No Other Tale to Tell: A Novel - Hardcover

Perry, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688115950 ISBN 13: 9780688115951

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1994

Synopsis

In the 1960s, the once rich oral heritage among the black citizens of Kingston, New York, has diminished to become mere rumors about fire and death centering around Carla March, who trusts no one until Miles comes to town.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Perry teaches literature and writing at Pratt Institute.

Reviews

Set in 1966 in the small city of Kingston, N.Y., Perry's somber tale frames the history of the burg's black community around the experiences of Carla March, a single mother in her early 40s who's haunted by a tragic incident from the past. As the story opens, Carla begins an affair with Miles Jackson, who's passing through town while trying to recover from a bad divorce. When the lovers quarrel and Carla drives Miles off, the narrative shifts into an extended flashback about Carla's dark relationship with her adopted brother Max, a white foundling who becomes a popular preacher and plays a mysterious role in a fire that burns the family's house to the ground. Perry ( Montgomery's Children ) has many strengths: a talent for deeply rendered and authentic characterization, a fine feel for black life in a small city and a clearly heartfelt love of storytelling. He's at his best when exploring Carla's reluctance to let go of her past and when choreographing the timeless lover's tango between Miles and Carla. Less successful is his use of symbols from dreams and myths to portray the collective psyche of the community, a stylistic trait that recalls Toni Morrison to the point of being derivative. While the narrative flow is sometimes disjointed, the disturbing story of Carla March presents a memorable protagonist and effectively documents the experiences of blacks in a rarely observed corner of America.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Murky mysticism meets historical saga in a lyrically written but fragmented account of a storyteller's attempt to unearth and overcome the buried history of her black family and its hometown, sleepy Kingston, NY. In 1966, Carla March has spent half her life waiting for her beloved Max to return to Kingston. When Miles, a light-footed, smooth-talking golf caddie, breezes through town, she briefly chooses love over brooding before talking herself out of it, driving him away, and resuming her futile vigil. Carla soon realizes that memory lane is the route to happiness, so she recounts the traumatic past of her town and family. The convoluted history begins with the fiery riots that followed a 1924 lynching in Kingston; in the riots' aftermath, Carla's parents adopt an abandoned white infant, Max, whom they revere as God's prophet and raise to be a heretical preacher. Shortly after teenage Carla gives birth to his retarded mulatto son, Max burns down the family home, killing two siblings and scarring Carla, then disappears. Expecting that the equalizing forces of nature will counter tragedy, Carla begins her wait. Meanwhile, Junkman, the mute son of the lynched man, indulges in a one-night stand with Carla's friend Lucinda and is unjustly thrown in jail for rape. In a dissatisfying and inconsistent conclusion, the characters' gnarled lives are straightened out with sappy emotions and forced happy endings: Junkman realizes whom he really loves, and friends help ease Carla's violent grieving, from which she ultimately recovers to claim a new life. Perry (Montgomery's Children, 1983) comes up with some tender, satisfying bits and pieces, but her sugarcoated ending doesn't make this story any easier to swallow. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

At the heart of this novel is 44-year-old Carla March, a beautiful black woman. Carla has suffered great personal losses and has isolated herself from the rest of the world. When Miles enters Carla's life, looking for love and companionship, she is forced to deal with her past traumas. This novel is brooding and haunting yet emotionally insightful. The characters are colorful, and Perry skillfully uses imagery to draw readers into the story. And what a story it is-of life and death, love and sex, black history and change, secrets and healing. Readers will enjoy this tale, which is set in Kingston, New York, in the 1960s, with flashbacks to the 1940s, when the black residents of Kingston suddenly had no stories to tell. Perry's novels include Changes (LJ 6/1/74) and Montgomery's Children (LJ 12/83). Recommended for general collections.
Angela Washington-Blair, Dallas
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688115950
• ISBN 13: 9780688115951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 315