Fire in Beulah
A novel set against the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, following two families whose lives are reshaped by historical violence.
Work Information
In the shadow of oil-boom prosperity and fear, ordinary life can break in a single night.
Through the crossing lives of white and Black families, the novel builds a layered memory of Tulsa.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Viking Adult
- Published
- 2001-01-11
- Pages
- 352 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 16.26 x 3 x 23.67 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780670888436
- ISBN-10
- 0670888435
- Price
- 10806 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Historical
The author of The Mercy Seat serves up a stunning new novel set in 1920s Oklahoma that chronicles the complex relationship that exists between Althea Whiteside, the wife of an oil wildcatter, and her black maid, Graceful, as they become caught up in the events surrounding the Tulsa race riot of 1921. 15,000 first printing.
Rilla Askew is the author of Strange Business , a collection of stories, and of the novel The Mercy Seat , nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association Award and winner of the Western Heritage Award and the Oklahoma Book Award.
Reviews
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There have been two books that have interrupted and changed my life course. 55 years old and from Oklahoma, I read “Fire In Beulah.” It exposed a race massacre - shocking carnage visited upon an inspired and inspiring black community in 1921 Tulsa. We weren’t taught ANYthing about that in Oklahoma schools or universities; never a whisper, never mind a massacre. Oklahoma swept it under the rug and called it a simple “race riot.”. Askew’s carefully-constructed and beautifully written story spoke to me of egregious wrongs perpetrated on innocents and ultimately about the immorality of racism. I knew I needed to be a working part of the solution for racism in Oklahoma. The leaders of Oklahoma perpetrated the massacre and then buried the truth. Racism is disgustingly alive here. Ms. Askew is not just the author of an excellent book I loved but a change-maker, devoted to truth. She created a beautiful, compelling and accurate story. This book awakened me. I’m now 75, relocated back to Oklahoma, and extremely busy! Thank you, Rilla!
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Quite a bit of history that I hadn't known even though it was "right in my own back yard". Very interesting and scary to think that this actually happened. Talk about mob mentality......
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I read this book a few months ago and and was impressed enough to recommend it for my book club and pass copies along to friends. While it's fiction, it portrays actual historical events with believable characters and various points of view. It is an excellent discussion starter about status, race, truth, hostility, love and much more. The story will stick with the reader long after the book is finished.
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If you are fortunate enough to come across Rilla Askew's gem "Fire in Beulah," read it. It's absolutely exquisite. Although I initially had trouble getting into the book, once I read a few chapters, I was hooked and read this beautitul story into the wee hours of the night, crying towards the end with outrage and pure amazement. This is a story that needed to be told, and Rilla is the perfect person to tell it. Very few writers can evoke the type of rage, delirium, and palpable sense of emotion that she seems to convey effortlessly. Plus, I always enjoy descriptive writing and in "Fire in Beulah," I felt like I could see everything as if it were playing right before my eyes. A really great, great book.
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Loved this book! It’s a heavy and emotionally hard read, but it is very well written. Having lived half my life in the Tulsa area, I was able to picture every little detail which made the book that much more special to me. This is easily one of my all-time favorite books.