William A. James Sr. has done it again. He delves into the emotional side of why Vinegar Hill, a 20-acre-tract, was deemed an unbearable slum, and had to be destroyed immediately in 1963.
Everything wrong with Charlottesville was blamed on the innocent inhabitants of the "Hill." When three notorious hoodlums killed a UVA student, and Gabe Owens informed on them, most of the City Council and the UVA President swung into action. They masterminded a plan to demolish the homes and businesses of all Blacks on the "Hill," for the crimes of one or two people.
The above were helped along by the actions of three "racist" police officers who had murdered William Griot, to keep him from divulging the secret that they were actually Blacks. This novel is intriguing, mysterious, spiritual, and down-home soulful all at once.
In this novel, James enters the mind of the reader from page one, and does not let him/her go.
