Rhythms
A Novel
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
It all began in 1927, in the small town of Rudell, Mississippi, after the sudden and tragic death of Cora Harvey's parents. She has nothing left except her burning desire to become a singer. But her dream will never come true in Rudell, especially if she marries the man she adores, Dr. David Mackey. So when she sets out for Chicago, everyone in the close knit community, including David believes that the next time they see Cora, her name will be in lights. However, it's not long before Cora finds herself back in Rudell and back in David's arms harboring a secret she dare not reveal. . .A secret that will cause her daughter, Emma to flee Rudell with no intention of ever looking back. And even when Emma finds the perfect man and happiness at last, she is determined to do whatever it takes to keep her family's shameful past at bay. Then the dream that began with Cora comes full circle with her beloved granddaughter Parris whose melodic voice fills the dimly lit nightclubs of New York City. Yet, when tragedy strikes, opening a door to the past, Parris discovers the hidden truths that have ripped the family apart---but which may ultimately bind them together at last.
From the dusty roads of the Delta to the pulsing metropolis of New York City, Rhythms is a rich, unforgettable tale about loss and healing, redemption and love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran romance writer Hill's first book for a major house (after If I Could, etc.) is a rambling, uneven saga of three generations of African-American women burdened by secrets and lies. One-dimensional characters, a leaden writing style and shopworn plot devices trivialize the tale. Opening in the late 1920s and set in rural Mississippi in "the colored section of Rudell," the story features pretty 17-year-old Cora Harvey, a preacher's daughter and talented member of the church choir. When Cora heads for Chicago with singing aspirations she leaves behind her suitor, David Mackey, the only African-American doctor in town. A devastating encounter with a white employer spoils Cora's dream. She returns to Mississippi and marries David, without revealing the appalling truth about her flight from Chicago. Predictably, the couple's happiness is all too brief: the birth of Emma, a daughter with unquestionably white features, leaves David feeling betrayed and destroys the marriage. Hill sacrifices what might have been a fascinating exploration of Cora's struggles to bring up a mixed-race daughter in a tightly knit black community in favor of fast-forwarding 18 years. That's when a willful Emma plots her escape to New York City, where she passes for white and soon meets her wealthy young husband-to-be. Years race by again and Emma's estranged daughter, Parris, is seeking romance, a musical career in New York and the truth about her heritage. Careful editing would have improved much of the flabby prose ("The September sun hung like a blazing orange umbrella"), but it's the thinly drawn characters that sap the novel's vitality, and only Hill's fans will have stamina for the long haul.
