Song Yet Sung by James McBride

I heard about this author listening to one of my favorite podcasts, It's Been a Minute, He had come out with a new book, Deacon King Kong, and so the interview was about that. When I get exposed to an author I am not familiar with, I would first go to my local used book store and look for them there. (Lately, I've actually been buying newly published books, I used to consider that a splurge but now I see it as supporting my local book store.) I do intend to read his other books, as this one I got at the used book store was spell-binding. The kind where you're talking to yourself, going - NOOOO! In this time of Black Lives Matter, I'm reading a lot more Black authors. It amazes me that there could still be so many racists in 0ur country when there is so much GOOD literature and films about being Black in this country. They say: Oh, but slavery is over, And I'm not responsible. There's something about literature, especially a book like this, that has SUCH a mix a tragedy, dehumanization, and redemption, that builds your empathy muscle. So this is about slavery. One of the main characters, Liz, an escaped slave is a seer, who has dreams of the future. She has a high price and the hunt for her brings together other characters: her rescuer who is planning his own escape through the underground railroad; a slave catcher with demons of his own; and others. The desperation for freedom, both from slavery, and from one's own inhumane demons, is a compelling story. Characters like in this novel, make you want to know how they escape their desperation.