Mining Ore in this Literary Gold Rush

Normally as a book reviewer, I read the book and express my opinion of its quality and let the chips fall where they may. I have an obligation to the reader to be honest, not to the author to be kind, because the reader has a right to know if the book is worth its price.

With Bound for Canaan, I'm immersed in a dilemma without a comfortable solution. I don't believe the choices that the authors Margaret Young and Darius Gray made while crafting this book were the right ones. Yet I have to announce without reservation that this book is worth its price -- that the stories within it must be read.

If I say that portions of the book were not especially enjoyable to read, I fear people will decide not to read it. If I praise the book so people will read it, I fear readers may question my competence or my integrity as a reviewer.

So how does a reviewer say, "You must read this book," and, "The quality is not up to par," at the same time?

I guess I did just say it. So let me spend some time explaining in detail what I mean.

I can imagine Young and Gray dialoguing back and forth as they work out what format to use for this trilogy about black Mormon pioneers, and the second book in particular. Maybe what they wanted to write was history, but there is such scant information available, a historical novel approach might be better. They can flesh out the people they're writing about that way and make them real to the reader. Which approach should they take?

They took both. Bound for Canaan feels like an uneasy hybrid of history and historical fiction.

The first book, One More River to Cross, worked fairly well, because the authors concentrated on a small cast of characters -- Jane Manning James, Isaac James, and Elijah Able. It worked as a historical fiction novel, while the footnotes kept the reader grounded in historical fact.

But there were more black Mormon pioneers than these three and their immediate families. Who can fault Young and Gray for wanting to get their stories out too? Both LDS members and the country at large are woefully ignorant of the contributions blacks have made to our history. Most LDS, if they're aware of any black Mormons at all besides Alan Cherry and Gladys Knight, have heard of the one who was ordained to the priesthood and maybe something about the existence of a "black Jane," and that's about it. There were many blacks in those early years of this dispensation, and they deserve to have their stories told.

But perhaps trying to tell them all in one book wasn't such a good idea.

The three original characters from the first book didn't play a major role in the second until well into that volume. We were introduced to others -- Liz Flake, Green Flake, Louis Gray, and more. But their stories were not done justice. The cast was too large for me to keep track of. The stories about these newcomers suffered as a result. They felt grafted in to the main stories.

Did Young and Gray feel the burden of their mission too much, to the detriment of their art?

But I want to hastily switch gears from this negative feedback, because it doesn't come close to representing the whole book. You see, when the authors do tell the stories of the original three characters, the power of the first book returns in full force. The lukewarm reception I felt for book two gave way to gratitude for its existence.

So my report to the reader is: just like several of the characters headed for California to take part in the Gold Rush, you'll have to mine and sift through some ore to find the nuggets in Bound for Canaan. But they are there -- oh yes, they are there.

The interview Elijah Abel had with Brigham Young over his priesthood and the temple ordinances. The day Elijah decided to turn his family into a degrading minstrel show so he could feed his family and get medical care for his ailing son. The ugly divorce of Jane and Isaac James, with no villain in the affair to blame because the desires of both individuals were so understandable. The debate that went on after Brigham Young's death that solidified the policy of blacks and the priesthood. The spouses and children who died; the children who left the church in bitterness. And the most horrifying scene in church history, more horrifying than Haun's Mill because no bad guys perpetrated it, more scandalous than Mountain Meadows Massacre because no one's survival seemed at stake. The day Judge Lynch came to Salt Lake City and two thousand "Saints" committed murder out of sheer hatred.

Along with the nuggets are patches of gold dust, where little bits and pieces of information about American history are filtered in. Fascinating but little known information.

I would have preferred that the authors stay concentrated on Jane, Isaac, and Elijah. There is more than enough drama in their three lives to fill a trilogy. Trust that others will be inspired to search out and tell those stories waiting to be mined in our history. Or maybe tell the stories themselves -- in another book after this trilogy is complete.

Perhaps your brain works better than mine, and can keep track of the expanding cast of characters. But even if your reaction is comparable to mine, this is a book that you must read. Sift through the ore for the nuggets -- they will provide you with the enduring kind of wealth that the gold dust of the '49ers couldn't hold a candle to. These are stories that have long lain hidden, but are as inspiring as any story about a faithful white disciple of Christ. And much more poignant, because for once the tribulations the faithful disciple endures are not caused by the wicked, ungodly enemies of divine truth. This time we have met the enemy, and he is us.

As I learn more and more about the stories of faithful black Mormons, both in history and modern times -- thanks primarily to Young and Gray -- I find the notion that the "descendants of Cain and Ham" were ever cursed to be laughable. I'm coming to realize that the crucible of slavery and racism that these people have endured have refined a truly Christian people, who have longsuffered with great patience and trust in God, who have personified the admonition of Jesus to turn the other cheek with their white brothers and sisters who have all too often not recognized the tribulations they've caused.

If my black brothers and sisters can forgive so much pain inflicted by their fellow Saints, I can certainly forgive Margaret Young and Darius Gray their desire to include as many of their stories as they could squeeze in, even if it meant tarnishing the aesthetics of their literature a little.

-- 
D. Michael Martindale
dmichael@wwno.com