction? The answer to all three questions with respect to Journey To Colonus, is yes. Absolutely yes. This was a period of time through which I lived. And like many I was oblivious to many of the undercurrents of the time. History, per se, can be dry in the telling. Debrot brings the well documented currents of this crucial time in our nation to passionate, breathing, life. The use of fictional protagonists is beautifully, believably done. I was brought through all of the stages of getting to know the three primary characters - and I found them frustrating, annoying, engaging, and recognizable. I came to care about them. And worry over them. And yes, even identify with them.
Debrot brought history into personal focus. The echoes of vital issues we face today reverberate throughout the book. Debrot does not shy away from the deep and serious questions about who we are as men, and what truly matters and why. The quote that summed up Doswell for me, and reflected the growth of the other two protagonists is this :". . . .he had the same hungry, utterly serious need for truth . . ." and from one of his young men's reflections on Plato that "the worst kind of ignorance isn't the absence of knowledge but false opinion embraced".
Journey to Colonus is about individuals coming to terms with the choices one makes. It is about the struggle to truly see not only one's own self, but the truth about the world around one. It is a candid and often painful examination of a time in our country's history that is not yet finished. It calls us to do, as individuals, what we can, to examine and uphold truth. It challenges us to confront the hard questions head on and do whatever we need to do to understand and see the battle through.
It does all this with grace and beauty. Debrot is a gifted teller of tales. He swept me up with his characters all the while shining a brilliant light on the times and struggles they faced. And that we face. He made me laugh, and cry and scratch my head. He made me search out some of the resources he cites. And frankly, he scared the hell out of me.
Don't miss this one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews