Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink (304 pages)
I have always heard about Black Wallstreet and I knew the unfortunate ending, but I liked seeing this fictional take on it. We get to see how life may have been for those living in this sort of Black oasis. The people in the community felt real to me. The Booker T. Washington vs. W.E B. Du Bois conversations where their two ideologies are contrasted were good as well.
For those more interested in the historical aspects, they may be disappointed by how much the story focuses on Isaiah’s development, Angel’s need to help, and innocent romance (slightly insta-lovey but fitting). The actual events don’t take place until the last hundred pages, choosing instead to focus on our main characters’ lives instead.
I enjoyed (as much as you can with the subject matter) reading Angel of Greenwood. This is a dual pov with Angel and Isaiah. Angel is the girl with a heart of gold who is always caring for others and not herself, while Isaiah is a secretly-decent guy led around by his nasty friend Muggy jr.
I did not know how early on would the book touch on the vile massacre, so there was an impending sense of dread for me. However, the lightheartedness of Isaiah getting his junk together and his beautiful, lovesick poems he wrote about Angel were a welcome distraction.
While I generally don’t read much historical fiction, I don’t regret reading this. We, descendants of North American chattel enslavement and black people in general, have truly had an enduring time in this country. Still, Angel of Greenwood shows that black life isn’t/wasn’t this all-consuming suffering. People had lives, aspirations, hopes and dreams and whatnot too.
Anyway, this is worth reading (and talking about!)
Words with Destiny 