Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Talmadge Farm is by no means a fast-paced book, as the events unravel over many years from the 50s onwards. However, Duaghtry isn't in a rush to paint a vivid picture of what it was like in the Carolinas at that time, and what particular situations likely occurred. It is a depiction of a moment in time, and the plot's pacing reflects the subject matter and intention of the author.
Prose: Daughtry uses descriptive and prosaic prose that not only transports the reader to North Carolina but paints a picture of the South in a way that is literary, engaging, and visceral.
Originality: Talmadge Farm offers multiple fresh perspectives on the historical moment and a unique setting. While the work may benefit from a greater level of tension, readers will nevertheless savor the reading experience.
Character/Execution: Daughtry shows a keen awareness of each characters' identity, motivations, and complexities. Distinctive voices and strong dialogue provide depth and verisimilitude.
Date Submitted: August 28, 2024
Daughtry expertly contrasts the experiences of Gordon’s privileged family with that of his sharecroppers, particularly the grim realities that the Sanders endured as a Black family in the midcentury South. Both Will and Louis are up against impossible odds as they try to provide for their families, and when Louis’s son, Jake, is blamed for harming Junior when defending his sister, he’s forced to flee their small town for Philadelphia, desperate to make ends meet so he can study medicine. Meanwhile, Gordon’s tobacco crops can’t keep pace with his spending habits, and he rashly decides to bring on a crew of migrant workers from another state—a choice that results in disaster.
Gordon—and society’s—treatment of the sharecroppers is painful to read, but Daughtry capably evokes harsh historical truths of the era, particularly the generational abuse that wealthy landowners inflicted on the descendents of enslaved peoples. The reverberations of that shake through the Sanders’s family as the story builds to some dark consequences, though some of the most reliable women, Ella and Mary Grace, overcome obstacles as they strive toward happiness. Gordon eventually faces some justice, though he never truly makes amends for his harmful behaviors. Change, of course, comes in the end, but the cost for all involved is steep.
Takeaway: Expansive portrait of mid century landowners and sharecroppers in the American South.
Comparable Titles: Nathan Harris’s The Sweetness of Water, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s The Revisioners.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A
