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Children of Dust
In 2000, as Seth Anderson researches his family history, he discovers an unexpected story and "contained within it lies a larger story that might speak not just to Southern history but beyond it." In the late 1800s in rural Alabama, Melinda Anderson struggles to give birth to her tenth child, tended by Annie Mae, a part-Choctaw midwife. When the infant dies, just hours after birth, suspicion falls upon two women—Betsy, Annie Mae's daughter and the mixed-race mistress of Melinda's husband, Rafe; and Melinda herself, worn out by perpetual pregnancies and nurturing a dark anger toward her husband. Seeking to clear her own name and tarnish that of her enemy, Melinda enlists the help of a conjure woman who dabbles in dark magic—with tragic consequences. As Seth's search for his family's truth continues, he must come to terms with their failure in confronting their past and in his own culpability in that failure. Filled with haunts, new and old, Children of Dust is a novel about the relationship between two women allied against a violent man with secrets of his own, and it is also a complex look at race, violence, and the ways in which stories are passed down through generations.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 10, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 1, 2025
1870's Alabama. The American Civil War is over. The embittered white population is struggling to deal with the Confederacy's defeat in the war and the changes that come with the abolition of slavery. The black and mixed race population is struggling to demand their rights which are being circumvented, and they are seething. In his novel, Children of Dust, Marlin Barton lays bare the legacy of racism--the lack of reconciliation that still abounds in the present--and the complications of how history has been shaped.
Barton tells his tale through a family drama of the Anderson family. Rafe, the white patriarch, is a violent man who believes it is his right to go after and take what he wants. He has 3 families, 1 with his wife and 2 of mixed race, as well as a few other children scattered in town. The story is framed by the meetings of 2 Anderson cousins in the early 2000's as they pool their family knowledge to create a more complete family history. Seth the white cousin thinks:
“He’s learned one probable truth … over these last few years, and that is that Black people have maybe always known more about white people’s history than white people themselves. Whites may have written the majority of the history, but it’s been Black people who’ve held the deeper knowledge that dates and bare facts never reveal about the actions of a people who held themselves superior. And yet, because the one race held itself superior, the perceptions of the other had to be influenced to some degree by their resentments and bias. How could they not have been?”
In addition to an engrossing plot, Barton writes complete and finely tuned characters. Not all of the characters are likeable, and I can find reluctant empathy for even the most hardened. The actions of Rafe reverberate through all of his families; and I see the impact through the eyes of these women and their children.
Family bonds are clearly sketched out. Moments of tenderness intermingle with all the messiness that goes with living together.
The mystery that the book blurb alludes to is the death of two of Melinda and Rafe's children who died within hours following their birth. Is it a natural death? I find this more of a plot device to set a number of wheels in motion and as a vehicle to reveal other sides of some of the characters. I could also consider the question of whom killed Lakeview, Rafe and Betsy's daughter, as another mystery which creates further tension and drama between the characters.
Children of Dust is historical and literary fiction at its best. Barton asks us to reckon with our slave holding history; to see humanity in every person; and to know that we are all bound by ties, acknowledged or not.
Thanks, Dave for finding this one! It truly is a gem.
Publication 2021
Barton tells his tale through a family drama of the Anderson family. Rafe, the white patriarch, is a violent man who believes it is his right to go after and take what he wants. He has 3 families, 1 with his wife and 2 of mixed race, as well as a few other children scattered in town. The story is framed by the meetings of 2 Anderson cousins in the early 2000's as they pool their family knowledge to create a more complete family history. Seth the white cousin thinks:
“He’s learned one probable truth … over these last few years, and that is that Black people have maybe always known more about white people’s history than white people themselves. Whites may have written the majority of the history, but it’s been Black people who’ve held the deeper knowledge that dates and bare facts never reveal about the actions of a people who held themselves superior. And yet, because the one race held itself superior, the perceptions of the other had to be influenced to some degree by their resentments and bias. How could they not have been?”
In addition to an engrossing plot, Barton writes complete and finely tuned characters. Not all of the characters are likeable, and I can find reluctant empathy for even the most hardened. The actions of Rafe reverberate through all of his families; and I see the impact through the eyes of these women and their children.
Family bonds are clearly sketched out. Moments of tenderness intermingle with all the messiness that goes with living together.
The mystery that the book blurb alludes to is the death of two of Melinda and Rafe's children who died within hours following their birth. Is it a natural death? I find this more of a plot device to set a number of wheels in motion and as a vehicle to reveal other sides of some of the characters. I could also consider the question of whom killed Lakeview, Rafe and Betsy's daughter, as another mystery which creates further tension and drama between the characters.
Children of Dust is historical and literary fiction at its best. Barton asks us to reckon with our slave holding history; to see humanity in every person; and to know that we are all bound by ties, acknowledged or not.
Thanks, Dave for finding this one! It truly is a gem.
Publication 2021
June 29, 2025
Taking it’s name from a line in the hymn “Oh Worship the King”, Children of Dust is a haunting, mysterious novel. Set in South Alabama in the late 1800’s, it’s a tale of blood and skin and memory. It's about Southern history.
The narrative is based around Rafe Anderson, a landowner and former Confederate soldier. His experiences in the Civil War, a war his side lost, have permanently scarred him. His family life is complicated. He has ten children with his wife Melinda, who is white. He has a lover and two children with Betsy, who is white/Choctaw/Black. Her mother (Annie Mae) is the family’s housekeeper and the local midwife. She refers to Rafe as a ‘buckra’. Rafe also has two children with Virginia, his concubine, who is Black. In total he fathers 14 children, all of whom carry his surname.
When his tenth child to Melinda dies shortly after being born, it becomes a tale of infanticide. It also becomes a murder mystery as there are least four people who could have perpetrated the act. When Melinda goes to see a local conjure woman to hex one of her love rivals, things fall apart.
Racial injustice, vengeance and gossip are all at play in a world that is recovering and adjusting in the aftermath of the Civil war.
In addition, there are interlaced chapters where present-day relatives, distant cousins, Charles Anderson (who is Black) and Seth Anderson (who is White) attempt to understand their vastly different backgrounds. They trace their ancestry and try to piece together the past.
“I guess all families have their truths, and if we care about history, we have to know them, even when it’s a shameful history…. When people look at racial history, they want to dismiss paradoxes, or don’t even see them. Maybe it’s the paradoxes where truth really lies.”
Full of complex characters, it's a gripping story that takes on some ugly truths and contradictions, yet the narrative is non judgmental. It’s intense, and beautifully written, a brave book and a truly great Southern novel.
The narrative is based around Rafe Anderson, a landowner and former Confederate soldier. His experiences in the Civil War, a war his side lost, have permanently scarred him. His family life is complicated. He has ten children with his wife Melinda, who is white. He has a lover and two children with Betsy, who is white/Choctaw/Black. Her mother (Annie Mae) is the family’s housekeeper and the local midwife. She refers to Rafe as a ‘buckra’. Rafe also has two children with Virginia, his concubine, who is Black. In total he fathers 14 children, all of whom carry his surname.
When his tenth child to Melinda dies shortly after being born, it becomes a tale of infanticide. It also becomes a murder mystery as there are least four people who could have perpetrated the act. When Melinda goes to see a local conjure woman to hex one of her love rivals, things fall apart.
Racial injustice, vengeance and gossip are all at play in a world that is recovering and adjusting in the aftermath of the Civil war.
In addition, there are interlaced chapters where present-day relatives, distant cousins, Charles Anderson (who is Black) and Seth Anderson (who is White) attempt to understand their vastly different backgrounds. They trace their ancestry and try to piece together the past.
“I guess all families have their truths, and if we care about history, we have to know them, even when it’s a shameful history…. When people look at racial history, they want to dismiss paradoxes, or don’t even see them. Maybe it’s the paradoxes where truth really lies.”
Full of complex characters, it's a gripping story that takes on some ugly truths and contradictions, yet the narrative is non judgmental. It’s intense, and beautifully written, a brave book and a truly great Southern novel.
April 2, 2026
"How true could any simple answer ever be? What was true was always at least as complicated as any lie."
As a black man and a white man in present day try to come to terms with their shared ancestry and discover the truth about their families, we get the "true" story of what actually happened, but even that whole truth is never fully known.
Rafe Anderson is a violent white man with a wife and family of 9 children, only 5 of whom are still living. The newest baby has died just a few hours after birth, giving rise to questions about how and why. Rafe's black mistress lives in a cabin just steps away from the house, with 2 more of his acknowledged children, her mother is housekeeper for the Andersons, and a skilled midwife, and there is another black mistress with 2 more of his children in a nearby town. So yes, it's complicated.
Along with the relationships of black and white in post Civil War Alabama, we get mother vs. daughter, father vs. son, mistress vs wife, wife vs husband.
The writing is exquisite, the plot is intricate, we get to know all the characters well, even the children. The best I can say of Rafe is that he loved and acknowledged all his children. He was proud of the fact that he'd never hit a woman, although he had other ways of controlling them, but he took what he wanted when he wanted it, his desires and needs being motive enough.
This author deserves to be better known and more widely read, so it's a shame this book is already out of print. I'm going to blame this on his publisher for not taking the time and effort to champion him. Recently this book has been made available on Kindle, along with a book of his short stories. Thanks to Dave for making this one known to me with his excellent review.
As a black man and a white man in present day try to come to terms with their shared ancestry and discover the truth about their families, we get the "true" story of what actually happened, but even that whole truth is never fully known.
Rafe Anderson is a violent white man with a wife and family of 9 children, only 5 of whom are still living. The newest baby has died just a few hours after birth, giving rise to questions about how and why. Rafe's black mistress lives in a cabin just steps away from the house, with 2 more of his acknowledged children, her mother is housekeeper for the Andersons, and a skilled midwife, and there is another black mistress with 2 more of his children in a nearby town. So yes, it's complicated.
Along with the relationships of black and white in post Civil War Alabama, we get mother vs. daughter, father vs. son, mistress vs wife, wife vs husband.
The writing is exquisite, the plot is intricate, we get to know all the characters well, even the children. The best I can say of Rafe is that he loved and acknowledged all his children. He was proud of the fact that he'd never hit a woman, although he had other ways of controlling them, but he took what he wanted when he wanted it, his desires and needs being motive enough.
This author deserves to be better known and more widely read, so it's a shame this book is already out of print. I'm going to blame this on his publisher for not taking the time and effort to champion him. Recently this book has been made available on Kindle, along with a book of his short stories. Thanks to Dave for making this one known to me with his excellent review.
January 1, 2022
I found this novel utterly riveting. I read most of it in one day because I couldn't put it down. The bulk of the story is set about 20 years after the Civil War and revolves around an alleged infanticide and the events that follow from that. There is also a white historian grappling in the present with his family's history and the fact that he shares a last name and ancestry with a black family. There is so much to think about in this book--how history still impacts the present day, relationships between men and women, women's relationships with other women, and relationships between parents and children. All of these relationships complicated by race in Children of Dust. Marlin Barton is a great writer and I highly recommend this book!
October 28, 2021
The author of CHILDREN OF DUST writes beautifully and perceptively.. He has created an unforgettable male protagonist and his world, and much in my Kindle version is underlined in admiration. The scope is large and wonderful.
An unforgettable man but unforgivably cruel in his disregard of anything that is contrary to his own desires.
Rafe, a white veteran of the South’s Civil War, has moments of tenderness and caring, but his whole way of being is to take what he needs without the smallest thought to anyone else’s desires. This includes killing those who oppose him and making his wife (who is white) and two mistresses (who are black) so bitter against each other that they resort to hoodoo to protect themselves. His second mistress, daughter of his housekeeper, lives only an insulting short distance away from the wife. His children from all three liaisons are lacking him and miserable; the older ones struggle to find paths for themselves, but Rafe’s selfishness has ruined their future. In the midst of this, two of Rafe’s wife’s newborn infants are found dead. The murderer could be several people.
At least 150 later, two very distant cousins, one white and one black, both historians, meet to discuss their common great great grandfather Rafe and try to begin to make amends between themselves and the disparate lineages he created.
It is amazing that the author has had the courage to so vividly create a white man living in the postbellum South where black people were still the underdogs and who never doubts his needs and preferences come before anyone else’s. I would have been happiest if the misery Rafe makes were balanced a little by some relationships outside his endless sphere of destruction, to feel the presence in counterbalance of kinder people who escaped his warped heritage and lived with respect and kindliness for one another. But that’s me!
There are many Rafes all over the world today in every culture. Sad but true.
An unforgettable man but unforgivably cruel in his disregard of anything that is contrary to his own desires.
Rafe, a white veteran of the South’s Civil War, has moments of tenderness and caring, but his whole way of being is to take what he needs without the smallest thought to anyone else’s desires. This includes killing those who oppose him and making his wife (who is white) and two mistresses (who are black) so bitter against each other that they resort to hoodoo to protect themselves. His second mistress, daughter of his housekeeper, lives only an insulting short distance away from the wife. His children from all three liaisons are lacking him and miserable; the older ones struggle to find paths for themselves, but Rafe’s selfishness has ruined their future. In the midst of this, two of Rafe’s wife’s newborn infants are found dead. The murderer could be several people.
At least 150 later, two very distant cousins, one white and one black, both historians, meet to discuss their common great great grandfather Rafe and try to begin to make amends between themselves and the disparate lineages he created.
It is amazing that the author has had the courage to so vividly create a white man living in the postbellum South where black people were still the underdogs and who never doubts his needs and preferences come before anyone else’s. I would have been happiest if the misery Rafe makes were balanced a little by some relationships outside his endless sphere of destruction, to feel the presence in counterbalance of kinder people who escaped his warped heritage and lived with respect and kindliness for one another. But that’s me!
There are many Rafes all over the world today in every culture. Sad but true.
March 24, 2022
Marlin Barton's "Children of Dust" is a really good take on complexities -- he tells the stories of individuals who lived in the late 1880s and every now and then catches up with a few of the descendants many decades later. Two of the "kin" are men who share their family histories -- what of them that have been told them, which don't necessarily match with the stories of those colorful ancestors as the reader has been reading of them back in their days. What really happened to Melinda and Rafe's two "unnamed" babies -- did either the wife or the young mistress, who also had two babies with Rafe, the white "master" do those little ones in? I determined the truth, but how many truths were involved? Maybe it was Annie Mae who was to blame....
August 16, 2023
Children of Dust
I did not enjoy this book. Too long too many unnecessary details and too many subplots. I would not recommend
I did not enjoy this book. Too long too many unnecessary details and too many subplots. I would not recommend
January 20, 2024
A gripping, haunting, and mysterious story based on true events and family mythos. "Children of Dust" illustrates the devastating and long-lasting effects a shocking family secret has on several generations of at least two families. You will have to force yourself put this book down and will return to it eagerly until the last page read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews