T.S. Stribling (1881–1965)

This is the last book in The Vaiden Trilogy. Stribling gives us an unflinching view of the deep south, both in its stateliness and brutality, starting prior to the Civil War and ending when the Great Depression starts. Prepared to be uncomfortable with the reality of the South during that time. It is a great trilogy to read, in spite of its no-holds-barred look at both the people living during that time. The second book in this series, The Store, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in show more 1933.
"White educated Southerners are completely cut off from black educated Southerners by the inherited attitudes of master and slave, and the one really does not know that the other exists. So now the Reverend Catlin looked at the heavy black man who used correct and moving if rather florid English with a feeling of surprise and grotesqueness as if a bootblack should begin discussing the quantum theory." show less

Set 20 years after the Civil War which freed the slaves of the plantations around Florence, Alabama, those living there are still trying to sort out the relationships and rights of both white and black residents. The Store explores love and loss, trust and betrayal, and the vagaries of reputation and fortunes of the Vaiden family, both the whites and the blacks of that name. The store itself is a dream of Colonel Miltiades Vaiden which, once achieved, is rarely again mentioned and show more unimportant in the story.
Vaiden, a former Colonel in the Confederate Army, had his money stolen shortly after the end of the War by J. Handback when Vaiden's cotton was put in trust to Handback and then Handback was able to declare bankruptcy and deny the proceeds of the sale of the cotton to Vaiden. This created a resentment on Vaiden's part which festered for the many years since. Handback, believing the Colonel holds no resentments, hires him to work in the Handback store. Since the Colonel gives the same service to the blacks as to the whites of the community, this frustrates Handback. "A nigger pound is not the same measure as a white pound." He removes Vaiden, setting him up to oversee Handback's cotton plantings and his colored tennants thereby setting up the environment which allows Vaiden to get even with Handback. This allows the Colonel to buy his long-dreamed of store beginning a series of repercussions throughout the full community, affecting both whites and blacks, Southerners and Yankees. An intriguing read, with a bit of a ghost story included for good measure. show less

The Forge is book 1 in the 3 part Vaiden series. The books begin at the start of the Civil War and follow one Southern family through reconstruction.

The second in the series, The Store, won the Pulitzer in 1933, so I decided to read the entire series.

The Forge was very successful at creating this family and depicting their lives. The pace was quick, in fact in the 500 or so pages of this first book, we went all the way through a family owning slaves, signing up to fight in the Civil War, show more losing half of their family in the battles, losing the war, losing their slaves and eventually losing all of their money. They went from being a prominent and well respected family to having nothing and being shamed into town.

There is a definite agenda of the author, to both show this family in a sympathetic life and to make a statement against the way they lived. I found him to be extremely successful at this as well.

It's a little strange reviewing this book now, as I finished it and immediately began the second book. So it basically feels like I'm still in the middle of it. I was torn rating it, because it's something I've really enjoyed and become somewhat lost in, yet it isn't necessarily something I'd recommend to someone either. show less

I am sad to finish this trilogy, as I've enjoyed my time with the Vaidens over the past few weeks.

The trilogy began before the Civil War and continued through to the first post-reconstruction generation. Watching the South fall, rise, and fall again, all through the perspective of one family, was interesting. I felt Stribling did an excellent job of creating this world and I will miss it.