Wild Embers

Reporting to duty when the bombing of Pearl Harbor lifts the U.S. War Department's prohibition against black nurses, Janelle Taylor begins an adventure that draws in her rebellious brother and a black fighter pilot. By the author of Black Gold. 20,000 first printing. Tour.

The role of African Americans in the WWII military is the focus of this uneven novel by the author of Black Gold. In 1943, Janelle Roy, a nurse in Columbus, Ohio, is falsely blamed for the death of a wealthy white patient. Slandered by the dead woman's sister, she is represented by white NAACP lawyer Dalton Graham, who clears her name but abruptly breaks off their budding romance. Humiliated and unable to secure work, Janelle is accepted as an Army nurse (there is a quota for "colored" personnel) and heads to Tuskeegee, Ala., a base for training black pilots, who are segregated even in the military. En route, she meets sexy black pilot Lance Fuller. They eventually fall in love, but Lance is ordered into combat before he can reveal an important secret that may threaten their relationship. Each then suffers a traumatic accident that jeopardizes their plans for the future. A secondary plot concerns Janelle's brother Perry, a headstrong, idealistic agitator for civil rights whose resentment of racial prejudice leads to violence and tragedy. Bunkley is best depicting her characters' refreshing ambivalence about interracial relationships and civil rights protests. The novel's pace is slowed, however, by a distracting number of minor characters and stilted romantic dialogue, and Bunkley provides a frothy ending that runs counter to her otherwise realistic depiction of the lives of black people in the 1940s. Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This World War II story has many ups and downs. In Columbus, Georgia, Janelle Taylor, a young nurse with lofty ambitions and a knack for re-creating her upbringing, finds herself in the midst of a scandal. The scandal coincides with the military's removal of the ban on racial barriers. She opts to make a fresh start by enlisting in the army as a military nurse stationed in Tuskegee, Alabama. Taylor continually finds herself ecstatic over one event only to be shattered by another. Her relationships with the men in her life--brother, Perry; attorney, Dalton; and lover, Lance--provide an intricate weave of romance, anger, and disbelief. During the war, her relationships are forever changed: she loses her brother, finds the greatest love of her life, and manages to assist the NAACP in integrating the local segregated manufacturer. Not only is Wild Embers the charming place that Lance calls home, but it is also a story about the quicksilver nature of emotions, memories, and responses of a life evolving. Lillian Lewis