The year 1895 was filled with memorable historical events: the Dreyfus Affair divided France; Booker T. Washington gave his Atlanta address; Richard Olney, United States Secretary of State, expanded the effects of the Monroe Doctrine in settling a boundary dispute between the United Kingdom and Venezuela; and Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted for gross indecency under Britain’s recently passed law that made sex between males a criminal offense. When news of Wilde’s conviction went out over telegraphs worldwide, it threw a small Nevada town into chaos. This is the story of what happened when the lives of its citizens were impacted by the news of Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment. It is a chronicle of hatred and prejudice with all its unintended and devastating consequences, and how love and friendship bring strength and healing. *goodreads*
Never judge a book by it’s cover… that would be the case with this book. If your put off by the cover please, set that aside and read this book, I promise you, you will not be disappointed!
I blew through this book as chapter after chapter I just could not put it down. The 1895 prison sentence of English playwright and novelist, Oscar Wilde, that criminalized sexual activity between two people of the same sex sets the theme in this original, creative and captivating novel. I was thoroughly engrossed immediately and Mahurin kept my attention as Mildred, Edra and Charley shared the events of their lives as they unfolded. These are the main characters at the core of the story, but the secondary characters add depth and in the end everyone has a part to play. Mahurin manages to weave issue’s like bigotry, homophobia and racism not only against color but against religion into this extremely well written novel. Using a small Nevada town as scenery she shows how fear and loathing can lead to hate and ignorance. I loved the historical references and the true parts of our history the author used as her backdrop. Ultimately it’s a story of love, friendship and tolerance. This book is not YA, Fantasy, Erotica, Mystery or any other genre I usually read/review. A good friend recently told me I needed to step outside of my little box and read something different. Well I did Mama and I am pleased to announce I thoroughly enjoyed it! I give this one 5/5 and would recommend it to anyone, one of the best books I have EVER read!! But that’s just my two cents. |
Where’s the Switch?
By,
Paulette Mahurin
Author of The
Persecution of Mildred Dunlap
A few years back, I went to visit a very dear friend who
lives in Palm Desert, California. She happens to be a lesbian. She also happens
to be one of the kindest,
smartest, most ethical woman I know.
A few miles from her place, while driving along on Highway
10, I noticed a huge billboard with a man’s face on it, wrinkled and drawn in a
serious demeanor, pointing a finger, with a quote next to that finger, which
read, We’ll change you.
In smaller script at the bottom was the beginning of info
about a convention.
We were moving to fast for me to read it.
As we were approaching my friend’s turnoff, that same sign
appeared. This time I read the bottom print first, which mentioned a convention
to bring all the Gays and Lesbians back
to the straight and narrow. I kid you not, this was a convention, in the
middle of a very heavy populated GLBT community, to help, them stop believing they were
made to be something they were not. “Who the hell would go to one of those
things?” I asked my husband, not expecting an answer, but he responded that
people in the closet for various reasons; abuse, intolerance, hatred, family
belief structure, religious beliefs, fear of rejection, loss, retribution, or
worse, death—he went on to say. My response back, “Yeah, and who has the
switch?”
No one would ask a bird not to fly, or a fish not to swim, a
bud of a flower to stay closed, a leaf not to inhale carbon dioxide, so then why
ask an authentic human being, with a different manifestation than someone else to
not be what they were born to be? This is what I wrote about in my book, The
Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, but it’s
not visibly apparent, no it’s he unspoken message in the story, a them of
intolerance, that we are who we are, and why would we ever chose to be
something that would result in imprisonment, alienation, rejection, or death?
Where’s the switch to change this?
Where’s the switch to stop me from overeating and gaining
weight, or put that cigarette down, or sing like Susan Boyle, write like
Steinbeck, dance like Astaire,
or manifest passive resistance like Gandhi? All these unique
God given qualities,
the color of my hair and eyes, my dog’s innate sensitivity
to my moods, being a hopeless klutz in the kitchen no matter how many recipes I
follow, loving who I
do and wanting to make love with that person, the incessant
mind boggling thinking that goes on between my ears no matter the mediation or
things I do to try to stop it,
all arise and appear as parts of who I am, things I am made
of, that I can no more change than a bee can stop buzzing, a leaf changing
colors in fall, than green can not be green, or anything manifest not be what
it simply is.
Why is different bad? Why try to change different? Why judge
it as something to change? And, why for God’s sake not simply see it as, simply
different? There is no switch to change any of it.
Awesome post Paulette, thank you again for joining us today and sharing your book with us. Here are all the author and book links...
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It has been the most wonderful time, working with you, getting to know you, and now calling you a friend, who I deeply value. You do so much to help the indie community and authors - words are hard to come by to thank you. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk here, in the name of tolerance and to help raise awareness of animal rescue.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
Paulette
No switch, and what a wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteHi Sheila. Great to see you here and thanks for the comment.
DeletePaulette
This beautiful mind, this loving heart is why I am proud to call you friend, Paulette Mahurin.
ReplyDeleteLinda! Beautiful talented Linda! It's so mutual. This indie family we all belong to here, is the best!
ReplyDeletePaulette