Genre: Romance/Literary Fiction/Civil Rights Movement/Self-Actuating
Description:
“‘You’ve seen the woman in the photo. The woman screaming . . .’
So begins the story of Molly Valle, who at forty-eight thinks she
knows all that life has to offer a single, middle-aged woman—namely, men’s
dismissal and disrespect. But when handsome activist John Pressman arrives in
her Mississippi hometown, he challenges her self-doubt along with nearly
everything else in her world. Soon, Molly discovers a strength and beauty she
never knew she had—and a love so powerful, it can overcome the most tragic of consequences.
The
Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen is a love story, an adventure novel, and a
self-realization journey. It reignites the truth that many women—and men—have
unconsciously extinguished: you are special and worthy of love, and it’s never
too late to make your dreams come true.”
Author:
“Ray Smith lives in Los Angeles and is working on another book.”
The
Magnolia That Blooms Unseen looks like Mr. Smith’s debut novel. However, you
may be able to learn more on his website or his Facebook page.
Appraisal:
The
Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen, is a captivating story of romance,
self-discovery, and strength of character.
The prologue is RC recalling how he first met Molly Valle, an activist
for the Civil Rights Movement. He was a high school student who interviewed her
for a class report, for which she gave him a Cliff Notes version and he
received an A. Thirty years pass and out of the blue RC gets a phone call from
Molly. She’s 103 years-old and is ready to tell her and John’s story in more
depth, She asks if RC would be
interested in writing her story down. She had always had the faith in RC to
become a novelist. At forty-four years old all he had written were short
stories for literary magazines. He jumps at the chance and so the novel begins
in earnest.
In 1961 Molly is a forty-eight-year-old high school English teacher
who cares for and tutors her students in a small town in Mississippi. She’s
divorced and lives a solitary life until she unwittingly ends up in the middle
of a peaceful sit-in protest at a local diner. A young black couple enters and
sit at the counter asking for a cup of coffee. Trouble ensues when John
intervenes stopping a town bully from throwing a punch at Molly for standing up
for the young black couple. The police arrive, arrests are made, and the incident
causes Molly to lose her job.
John Pressman, at fifty years-old, was immediately attracted to Molly.
His world shifted. He’d left his New York City job to join the Civil Rights
Movement to make the world a better place. He’s a deep thinker and a
charismatic speaker. Molly is mesmerized by him. Their journey is a romantic
one on many levels. Mr. Smith is a wizard at painting the picture of an ugly
time in US history against the beautiful backdrop of Mississippi. Molly and
John’s story is fascinating, complex, and heart wrenching. The secondary
characters are as fully-rounded and diverse as the main characters. At the end
RC is left testing the boundary between what’s real, what’s imagined, and how
to end his book.
I highly recommend The Magnolia
That Bloomed Unseen if you enjoy human stories crafted with beautifully
written prose and humility.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Race related violence, nothing overly graphic.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Nothing worth noting.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words
No comments:
Post a Comment