#ReadThis A CALAMITY OF SOULS by @DavidBaldacci
We've been raving about David Baldacci for years, and absolutely loved his last work, The Edge. We can't wait for that series to continue!
In the meantime, we were impressed with his A Calamity of Souls, out now!
We understand this was in the works for a decade, and it certainly represents a vast amount of effort and diligence. As to be expected, it reads well and is absolutely packed with secrets. The character dialogue is good and our panel found it read at a fantastic cadence, really illustrating each character well.
It may take place in a small town, which is a vacation in itself, but it explores complex, complicated relationships. Coverups, intrigue, racism, the list goes on. Details matter! Pay attention to the clues! Have an open mind. This is a southern book from a southern perspective, and it goes back in time to explore history.
Things are not always as they seem...
The only question is, who has bought the movie rights? And PS YAY for the Yellow Corvette.
#1 instant New York Times bestseller!
“The old ways were timeworn and accepted to such an extent that most people never even thought about it, at least people who looked like me. And while I was the observer of racial bigotry and hatred, I was never the target. To borrow a line from Mark Twain, that is truly the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” —David Baldacci
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, A CALAMITY OF SOULS (Grand Central Publishing; April 16, 2024) follows a duo of white and Black lawyers in a racially charged courtroom drama by bestselling author David Baldacci.Having grown up during Jim Crow in Richmond, Virginia, Baldacci personally experienced the Black-white divide. Now, Baldacci brings the powerful story of two people from divergent life experiences who come together to tackle a problem as intractable as any America has ever confronted.
Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to fight back against racism in America, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly white couple. However, Lee quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is not simply the outcome of a murder trial.
Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her adult life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She now enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work here to reverse the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.
Over a decade in the writing, A CALAMITY OF SOULS breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a past era, taking the reader through a world that will seem foreign but also familiar, with stark parallels between 1968 and today. Both involve bitterly fought presidential contests, with wars going on around the world, and calls for secession and even civil war here at home. But the underlying theme in this novel is one of optimism and hope; that while challenges and discord have defined the American experience throughout our history, we have not only survived but thrived. And that by looking to our past we can find a path that will carry this nation forward with its foundational principles intact and its citizens looking toward the future with excitement, instead of despair.
David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America.
