it getts good at end ( )

I wanted to like this book, the premise is interesting - a free black woman is murdered and a slave, Cassius, sets out to find her murderer and obtain some form of justice. The story itself is rich and engrossing, where it lost me was in Cassius's ability to slip off and on the plantation with the assistance of forged passes. Furthermore, Cassius is able to wander between Union and Confederate armies with little to no disruption (or notice, it seems) by the soldiers. While I realize this novel is historical fiction, this book forced me to move into the realm of total implausibility. ( )

You know a novel is worthwhile if the characters and story have stayed with you months after the first reading. 'Sweetsmoke' is a compelling, bittersweet tale of a plantation slave, Cassius Howard, struggling with his sense of identity and personal losses during the height of the Civil War.

This novel is meticulously well-researched, offering clear glimpses into the devastating effects of slavery while providing historically accurate and traumatic accounts of the war itself. The introduction of a love interest, and gradual unfolding of a murder mystery, add intrigue to the plot by driving the downtrodden Cassius into action.

Excellent and beautifully written. ( )

I can't really review this book because I couldn't get into it until page 63 and then I left it for a few months. I'm going to revisit it soon just so I can write a review and possibly snag some more ARCs. Looks like folks liked it a lot from the average rating so I guess I missed something. Will be back when I finish.

Sweetsmoke is the story of a Virginia tobacco plantation slave (Cassius) during the civil war. This particular slave is allowed more freedoms than the others on the plantation. When he learns that a friend (a free woman who taught Cassius to read) was murdered, he decides to solve the mystery underlying her murder.

This story is filled with details about the humiliating life of slaves on plantations and is intriguing regarding the use of former and current slaves in espionage during the American Civil War. The author clearly knows a great deal about the Civil War and as a result, the book (at times) gets bogged down in details about specific North-South encounters.

I am a huge fan of both historical fiction and the mid-19th century. However, I found this book to be a very tedious read. It did not suspend my disbelief, as a fictional piece should. Historical fiction, especially, needs to keep the reader engaged in a way that completely seems plausible. Aspects of this story, such as Cassius forging passes to come and go from the plantation and tracking down Lee’s army left me in want of believing the story. As a result, I struggled to get through this book. ( )

I just couldn't get into this book. I only got half way through.

An unusual read for me, Sweetsmoke by David Fuller proved by the final pages to have been well worth the effort.

I say unusual, because as a Canadian of English descent, what would I get out of a novel about black slaves during the Civil War? Everyone is familiar with the events, but this particular story took on a life of its own, due to wonderful characterizations brilliantly cast by Fuller, who is a screen writer by trade.

Cassius, the slave, who loses his closest friend when she is found murdered, is very believable, and the supporting players, Hoke Howard, the plantation owner, and Quashee, Cassius' right hand and protector.

An ugly blot on the history of America, slave life was a reality and will not be forgotten. But by portraying his protaganists as 'real life' people, Fuller has created both an intriguing crime novel, and a slice of Americana, not an easy thing to accomplish. ( )

I enjoyed this book. The story was very interesting and moving. The language was poetic, lean and affecting. The descriptions of Cassius's inner struggles and daily life as a slave transported me to Cassius's world, where he sought justice and found his way with a determined and quiet strength. Sweetsmoke is a great piece of historical fiction, with an intriguing element of mystery. ( )

This is an absolutely amazing book. I found it extremely moving and well written and could not put it down. Set on a southern plantation during the Civil War, the main plot is a character driven mystery involving a murder but the subplots are actually more interesting than the main one. The interaction between the slaves and the "planters" and amongst the slaves themselves is fascinating. David Fuller does an excellent job portraying the indignities of being a slave. His descriptions of the brutality of life as a slave and the battles of war are not over the top but still manage to convey the horror of both. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical fiction. ( )

What a great book, this book is beautifully written. Set during the Civil War this is an unlikely mystery, but so much more!! Cassius the main character challenges the idea of human ownership, why some people behave as though they want to remain enslaved, and portrays slave owners are real people not just the "bad guys". I would definitely recommend this book. For people who love historical fiction this book is a must. Great details concerning the era it was written about as well as a fantastic plot in and of itself!! ( )

David Fuller is a screen writer, thus he has an excellent command of pacing, which was evident in this book. Although this book read like a character-driven novel, there was action at every turn.

Cassius is a 30-something slave on a Virginia tobacco plantation, Sweetsmoke, owned by Hoke Howard, who has been his only owner and had named him at birth. The whereabouts of his parents is never discussed, but he was raised by old Mam' Rosie, who also raised Hoke's children.

Hoke and Cassius have a complex relationship, part long-standing affection, part fear (on both sides), and part grudging respect. Early in the book Hoke tells Cassius the bad news that Emoline, a former slave freed by Hoke some years before, and a woman who had saved Cassius' life after he fled the plantation, had been murdered. Though Hoke had clearly once loved Emoline, he seems to feel no interest in who the murderer is. Cassius, however, feels he must uncover it and avenge her death.

The reader really feels the plight of the slaves, and one of the ways it's made obvious is that whenever anyone who is free speaks there are quote marks around their speech. If they are slaves, there are no quotes. Thus, the reader is always aware of the difference in position of the speakers, even between a slave and a freed negro.

The descriptions of slave life are often very gritty and give the reader an excellent idea of how horrible it was to be property of another human, one who felt their property was subhuman and inconsequential. Also, the description of the battle at Sharpsburg is one of the best battle scenes I've ever read.

It is also apparent that the slaves themselves are jockeying for position and will often do whatever is necessary to advance themselves, even at the expense of another slave. There were several instances when women (usually the flowers of the South, so often thought to be so kind and benevolent) were spiteful, manipulative, or cruel, to the ultimate degradation, horrible pain, or death of the slaves.

My only argument with the book was that Cassius' life seemed to be charmed both when he was young, and during the events of this book. There certainly was a period of about five years when his life was very, very bad, but otherwise he seemed to be able to get away with nearly anything he wanted. Fuller was careful to explain all those instances, but still it stretched the imagination too far.

I loved many quotes in the book. The following are a few that stood out:

"Cassius still found it odd to be spoken of as if he were deaf or invisible. It happened often; whites simply said whatever was on their minds in front of their 'people,' bluntly revealing their thoughts and secrets. . . . knowing he was taken so lightly made him feel small."

"Humiliations from planters, their families, and every other white man, woman, and child in the county are more easily borne when your new partner hasn't been witness to your history of degradation, thus allowing you to maintain a small measure of dignity."

"Hoke looked at Cassius and his eyes were burdened with the helplessness of a terrible knowledge. In dismay, Cassius felt Hoke's empathy enfold him and finally understood his punishment. He did not intend to sell Cassius. Cassius was to witness the results of his actions, actions that had brought Tempie to this place, and thus be foreced to confront his conscience. The bleached muslin of the tent, warmly lit and close, embraced a history of anguish and grief and apprehension, the last place so many, God, so many people, would ever see their sons and daughters, their mothers and fathers and grandparents, their sisters and brothers and playmates before they were sold, and as the side of the tent bowed and shuddered in a soft breeze, Cassius heard a collective moan."

"A pet is something to love, a dog particularly. He loves you without opinion or judgment, he does not speak to you indignantly, he does not confuse your affections with foolish ideas and odd perspectives; he merely loves. I sometimes think of how easy it was for my father to favor you, Cassius." ( )

This book had a wonderful premise that it did not meet. The mystery itself was somewhat weak and I found the final denouement less than satisfying.

Set on a southern plantation before and during the Civil War the look at slavery in that time and place was only slightly more interesting and has probably been better covered elsewhere.

All in all, a disappointment. A promising beginning that didn't pan out. ( )

Sweetsmoke, a Virginia tobacco plantation, is the home of Cassius and many other slaves during the Civil War. Emoline, the woman who rescued and nursed Cassius back to health after a devastating event in his life, has been murdered. The devotion Cassius has for Emoline has driven him to find the killer - no matter what the cost.

This didn't live up to my expectations. The characters were okay, the setting was okay, but the mystery story line did not seem plausible to me. (Yes, I know it's fiction.) There were, also, many dry spots, and on occasion I didn't even care to pick it up. So, for whatever reason it didn't grab me. The good news is that there were a few minor surprises or twists, and it ended on a good note. :) (3.5/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..." ( )

Sweetsmoke by David Fuller has been all over the place and has gotten such great reviews that I wanted to try it for myself. Originally my copy came from the library, but it turned out to be a book that I wanted for my collection because at some point I would like to read it again.

There were a lot of things that I loved about this novel. One of the most fascinating aspects of this novel is its take on the murder mystery. When Emoline Justice is murdered, everyone is cautious about telling Cassius, a taciturn slave on the Sweetsmoke plantation, the news. Cassius’s owner, Hoke Howard, with whom Cassius has a complicated and painful relationship, calls him specially into his office to tell him that Emoline has been murdered, but before he does, Hoke asks Cassius whether there is anything that will make him run again. As the book unfolds, we find out that Cassius holds a very special place for Emoline ever since she nursed him back to health after a brutal whipping following the death of his wife and his subsequent run. The details of these events and how they came about are carefully unfolded as the story progresses. While Cassius is recovering Emoline tells him stories and eventually teaches him to read. Cassius finds that whatever the cost, he cannot let her death go unavenged, and so he takes it upon himself, at great personal risk, to play detective and find out who killed her.

Cassius’ knowing how to read and the effect it has on his life is carefully explored. We see him reading some of the great classics of literature like Julius Caesar and the Odyssey and comparing his circumstances against the logic that he finds in these books. At one point he is marveling that there are other men besides black men who can be slaves and he ponders this information just as he wonders about the meaning of his name and, if Hoke has given it to him for any particular reason. It was very interesting to me to follow his thought processes about his condition as a slave and what he could do about it.

The book has wonderful characterizations of both people and the environment in which the slaves and master lived. You really get to understand the working of the plantation and the insidiousness of slavery and how it was institutionalized in society and in the written laws and information in how to manage people. All things that I have heard and read before, but I think I am always a little shocked at how such evil things can be codified and in regular secular writing and pamphlets. Cassius and Quashee’s relationship illustrated the difficult obstacles in the path of love if you were unfortunate enough to be born a slave instead of free.

There were times that I questioned Cassius’s freedom in moving around the plantations and the adventures that he has. It is necessary for him to take risks if he is going to solve Emoline’s murder, but at times the risks seemed too high and just plain foolhardy. The times were harsh and I just found myself questioning a lot whether some of the conversations that he had would have ever been possible, and while he could have gotten away with frequently running around outside the farm, and his reckless interactions with people on a number of occasions left me with some questions. But, at the same time I was always invested enough in this book and these characters to be worried about the risks being taken. I also know that truth can be stranger than fiction, so I wasn’t surprised that David Fuller had based a lot of these shocking situations on real events. Though the ending moved very quickly and could have been fleshed out more fully, I really enjoyed reading this novel and pondering the history contained in its pages.

Sweetsmoke, described on the cover as ‘a novel of the civil war’ is about the civil war, but it’s also very much about slavery, murder and justice.

I’ve read a few books about slavery and the stories of brutality are often echoes of the same terrible evil and the horrors suffered by many. This story adds another dimension. There are heart-wrenching tales of injustices, but what makes it different is the focus on the murder of a freed black woman and the efforts of a slave to discover her murderer. An additional flourish that gives this book an interesting perspective is that it takes place in 1865, during the raging civil war and the year when slavery is abolished.

I don’t think I’m an adequate judge of whether the adversaries and obstacles faced by the protagonist, Cassius, are realistic, but I do know I really liked this book. Cassius is a very likable character and lives among others who are portrayed in shades of grey (except the children who are depicted as completely evil), as people really are. It’s interesting to note that the author did not use quotation marks when one of the slaves was speaking, as if what they had to say was of no importance compared to someone who was either freed or white.

When Cassius discovers that Emoline, a woman who cared for him when he needed it most, did not die accidentally, he decides to find her murderer - not an easy thing to do for a slave. Since Cassius’s job on the Sweetsmoke plantation is carpenter, he has a bit of leeway to move around, unlike most of the other slaves. While this allows him to do a bit of detective work it also lends itself to jealousy and resentment among the other slaves who feel he is favored by the plantation owner. The search for Emoline’s murderer leads Cassius away from Sweetsmoke and the further he gets, the closer he comes to the truth. Along this journey Cassius encounters traitors, slave traders and soldiers and sees first hand the terror of war.

I highly recommend this book – it is difficult to put down. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Fuller's novel. His characters are people who I would like to meet and that I think is an important thing in a story. I know very little about this time in history and reading this book gave me a broader more down to earth view of life then. I was able to witness both joy and hardship endured by both the slaves and their owners and how each survived. Mr. Fuller writes with flowing ease and kept my interest. I highly recommend this book. Thank-you Librarything and Hyperion Books for giving me the opportunity to read and enjoy this wonderful story. ( )

Set in 1862 during the Civil War, the reader is introduced to Cassius, a carpenter and slave on the Sweetsmoke plantation. Cassius is a favorite of Howard Hoke, the landowner, and is allowed some liberties the other slaves do not. Emoline, a former Sweetsmoke slave who was given her freedom by Hoke, is found murdered in her home. She was a mother figure to Cassius who taught him how to read and write though no one knows he is literate. Cassius uses his liberties and smarts to find out the identity of the murderer.

The book is a well done piece of historical fiction. Interactions of the characters based on their station and during a time when resources are scarce ring true. Customs are explained without reading like a textbook.

It asks some philosophical questions about loyalty and what constitutes freedom. How loyal should a slave be to his or her owner? Can a slave be loyal to friends and loved ones even if it comes at a cost? How does one earn loyalty from another? Is freedom something granted by someone in a position of power? Or is freedom experienced through literacy and independence? These questions are reminiscent of the debate between human law and natural law which I found fascinating in college.

The timeline of events was a bit confusing or rushed near the end of the novel when Howard Hoke takes ill but that’s a minor complaint. For a debut novel this is a solid effort. ( )

I just finished Sweetsmoke and thouroughly enjoyed it. I was glad to have gotten it as an early reviewers's copy. At first, I had trouble getting going in the book, but it snuck up on me and then I was hooked. I wanted to find out the answers to the questions posed throughout. Then end did not disappoint me and all the storylines were wrapped up. I enjoy reading the many different stories out there about this time in our history, especially realistic accounts, not just romanticized versions. The author did not glorify slavery or the civil war, letting the brutality and dehumanization show through. I would recommend this to others.

This was a good novel told from the point of view of Cassius Howard, a slave on a Virginia Plantation in 1862. However, as others have said, I also had a difficult time with the lack of quotation marks around the speech of slaves. It made reading the novel a little less enjoyable for me.

Sweetsmoke follows the story of the slave Cassius Howard living on his masters plantation in Virginia during the civil war. When his friend and mentor Emoline Justice is found murdered, Cassius sets out to find her murderer, hardly an easy task for a slave in Civil War Virginia. His ability as a carpenter has kept him in the favor of his Master Hoke Howard, but when he investigates his friends murder he finds out things about his master that strain their relationship.

This was a very difficult review to write as I wasn't sure what to say. I was excited to hear about this book being available. I read a lot of fiction about slaves living in the pre-antibellum south. However, when I read this book I just never connected with it. There is no doubt that this book is very well researched and the story is compelling. Nonetheless I wasn't drawn into any of the characters and I felt that sometimes the narrative jumped around quite a bit. By contrast, the next book I read was Somebody Knows my Name by Lawrence Hill, a book with a lot of similarities in subject matter butt I loved it. I think that Sweetsmoke is very well written and would recommend it to the many readers who enjoy well researched historical fiction and will really enjoy it. ( )

In 1862, while Civil War rages between the North and South, there are daily battles being fought outside the killing fields. At Sweetsmoke in particular, a Virginia tobacco plantation, one slave has pledged to avenge the senseless murder of a friend.

Cassius, a skilled and sought-after carpenter, sets forth to find out who is responsible for the murder of Emoline Justice, a freed slave. What he learns about the people surrounding him pales in comparison to what he learns about himself in this tale of love, deceit and the thin line between the two. His interesting relationship with plantation owner Hoke Howard, his secret literacy, and his place within the plantation slave hierarchy all contribute to the portrait of Cassius as determined, resourceful, and intelligent.

Sweetsmoke is the first novel hailing from screenwriter David Fuller, and by confronting many of the undeniable horrors of the Civil War era, the novel emerges as a well-written, enlightening and compelling slave narrative, enjoyable to any historical fiction reader.

Many thanks to Mini Book Expo for Bloggers and Hyperion Books for giving me the opportunity to read this Advance Reading Copy of Sweetsmoke. More of my book reviews can be found at: www.libraryscenester.wordpress.com ( )

I've been anticipating reading David Fuller's first novel Sweetsmoke since it was released by Hyperion Books at the end of August.

I was captured by the cover image - work worn, lined, loosely clasped hands and I wondered the story behind them.

Fuller spent eight years researching this amazing novel. It tells the tale of Cassius, a slave and carpenter who lives on a tobacco plantation in Virginia. It is 1862 and the Civil War is in full swing. Interestingly Fuller found family connections to both sides of the War during his research.

After suffering a brutal punishment at the hands of his master Hoke Howard, Cassius is allowed to heal at the home of Emoline, a free black woman. Emoline secretly teaches Cassius to read and write. It is these secret lessons that ignite a need for knowledge, a want to know the world beyond the plantation.

"Cassius drove himself toward his journey in a step-by-step fashion, willing to risk everything, to know. To know."

When Emoline is murdered and it appears that no one cares to find the killer, Cassius vows he will find the killer and seek justice for Emoline.

This is a story with many threads, all of then engrossing. Life on the plantation, attitudes and the War are all portrayed with accuracy and detail, bringing to life this period in history. Fuller has also brought to life the lot of a slave, humanizing historical fact, in all it's shame. Although all the characters evoke strong emotions, it is the character of Cassius that kept me reading non stop. His journey towards knowledge and justice, combined with the mystery of Emoline's death is a gripping tale.

Sweetsmoke will be joining another similar book - "Rush Home Road" by Canadian Lori Lansens on my favourites list.

Many thanks to Mini Book Expo for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book! ( )

My review of this book is not nearly as positive as many of the others I've seen. I found Sweetsmoke to be uninteresting, and it caused my reading pace to come to a screeching halt; I really should have given up on it when I realized that I had no interest in going back to it after weeks on end. It is a murder mystery, framed as an historical fiction story that follows Cassius, a tobacco plantation slave, as he tries to solve the murder of fellow slave, Emoline Justice. The character of Cassius is fairly well developed, but the supporting characters weren't at all memorable. I have read many slave narratives, and this was one of the weakest ones that I've experienced. I wanted to like this book, and I really did try, but it simply did not feel believable to me. ( )

As the Civil War tears a nation apart, Sweetsmoke gives us a glimpse into the life of Cassius, a clever favored slave on a Virginia tobacco plantation. While countless lives are lost on both sides of the conflict, Cassius is concerned for only one, that of Emoline Justice, a woman who stepped in to save his life when he had hit rock bottom. Emoline nursed Cassius back to health both physically and mentally and in the process gives him the dangerous gift of literacy. Knowing that even in the best of times no one would care to seek the killer of a freed slave like Emoline, Cassius knows that if justice is to be done to Emoline's killer, he must do it himself. Cassius's single-minded quest to find Emoline's killer takes him to many places fraught with danger including the secret outpost of a hunted spy and even north to the front lines of a major Civil War battle between men who, in Cassius's experience, are altogether too similar.

Cassius is a supremely engaging character. He is a bold and intelligent character who with his keen perception can surmise the motives and the drives of those around him. He knows his value and yet he struggles with what it means to be only property, someone whose life can change completely depending on the failure of a crop or even bad luck at a hand of cards. With the relationship between Cassius and his master, Hoke Howard, Fuller explores the backward thinking behind the institution of slavery in which the benevolent slave-owner provides for the slave who, by his very nature, could never provide for himself. Using Cassius, a perhaps unusually clever slave, and Hoke, a perhaps on occasion unusually morally conflicted owner, Fuller turns this myth on its head as Cassius cunningly manipulates those around him and appears to be the smartest of all the characters. And yet, we never lose sight of the fact that despite the considerable liberties he might be able to take, Cassius's existence is fragile, and that he is, at the end of the day, lacking one crucial aspect - freedom.

If Mr. Plume was ever to become Cassius's owner, Cassius would never again have the opportunity to consider independent action. He would be driven night and day and if he exhibited reticent behavior, this Mr. Plume would reach down inside Cassius with a sharp-edged spoon and scrape out of him any small dreams of freedom that he might have accrued. He was relieved when Mr. Plume looked away, but felt a raw sensations inside his chest that lingered.

Fuller spares no detail in his depiction of the Civil War era south. Though obviously carefully constructed with extreme care shown even down to the punctuation of the dialogue (quotation marks for the free, none for the slaves), the writing never feels forced or contrived. Instead, Fuller's Civil War south leaps off the page exposing a world populated with fragile southern gentility perched precariously on their clever, if oppressed, chattel. Through Cassius's eyes and Fuller's evocative writing, we can feel the heat of mid-summer in Virginia, smell the sweet scent of tobacco on the air, and even hear the sounds of a raging Civil War battle as if we were experiencing them first-hand.

This was killing on an impossible scale, and Cassius could not wrap his brain around the images in front of his eyes. He tried to remember that each one of these men had a life, a family, mother, father, children, fears and hopes and ideas; each one worked and dreamed and had once been a child, and now screamed in astonished agony. He lost his sense of reality, as if his intelligence shut down to preserve him from such madness. Unable to comprehend the meaning of such an immense horror, he began to see falling men as unreal, no different than the soldiers he carved. These were white men being killed by white men who were the same but for the color of their uniforms; mindfully, purposefully slaughtering one another by the dozens, by the score, by the hundreds, by the thousands. Cassius saw how easy it was to devastate a man's body and rob him of his valuable life. And yet, those who survived remained on the battlefield and fought on.

Cassius's mystery comes to an unexpected and satisfying, if not pleasant, conclusion. However, the heart of this book is not in the mystery. The heart of it lies in the character of Cassius and in the world in which he lives which is brought fully to life. Sweetsmoke does just what great historical fiction should do. It transports us to a time and place that we will never be able to experience and makes us feel as if we are experiencing it, not just being told about it in a book. Well done. ( )

Sweetsmoke is the story of a 30-year-old slave named Cassius Howard, a carpenter on the Sweetsmoke tobacco plantation in Virginia. The book starts on July 1, 1862, and all of the action takes place over the next three months, ending shortly after the Civil War Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg in September of that year.

The plot centers on a mystery – Cassius is trying to figure out who killed free black Emoline Justice, who took taught Cassius to read and write. She took care of him when his master, Hoke Howard, had him whipped him severely when he tried to run away five years earlier, after his wife commits suicide when her infant son is sold away.

The strength of the novel is in the depiction of slavery during this period, as well as the description of the aforementioned battle. According to author David Fuller (a screenwriter), he did over eight years of research “on the subjects of slavery, America in the 1800s, the Civil War, particularly Antietam, and other related subjects like tobacco and the currency of the time.” It shows. Fuller has painted slaves and slaveholders not as the usual caricatures, but as real people with emotions, regrets, flaws, fears, and foibles. His descriptions of the settings and events of his story made me feel as though I was actually there.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, particularly that set in the Civil War era, or anyone who would like to learn more about that “peculiar institution.”

Thanks to LibraryThing and the publisher, Hyperion, for the opportunity to read and review this book. This review is also posted on my book blog, Bookin' It. ( )