Zeal
Morgan Jerkins. Harper, $28.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-06-323408-6
Jerkins (Caul Baby) delivers a plaintive story of a present-day Black couple and their ancestors in the post–Civil War South. In 1865, Union soldier Harrison returns to the plantation where he was enslaved in Natchez, Miss., to look for his beloved Tirzah. Unable to find her, he seeks help from the Freedmen’s Bureau. Meanwhile, Tirzah, who is living in Louisiana and working as a schoolteacher, writes letters to Harrison and sends them to the bureau, but they’re delayed in reaching him. In a parallel narrative set in 2019 New York City, physician Oliver Benjamin gives his fiancée, Ardelia Gibbs, a family heirloom, one of Tirzah’s letters to Harrison. After one of Oliver’s patients dies, he retreats emotionally, and Ardelia spends her free time digging through her own family tree, leading to some life-changing discoveries about her and Oliver’s ancestors. Jerkins meticulously links Ardelia’s and Oliver’s stories with those of Tirzah and Harrison, uncovering secrets held by the couple’s families and revealing what happened to Tirzah’s letters and how one of them managed to be passed down through Oliver’s family. The result is a memorable tale of love and legacy. Agent: Monica Odom, Odom Media Management. (Apr.)
Details
Reviewed on: 02/04/2025
Genre: Fiction
Compact Disc - 979-8-8748-7900-6
Library Binding - 979-8-88579-756-6
MP3 CD - 979-8-8748-7901-3
Other - 416 pages - 978-0-06-323410-9
Other - 978-0-06-343598-8