This is a story of two women set in two different times. Morgan Christopher is a young woman who is asked to spend time in Edenton, North Carolina to restore a mural that was painted in 1940. Anna Dale is the artist who painted the mural in 1940. The chapters alternate between Morgan and Anna as their stories unfold.
Anna was a very young woman in 1940 when she was selected to paint a mural for the Edenton Post Office. She moved to Edenton on a temporary basis to get to know the town and to actually paint the mural. Edenton was a town with a significant racial divide, like all southern states in the 1940s. Anna needed help and asked for a couple of art students to volunteer their time as she prepared to paint the large mural. She ended up discovering a third "student" on her own named Jesse who is an extremely talented young man but who is black. Eventually the two art students (who are white) are no longer able to volunteer their time with her (for very different reasons), so that leaves Anna & Jesse. Anna is only a few years older than Jesse and rumors start swirling about them having an inappropriate relationship, which is very dangerous for Jesse of course. Black men used to get hung in the south for less.
When Morgan is asked to restore the mural, she agrees to do it even though she has no experience in restoration. She was in art school, but one of her professors told her she would never be good enough. She seemed to accept that feedback (which is sad), but her instruction in art is interrupted anyway because of a drunk driving arrest that ended up with her being sent her to prison. After serving one year in prison, she is approached about restoring the mural. Since this will get her out of prison, she accepts the offer.
What makes this story so intriging is that the original mural was never installed in the Edenton Post Office in the 1940s. In fact, both the mural and Anna Dale went missing before it could be installed. When Morgan is shown the mural, it is in incredibly poor condition. As she starts the cleaning process she realizes that the mural has been changed (in gruesome ways) since Anna's original vision of it. Morgan tries to discover what she can about Anna Dale and what happened to her. Another mystery is why Morgan is chosen to restore the mural when she has zero experience in art restoration.
I really enjoyed this story. These women were both young, strong women who had some terrible things thrown into their lives to derail them. In the end, we find out what happened to Anna Dale in 1940. Jesse is a key factor in all of it. ;)
Wendy's Rating: ****
No comments:
Post a Comment