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Feel the Fire: A Cautionary Tale of Racism and Its Changing Faces
A cautionary tale of the many facets of racism and its changing faces, spanning from the early 1960s in Mississippi to modern times.Feel the Fire explores the effects of racism on the lives of two men, Porter Hurst and Samuel Hunter, and the community surrounding them. When a known racist is killed by two men, Porter becomes the subject of a manhunt by a lynch mob believing he was involved. He flees town with his newborn son, Ben. Twelve years later in Restless Ridge, tragedy strikes again when Ben is murdered by two white boys. Porter takes revenge and becomes a fugitive, and when he settles in Zanesville, he finds a new family and shares his past. However, he ends back in Restless Ridge to stand trial. Samuel Weist tried to escape his past by changing his name to Samuel Hunter. Since the night Porter spared his life, Samuel tries to make amends for the mistakes of his youth by becoming a lawyer and providing services for those who cannot afford representation. When he discovers that Porter has been arrested, he visits the jailhouse and confesses to Porter about his part in Ben’s death. Samuel begs Porter to forgive him—and he does. The city erupts when Porter is sentenced to death. Samuel is caught in the riot and is nearly killed. Lying in the hospital, he is pronounced dead, but he comes back to life as a modern-day miracle. In death he sees his life in a new light and decides that the only way that he can atone for his deeds is to face the truth. From the 1960s to modern day, racism has continued to ravage America—Nane Quartay captures the devastating effects of each racist action in Feel the Fire.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 13, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 2, 2014
“Feel The Fire” is a story about racial inequality and it begins in the 1960’s south. The main character in the first quarter or more of the novel is Porter Hurst. Readers observe his complicated life beginning at a young age while he and a friend are working for a racist store owner. From there, Porter experiences some of the worst losses in his life and one of the losses happens at the hands of another character portrayed in the novel – Samuel Weist.
Samuel Weist is introduced through the narrator’s eyes at first as a white teenager full of hatred towards blacks. Samuel makes a fatal decision because of peer pressure and basically destroys Porter’s life. Readers will again meet Samuel later in the novel as an adult who has began to change his perspective on humanity. He changes his name and becomes a well known lawyer who frequently aids minorities in civil matters.
“Feel The Fire” does focus mostly on racism and how it affects humanity as a whole. Nane Quartay writes with intelligence and uses allegory throughout this piece. To say that the scope of this story is broad would be an understatement. It is at times quite lofty and readers should be prepared to think. This is by no means a light read. It broaches other controversial and moral issues from a liberal standpoint.
The decision to arrive at a less than perfect rating was due to the fact that the synopsis described dual main characters, but this was not the case. This story focused on several “main characters” a couple of which didn’t really progress or add to the focal point of the novel. I couldn’t really become attached to any one of them because frankly, there were too many.
I liked the idea of past meeting present, but this time it fell a bit short. It may’ve worked better with a back and forth method. The allegory that was interspersed in several chapters throughout the novel was stifling and the story could’ve been quite solid without it.
The last quarter of this novel was really well done and it became very much the page turner. I appreciated the opportunity to read from such an intellectual mind.
Trenika Austin
AAMBC Reviews
Samuel Weist is introduced through the narrator’s eyes at first as a white teenager full of hatred towards blacks. Samuel makes a fatal decision because of peer pressure and basically destroys Porter’s life. Readers will again meet Samuel later in the novel as an adult who has began to change his perspective on humanity. He changes his name and becomes a well known lawyer who frequently aids minorities in civil matters.
“Feel The Fire” does focus mostly on racism and how it affects humanity as a whole. Nane Quartay writes with intelligence and uses allegory throughout this piece. To say that the scope of this story is broad would be an understatement. It is at times quite lofty and readers should be prepared to think. This is by no means a light read. It broaches other controversial and moral issues from a liberal standpoint.
The decision to arrive at a less than perfect rating was due to the fact that the synopsis described dual main characters, but this was not the case. This story focused on several “main characters” a couple of which didn’t really progress or add to the focal point of the novel. I couldn’t really become attached to any one of them because frankly, there were too many.
I liked the idea of past meeting present, but this time it fell a bit short. It may’ve worked better with a back and forth method. The allegory that was interspersed in several chapters throughout the novel was stifling and the story could’ve been quite solid without it.
The last quarter of this novel was really well done and it became very much the page turner. I appreciated the opportunity to read from such an intellectual mind.
Trenika Austin
AAMBC Reviews
September 1, 2014
Novel received courtesy of Goodreads.com giveaway
This novel is a story of racism and it's evolution (or not) from the 1960's through the present. The story evolves from Porter Hurst's first fiery brush with the white race right through his eventual arrest 30 years later. The novel is punctuated by three separate instances of Porter needing to fight for justice, not through the courts, but through his own moral compass. Each time he takes justice into his own hands, fiery riots break out around him.
This is also the story of one man trying to make amends for his past racist actions. Samuel's actions touched Porter's life during a night of race riots after a child was killed. However, Porter's life also touched Samuel's life. Samuel ended up needing to confess his sins many years later.
There are many side stories to this novel that sometimes are confusing as to where they fit with the main story. However, I appreciated each story as it gave us a glimpse of what life is/was like for these young black men through the decades. Many of the books I have read that deal with racism have not been written by a black author. I felt like Nane Quartay really poured his truth into the novel. It was very well written and eye opening.
This novel is a story of racism and it's evolution (or not) from the 1960's through the present. The story evolves from Porter Hurst's first fiery brush with the white race right through his eventual arrest 30 years later. The novel is punctuated by three separate instances of Porter needing to fight for justice, not through the courts, but through his own moral compass. Each time he takes justice into his own hands, fiery riots break out around him.
This is also the story of one man trying to make amends for his past racist actions. Samuel's actions touched Porter's life during a night of race riots after a child was killed. However, Porter's life also touched Samuel's life. Samuel ended up needing to confess his sins many years later.
There are many side stories to this novel that sometimes are confusing as to where they fit with the main story. However, I appreciated each story as it gave us a glimpse of what life is/was like for these young black men through the decades. Many of the books I have read that deal with racism have not been written by a black author. I felt like Nane Quartay really poured his truth into the novel. It was very well written and eye opening.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews