I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of The Shade Tree
by Theresa Shea, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher.

This was a great book! Hard subject, tough content, but a wonderful written novel. There were many jaw opening moments that were hard to read, but brilliantly written. A LOT of things at the time just wasn’t right in the south and I’m glad we’re not living like that now here in America. I know everything isn’t perfect, but it never will be here in this world, but we have to keep doing what is right and keep doing our best to treat everyone how Jesus Christ would want us to treat each other. I don’t see how anyone could believe it was right, then or now. Again, wonderfully written novel. I kept thinking as I was reading it would make a great movie! Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers, Guernica Publishers, for the opportunity to read and review #TheShadeTree with my honest thoughts and opinions.

Sorry, but this book was archived without warning, before I got the chance to read and review it. Its status in NetGalley says that the archive date is not set, but I cannot read the PDF.

Theresa Shea's novel <b>The Shade Tree</b> won the Guernica Prize for 2020.   The Guernica Prize recognizes "the best literary fiction novel that pushes boundaries and is cutting edge".     This novel, with its focus on slavery and racism in America's Southern states most definitely did push boundaries.    It was not at all easy to read and quite honestly there were times I struggled to continue during the first half.   I persisted and am pleased with my decision.   Whilst I couldn't describe it as an enjoyable novel, in much the same way as I struggle to describe holocaust novels as enjoyable, it is a reminder of a history we should be ashamed of and is a confronting work of historical fiction.  

I've read other books where slavery is front and centre and they always stir the most uncomfortable feelings in me, which I guess is the intention.    The Shade Tree was no different in that respect but boundaries were certainly pushed when the author incorporated the nauseating scene of a lynching.   White families picnicked and created a joyous atmosphere beneath the Shade Tree whilst adults and children alike posed for photos with the dead mans mangled body.     The fact his crime had been a complete fabrication (an intentional lie spun by a young girl) made his death a murder, but nobody was interested in hearing this truth.   This was but one example of the horrific unfairness and racism that was rampant in this novel set across the 1940's, 50's and 60's era's.

The central characters in this novel were primarily female.   Two white sisters Ellie and Mavis, as well as a black midwife Sliver.   Their stories were intertwined and whilst the novel focused heavily on racism and the poor treatment of the coloured people, it also shone a light on the lack of rights for women.   Though it was clear the white males were dominant (and almost without exception they were dislikeable) the story was told through the female perspective.  On the subject of dislikeable characters Ellie, the eldest of the two sisters was detestable.  I don't recall any female character I've liked less than Ellie and for this reason alone  she'll no doubt remain memorable.

I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first (perhaps because we spent less time with Ellie?).    When Mavis and Sliver moved away from Neelan Junction it was interesting watching the way their relationship changed.   Mavis began to question the way she'd been raised, the attitudes and beliefs she'd inherited.  She even became active in the 1960's protests yet for Sliver this was too little too late.    Even the most well intentioned thoughts and actions were not well received thanks to past resentments which could not be forgiven.

The novel was well written and provided readers with much to consider on the topics of racism and womens rights.   Wher we've come from and how much we still have to go.   My thanks to the author, to Guernica Editions the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Theresa Shae has created the most villainous female character I have ever come across in literature. Ellie is beyond redemption - yet at the same time, we get a peek into how her evil came to be. And it isn't pretty.

The Jim Crow South is not covered in literature as much as the antebellum ad Civil War periods. The Shade Tree adds a vital contribution to this era's body of literature. Likewise, a majority of the story's setting is Florida, a state underrepresented in historical fiction. The book is well-researched, and details are often graphically but appropriately disturbing.

Once I started this book, it was hard to put down; I read the second half in one sitting. I consider this a solid character-driven novel with multiple viewpoints.

If you enjoy US historical fiction and are interested in expanding your knowledge of the Jim Crow era (and I hope you are), then you should add this book to your list. It's a fantastic selection for book clubs, and I'm going to suggest it to one of mine.

Theresa Shae has given us a remarkable book. I thank her for writing it. It surprised me, given she lives in Edmonton, Canada (but was born in Florida). When I picked up the book, I was skeptical that a white Canadian author could do justice to her theme - but she nailed it.

NetGalley gave me a free eBook copy of The Shade Tree in return for an honest review.

The Shade Tree by Theresa Shea, the winner of the 2020 Guernica Prize for Literary Fiction, is a commanding tome with a prominent theme of systemic racism. This story is a stark reminder of how contemporaneous, the subjugation of people of colour and mixed race is in America. By the way – this badge of shame is not unique to the US, countries such as Australia have committed all types of atrocities on the original custodians of this continent. Others include the Belgians in the Congo, the British in India, the Spanish in South America – so on and so on and so on.

This particular story commences in 1930s Florida, following the lives of Ellie and Mavis Turner. The girls are members of a farming family who benefit from systematic racism, much of which is extremely violent. Their parents are racists in the truest sense of the word and happily attended lynchings, these events were often accompanied by family picnics, with nice cakes and tasty biscuits, refreshing beverages and smiley group photographs of families alongside the poor mutilated corpses of their black victims, usually swinging from a tree.

If you check up the number of lynchings in the US from the late 1880s to the 1960s, you’ll see Mississippi is the leader of the pack, followed by Georgia – and Florida is in the chasing cohort (present tense intended).

Ellie was a nasty, manipulative and spiteful young woman who would think nothing of pointing her finger at a young black man for taking advantage of her, when the true story was clearly the opposite. Mavis’ naivete was astonishing, she was bullied by her older sister, but make no mistake she was very much a co-beneficiary of the rampant racism of the time. This is considered more thoroughly in the latter half of the book. Sliver (midwife) and Mamie (housemaid for the Turners) are other significant female leads in this book. These were black women working 24/7 keeping the whites living the lives they believed they were entitled to. There are numerous Mulatto (offensive term – I apologise) babies and children around, these poor kids, the obvious products of black/white sexual encounters.

A previous read of mine, White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, made mention of current day black women being indifferent (at the very least) to the tears of white (usually Liberal) women, often expressed following the latest act of violence committed against a black person. These white tears, were often the very tears which culminated in the violent deaths of countless black men (and women) back in the day. A hapless white 'lady', tearfully pointing the finger at some poor black guy. Talk about a power imbalance.

This story mainly follows the lives of Ellie, Mavis and Sliver. However, there is also a large cast of other white, black and mixed race people present – each adding to the harsh reality of this story. Their narrative’s are worthy of some thought and reflection for the reader. In some ways, tales such as Handmaids Tale are considered as some sort of dystopian fantasy. But, this seems exactly how black people lived in the latter part of the 19th to the mid-20th Century. Faith also, seems to play a keen role in both narratives unfunnily enough.

Again, much like DiAngelo’s work – being a fair-minded, liberal thinking white person isn’t enough. White people have always and continue to benefit from institutionalised, systemic racism. This story hammers this important point home.

A powerful, heavy, dark story of a period of very recent history.

4 Stars

The Shade Tree definitely earns a full cache of stars, from me! Although this is a work of fiction, the appalling truth of prejudice and racism is clearly demarcated and portrayed as to whom the perpetrators generally are in this unbalanced case of color vs color. This history is real, and this dreadful, horrific behavior continues to raise its ugly head still, in our day and age.

Theresa Shea has aptly engineered her characters to ask probing questions of those who innocently and/or unintentionally have the blinders on and perpetuate the ongoing awefulness of systemic oppression, due to the "Law of Color Supremacy" which foments and spews forth from cover to cover. Small glimmers of hope for better things to come in the lives of the book's characters spark but will they ever be able to overcome the memories imprinted, and the long shadow from the scenes of the Shade Tree?

In my opinion, this is a pointed analogy for "real life" for the thoughtful, proactive reader. I hope Theresa Shea will write many more such enlightening books and readers will take these catalysts to become color blind, and to help the cause of those who are often the victims of racist oppression, in this lifetime.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

October 2021

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy sent by the publisher.

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/04b37ae7f3ff846e213a00a515d0a1f507bf1833" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>

<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/f6fd624ce81465997ca2d103ff9975a629a8a04c" width="80" height="80" alt="25 Book Reviews" title="25 Book Reviews"/>

’But we clung to the belief … that our white skin made us “better” than all other people. And this belief comforted us, for we felt worthless and weak when confronted with authorities who had cheapened nearly all we held dear, except our skin color. There, in hte land of Epidermis, every one of us was a little king.’
--Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream

This story begins in Florida in the 1930’s when a thirteen year-old girl’s lie results in the death of black man, when he is lynched, but there is more to this story than that. Mavis, sister to the thirteen-year-old responsible, finds herself questioning why this man was lynched, as well as questioning why white men, white people in general, seem to feel they are somehow superior.

The stories of several of the people become intertwined as the story evolves, and more topics are explored including spousal abuse. White men rule their wives, as women have essentially no rights, and black women have even fewer.

In part, this is a coming-of-age novel, but it is also a coming-of-’awareness’ novel in the sense that these women, especially the young women, seem to be slowly becoming aware that the notion that men are superior while wives are not only dependent but inferior is a fallacy perpetrated to make them believe that lie. There is more to this story than that, as there are social awakenings on various levels, along with many tragedies, and more.

At the heart of the story is the message of justice for all.


Pub Date: 01 Dec 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Guernica Editions
#TheShadeTree #NetGalley

4.5 stars

“… a black man getting arrested for nothing at all could happen in Florida, too. If a negro rebelled in any way against customs, he was subjected to cruel punishment and often death”(1930’s in this work of historical fiction)

“I can’t breathe.” George Floyd, from the video filmed by teenage Darnella Frazier (May 25, 2020 in reality .)

Powerful, relevant and thought provoking, a worthy winner of the Guernica Prize for 2020.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Guernica Editions through NetGalley.

Theresa Shea's 'The Shade Tree' reminds me thematically of Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It, too, is set in the south of the States in a similar, though far more expansive, time period; it follows the lives of two young white girls – sisters – coming of age and exploring their positions in the world as white, as women, and as white women. Where the novel differs from Lee's, though, is that it gives Sliver Lanier, a Black midwife, a voice of her own.

I will not claim to know whether her voice was accurately portrayed or not: I'm not Black myself. What I can and will say is that Sliver's point of view was as detailed, as fully fleshed out as any of the other white narratives. Although she did not often express her opinions aloud, her thoughts were presented in a manner that gave the reader a clear insight into her mind and her beliefs. Her connection to both sides of the race divide, as well as the spur-of-the-moment decisions she made in order to protect her loved ones, made her a pivotal character in the story.

The novel in its own right walks a fine line between beautiful writing and gritty, no-holds-barred storytelling. Nothing is off limits: gruesome scenes are described in vivid detail, bringing to life the atrocities committed during the 1910s to 1960s. Through the eyes of ten-year-old Mavis, the reader watches a lynching and the subsequent picnic being enjoyed around the dead body; through the opinions of her older sister Ellie, the social hierarchy surrounding men and women, white men and white women and Black men and Black women, is explored in depth. As the girls grow up and their viewpoints change and solidify, so too do the actions they take in order to live lives they can truly be satisfied with.

One trope the novel manages to neatly avoid is that of the white savior. In contrast, it goes out of its way to show the exact opposite: in one scene near the last third of the novel, Mavis takes up an opportunity to travel with two Black people she is acquainted with, thinking that her own whiteness will help shield her companions from harm. Having always been dependent on others, she ends up being a burden to her companions instead, and they are forced to help her find food and a place to stay, knowing all the while that they would have had an easier time had she not been along.

This story had me hooked from the very first line, and I read on eagerly waiting to find out how it progressed. It was only in the final quarter that I was left feeling a little dissatisfied. The themes and motives that up until then had been portrayed through thoughts and actions were now being presented in slogan-like dialogues, too obviously a summation of the "correct" opinions to be truly effective. One character even gave an eye-opening speech about white people thinking they cared about Black people whilst still benefitting from the latter's labor; I found this rather out of character for her, considering she was racist to the core.

That isn't to say I didn't like the ending itself. Avoiding spoilers, I can only say it was a heartwarming conclusion to an otherwise difficult and challenging story, leaving me pleased at time well spent reading. I would recommend this book to readers with an interest in historical fiction, regardless of age group (as long as topics like rape and graphic violence aren't an issue while reading).

I absolutely loved The shade tree and never wanted it to end. It was full of twists and turns, that just kept me reading well into the night. I loved each and every character , and the Author did an amazing job at developing them and then bringing them back into the book as you went along. . I think this book would be perfect for a book club read and have been highly recommending it to all my friends. I will be looking this Author up and reading any of her previous book. The only negative thing I can say is that it had to end....

I wish to thank Net Galley and Guernica Editions for the ARC of this book.

Be fore I get into this review, I want it to be known that I really enjoyed this book. Without further ado: I have never in my life hated a book character! I found myself legitimately wanting one of the main characters to be murdered. She had zero redeeming qualities. Not one! You like hope and wish that something would happen to make her change, but nope. Even when she kind of gets what’s coming to her, you feel like it’s not enough. Ugh! Again, this was a very well written book.

Toward the end, you get the sense that this might have a “white savior” moment. It kind of does, but not really.