The Wall Street Journal-20080119-WEEKEND JOURNAL- Picks -- -Song Yet Sung-- Books- The author of the memoir -The Color of Water- returns with a new novel
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WEEKEND JOURNAL; Picks -- 'Song Yet Sung': Books; The author of the memoir 'The Color of Water' returns with a new novel
Writer James McBride became known for his 1996 memoir, "The Color of Water," an account of growing up the son of a white mother and a black father. His new novel, "Song Yet Sung," also has a racial theme: Set in pre-Civil War Maryland, it follows the story of Liz Spocott, a runaway slave who has visions of the future, and Denwood Long, a troubled slave catcher.
Mr. McBride was inspired to write the book when he came upon a field with a plaque that marked the site where the abolitionist Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Md. The novel tries to show how slavery degraded the lives of the people it touched. "The real trick is not to cast the sin of slavery on every single person who happened to be walking around during that time," Mr. McBride says. "If you can get over the idea of that . . . that world comes to life."
