 Genre
History
Year wriiten
2002
Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Plot
Set mostly during the American Civil War, this is the story of young
Irish migrant Willie Burke, the black woman he touches to read and the
Northern abolitionist whom he loves. As the vortex of the Civil War
sweeps away lives, livelihoods and love affairs, the tale explores the
moral choices confronting Willie, Flower Jamison and Abigail Downling
as the tumult tears apart the genteel culture of the Old South and
exposes the brutal and brutalised underclass on whose back it was
built. James Lee Burke uses major battles of the Civil War, at Shiloh,
Shenandoah and Louisiana, as set pieces to punctuate his story of love,
loss and liberation. It is not a history book, but an historical novel,
using an epic setting to explore how Willie and his women discover
their true characters in this punishing time. While the battle scenes
are brutal, as is the treatment meted out to blacks in the South, the
story is permeated with a surprising tenderness and confidence in the
power of human kindness
Characters
Within the first chapter, Burke establishes his pantheon of players,
Willie Burke, the rebellious Irish rascal; Robert Perry, the noble
landed gentleman; Abigail Dowling, the principled Northern nurse who
sends slaves on the Underground Railway; and Flower Jamison, the
illegitimate mulatto daughter of Ira Jamison, the venal owner of Angola
Plantation and Rufus Atkins, his ruthless overseer. The romantic
triangle of Willie, Robert and Abigail is counterpointed by the almost
allegoric antipathy between Abigail and Ira Jamison. In stark contrast
with his Dave Robicheaux novels, White Doves at Morning has many strong
and well-developed woman characters, including the colourful
brothel-owner Carrie LaRose. Part of the pleasure of the story is
Burke’s playful mastery of the Louisiana patois.
Resolution
While the ending is sudden, with loose ends wrapped up with an
epilogue, the story’s resolution is both narratively and thematically
satisfying. It’s a political book, not in terms of the war between
North and South, but in the timeless battle between enlightenment and
ignorance; By contrasting education and exploitation, James Lee Burke
makes a comment that is as scathingly observant of today’s America,
with its vast black underclass, as it was of the time in which it is
set.
Theme
At its core, White Doves at Morning is a morality tale about how the worst of times can bring out the best in people.
Recommendation
Absolutely. White Doves at Morning is an epic tale told with wit, skill and sincerity.
|
