Sometimes suspension of disbelief is as important in a realistic novel as in fantasy. One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris is such a recently released book.
The first line in the book sets the scene, “It’s difficult to pinpoint the moment I started loving my daughter.” Sara Lancaster had to get past the appalling way Alana was conceived by rape before love for the girl could enter the picture. But love and protection came and Sara has lived in Maine for eight years, never returning home in order to keep Alana safe and her very existence unknown to those who could not be trusted. Her father’s illness brings her back to care for him and run his bookstore.
The book is engrossing, but belief may be hard to come by. Could any child be as brilliant as Alana? Would any person, even a bookstore owner converse only by repeating someone else’s poetry? Could anybody be as blind to her son’s bad behavior as Birdie? Would the biracial marriage of the Wylers have been accepted, even with their wealth and power in Savannah? Does the rapist, now in prison, deserve either accolades for the good he has done as a model prisoner or sympathy as he faces death with cancer? Then perhaps the biggest question of all, could Sara form a bond with the twin brother of the man who raped her? Even as the reader may struggle with disbelief, the story compels another page turn and after the book is closed will leave wonder and thought about forgiveness and redemption.
One Summer in Savannah would definitely bring on discussion as a book club selection. Terah Shelton Harris will be on a panel at the Mississippi Book Festival on August 19 for those who would like to question her approach to this tough topic.