Tapestry by Beth Duke

I’m super excited to be kicking off the blog tour for Tapestry by Beth Duke. I’ve lived in Alabama, where this novel is mainly set, and I don’t often get to read novels set in my home state. Thanks to the author and Emma Welton of damppebblesblogtours for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Tapestry by Beth Duke

Genre: Southern fiction

Publication: February 8, 2020, available in paperback, audio, and digital

About the book

Twenty-one-year-old Skye Willis lives in Eufaula, Alabama, a tourist mecca of stately homes and world-class bass fishing. Her childhood friends are either stuck at dead ends or have moved on to accomplish Big Things.

Skye’s grandmother, Verna, insists on being called “Sparrow” because she suspects her ancestors were Muscogee Creek. She dresses in faux deerskin and experiments with ancient Native American recipes, offering a myth or legend to anyone who will listen.

Skye has no idea what to do with her life. She’s smart as hell, but she has no faith or knowledge there’s something out there she was “born to do.” Nor does she know much of anything about her father, who died in Afghanistan when she was a toddler. He and his family are a mystery her mother won’t discuss. But when Sparrow sets out to confirm her Creek ancestry through genetic testing, Skye joins in.

The results hit like a DNA bomb, launching them both on a path filled with surprises and life-changing events. Skye learns a harder truth than she ever expected.

Alternating chapters between Skye’s Alabama life and an intertwining tale of greed, deceit, and control in Texas, this story offers proof that all life is a woven tapestry of past, present, and future.

In Beth Duke’s uplifting and soul-singing voice, TAPESTRY is Southern Fiction at its best; you will cry, you will laugh out loud, and you will wish you were a member of the beautiful, matriarchal family Duke has created for her readers. (from Bookshop.org)

My thoughts

I started this novel reluctantly. This had nothing to do with the book or the author or anything, but I was tired and didn’t want to read. But my to-be-read list was growing legs and arms and generally getting out of control like a willful toddler, so I sat down and started reading.

The novel alternates Skye‘s search for purpose in her life with a separate but connected story in Oklahoma, where wealthy Pete Darling is attempting to build a gas pipeline near a Native American reservation. There are protests from people on the reservation, environmentalists, and other groups. Talk about stressful. And on top of that, Pete is dealing with health issues. Meanwhile, his wife Kara Lee Darling, who is as devious as she is gorgeous, has an agenda of her own . . .

Characters

I got off on the wrong foot with Skye and was terribly annoyed with her for a chapter or two; this had nothing to do with the book, only my tired and grumpy mood. But she grew on me, and by the time I hit chapter 4, I was thoroughly engrossed in her story. (Lesson learned: never start a new novel when I’m exhausted, as it’s unfair to the characters.)

Duke does a fabulous job with the characters. Verna (aka Sparrow) may be a bit odd, but she has a good heart. She only wants those she loves to find purpose and love. Lisa, Skye’s mom, is wary of taking a chance on love. One thing I loved about this family is that they can butt heads and bicker, yell and argue, but they still love each other.

Kara Lee Darling is a villain you’ll love to hate. She wants to keep her husband alive, certainly, but her reasons have nothing to do with love and everything to do with his money. She’s queen of innuendos, thinks nothing of using other people, and always has an agenda. I spent the novel hoping that she would get her comeuppance.

Setting

So much felt uniquely Alabamian here. There are references to specific sports traditions at Auburn University. (That’s one of the two big state schools, along with the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. FYI, they have one of the bitterest football rivalries in college sports.) The town of Eufaula, Alabama, is a real place south-east of Montgomery. It really is known for its bass fishing. Duke did a great job bringing this place to life.

There’s also a really fascinating section where Skye explores the state’s painful history about the slave trade. I already knew parts of the story of The Clotilde, the ship that brought the last illegal shipment of slaves to the continental U.S. Some current researchers believe they found it in Mobile Bay.

But Skye’s conversation with a scholar/researcher of African-American history brought out more aspects that I didn’t know. The story behind Africatown is interesting. One of the most moving sections of the book is when Skye visits its old cemetery and the memorial to Cudjo Lewis, one of the last surviving founders of Africatown. I won’t share much because of spoilers, but I was truly moved.

I wrote earlier that I started this novel when I was tired. And I was grumpy. And I didn’t really want to read a book at all, but felt obligated to do something work-related. But this beautifully written Southern novel captured my attention, engaged my emotions, and kept me reading . . . and reading . . . It was one a.m. before I turned the last page and sighed in satisfaction. And a bit of wistfulness, too. The characters felt like friends, and I didn’t want to leave them. Well done, Ms. Duke.