“Nerdection Must Read”
As power shifts around the globe and people talk more about human rights, this is a great time to read literary fiction that explores themes of status, equality, and what it means to be human. So put on your historical glasses and gather around to read this masterpiece.
Spoiler-Free Summary
A brutal, powerful tale that can wrench your gut just as surely as it can warm your heart.
Fox Creek follows the story of Monette, a girl born to an unknown black mother and a rich white father. To settle her father’s debt after his death, her brother sells her to a slave dealer in exchange for a modest fortune. Torn from home and crammed into a filthy wagon with scores of black slaves in tow, Monette clutches her doll–and another slave child, Cyrus–for comfort. Even as their bond deepens into something more, she does not want to forget the life she once knew.
By a twist of fate, she finds herself at an auction, where the Jensey family purchases them both: Monette, to serve as a playmate for their young daughter Kate, and Cyrus, to labor in the fields. But as the nature of their roles diverges, so does the distance between them.
The Jenseys treat their slaves with what they believe is kindness: decent food, medicine for the sick, and shelter for each family. But trouble brews when a new slave, Sawney, dares to defy a seemingly minor order.
Chaos simmers beneath the surface, with the Northerners advocating for human equality, and a slave who refuses to be anything but free.
My Take on Fox Creek
Goodness! Enjoy this perfect book on the long summer evenings, with an enthralling historical backdrop to keep you engrossed.
Picking up Fox Creek, the parallels with Wuthering Heights excited me, something I noticed when reading the synopsis. A slave girl abandoning her oppressed childhood friend for the spineless elite-born white? Now that would be interesting to read. Moreover, this wasn’t the only interesting part of the book—I had only just begun.
The writing is punchy and easily draws you into the depth of the historical lore. Within a few lines, you’re deep into the dark pages of the past, with the rich plantation owners living like nobles, their wealth built on cotton and slavery.
That evening, a storm blew. Wind howled around the big house, repeatedly slamming a shutter that refused to stay battened. Rain pelted sideways, leaking through every chink of the roof and seeping between window frames like tears.
The central idea of inequality in Fox Creek hits you hard. That there was once a time when humans enslaved fellow humans because of the darkness of their skins is simply horrifying. Melatonin in such quantities was twisted into a factor to label them as subhuman, less intelligent, dirty in the eyes of others. Someone to be bought like cattle and shot dead when it felt necessary.
Yet the best part of the book is the time and thoroughness the author puts into character development. From the submissive Cyrus who stutters when confronted with white people, to the intelligent Breck who quietly observes the injustice of it all. There were so many amazing gray~ish characters with virtues and vices I enjoyed.
I especially like the plantation mistress, Sarah, who is a deeply conflicted character. Her kind behavior with the slaves and yet her refusal to admit to their equal status as humans, her willingness to teach them religion but dismissing their education. It felt contradictory. After all, gilt chains are still chains. Freedom is never about comfort, but about autonomy, and the slaves are denied even a sliver of it.
Praying, praying, praying, her prayers seeming to go no farther than her lips, a mockery, as if the conclusion was foregone, written in the heavens, unchangeable even by the hands of God.
Overall, I loved the deep lore in Fox Creek. The dialogue is catchy, the atmosphere thick with a sense of impending doom, and the characters unforgettable. You’ll turn the last page wanting more, despairing that it finished. Highly recommended.
Trigger warnings:
Parental death, explicit scene: sexual assault
About The Author Of Fox Creek
M. E. Torrey holds a B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology and an M.A. in Religion. She currently resides in Washington State and has lived and traveled throughout the world. In addition to her writing and traveling, she is a co-founder of Orphans Africa, a nonprofit charity. Orphans Africa works primarily in Tanzania, building boarding schools for children orphaned by disease and poverty. Her organization has educated thousands of children. (www.orphansafrica.org)
Fox Creek is M. E. Torrey’s first novel for adults.
M. E. Torrey, also known as Michele Torrey, is the author of twelve books for children, published by Penguin-Random House and Sterling (Union Square & Co). Those books are available at http://www.micheletorrey.com.
Visit Torrey at https://www.metorrey.com.
Leave a Reply