Shadows of the Blues [Paperback]

Whitney LeBlanc writes a richly textured and complex novel which has a tightly woven plot about family secrets, lost as well as stolen virtue, murder - in fact - more than one, a voodoo ceremony, clandestine love affairs, a blues club and madness ... set in southern Louisiana in the mid-1950s up into the 1960s which includes the advent of the Civil Rights movement. This is the second book in a planned trilogy about several fascinating families whose lives are related through marriage and just plain lust. The characters are realistic, with great depth and complexity, formed within the context of the society in which they were born and raised. This book stands alone as a complete novel, not having read the first in the series I am convinced it is superb. I would like to read all three books in this series.

The author weaves a web of unique relationships within a black family which includes a beautiful Creole woman named Martha Broussard Fergerson who despite her prejudice against dark skin color, married Philip Fergerson whose skin was much darker than she would have have preferred. Martha's ancestry dates back several generations to a wealthy white Louisiana land owner, named Antoine Broussard, Senior, who got her black mother pregnant. Color, race and religion is the trilogy which holds tight reigns on both the Fergerson and Broussard families. It ties their relationships in knots due to deep dark hidden secrets which if they were exposed would create havoc and destruction in the already complicated lives of their family members.

The current generation can not escape the sting of the racially obsessed milieu into which they were born. In the case of Martha Fergerson, a Creole who placed high value on the light color of her skin, her life was further complicated by religious upbringing in the Catholic Church. Her religious training had a strangle hold on her emotions. It created so much guilt related to secret behaviors in which she engaged (which the Church would find unacceptable) that her mind broke with reality. She was placed in a psychiatric hospital for her own safety. On one of his visits, she mistook her husband Philip to be a priest and confessed to activities that totally shocked him but which helped him view his wife and their complicated relationship with new eyes and a new heart. Personally, she could find no absolution or forgiveness for her actions but they saved her daughter from society's blame and ostracizement ... While dealing with these personal family conflicts, the music called the blues helped sustain this family and provided the healing which they desperately needed.

The author creates a brilliant novel within the milieu of Louisiana and its unique culture. With a cast of unique individuals and characters who interact within a very creative and twisted plot, the story unfolds and holds the readers interest from beginning to end. The reader is glued to every page, anticipating or awaiting a new development or unexpected event which will shed light on the depth and emotional complexity of the lives of these very special people. Philip Fergerson lived to see his family overcome past adversity. He saw some of his fondest dreams come true via the next generation who no longer bore the emotonal scars of the past. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

Coming right off of reading the first book in this series by Whitney J. LeBlanc, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in "Shadows of the Blues". I was disappointed for two reasons. First a good part of the book repeats what was in the first book. Really didn't need 30+ pages retelling events from the first book. While storytelling is a great vehicle in families we the readers do not need to read the same stores again unless the story has changed in a significant degree. The second reason I was disappointed is that the first book let us see this family over the course of three decades but this second book is only about a decade of time. I'd really liked to have seen the Fergerson great-grandchidlren and the changes that the 70s at least brought to the South and them.

However the characters remain interesting and the overall quality of storytelling very high. If someone wanted to zoom in on a shorter period of time, this is a good read for that.

Don't let the appearance of the desktop publishing book cover, or the slow-moving first chapter, deter you from reading this compelling and enjoyable story.

Set in segregated Estilette, Louisiana during the `50s and `60s, a black family with Creole heritage is led by Phillip Fergerson, the retired principal of the "colored school." At some point in their lives, each family member young and old face the challenges, heartbreak, and bigotry of the times. Tragically the family faces the realities of losing a mother and Martha, Phillip's wife, to mental illness, which may have been secretly brought about by a family member's voodoo curse.

However, little sympathy is given to Martha, Phillip's only wife, but not his only love. It is revealed that Martha is a headstrong, bigoted and secretive matriarch. Her life choices, lies, secrets and decisions made years before ravage her with guilt. You find her now locked away in an asylum, unable to know or to cope with reality. Martha confesses her sins to an unlikely visitor, and her family is bound to deal with the truth of her unthinkable sins. The family journey is powerful, insightful, revealing, exhausting, dangerous and rewarding.

Wrapped into this intriguing story is: family, deep friendship, heritage of the blues, love, joy, pride, commitment, hatred, danger, voodoo, injustice, pain, and justice. Black history during the `50s and `60s is woven into the fabric of the story, giving it a natural and non-fictional feel.

Clearly the author believes the focus on the family's interpretation, fear and anxiety of the civil rights events, riots and personal realities of the time brings strength to his characters. It does.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting look at those times.

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