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Bookclub: "Gabriel's Story"
Presented by Jabari Asim
Children's Book Editor, Book World
Thursday, Dec. 19, 2000; Noon ET
Welcome to the online meeting of The Washington Post Book Club, a monthly program presented by the editors and writers of Washington Post Book World. Children's Book World Editor Jabari Asim will be leading the discussion on this month's selection, David Anthony Durham's "Gabriel's Story." Read Asim's review of the book.
Jabari Asim is the children's book editor of The Washington Post's Book World and author of a new novel for young readers. Asim says he grew up reading "widely and unpredictably" across genres: he loved Dr. Seuss, The Call of the Wild, Nancy Drew mysteries inherited from an older sister, and stacks of comic books, especially the "super-hero-in-tights" variety.
He also wrote The Road to Freedom, a novel for young readers about a 10-year-old boy named Ezra set in the post-Civil War South. Ezra and his father, both former slaves, seek to establish themselves after emancipation as they search for Ezra's mother, who disappeared when he was a baby.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Jabari Asim: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to our discussion of Gabriel's story. I've become an enthusiastic admirer of David Anthony Durham's work, having since read and admired his second novel, Walk Through Darkness. Durham seems to have chosen a different road for himself, digging up compelling stories from the past and making them relevant to a new generation of readers. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Mr. Asim: Some things I esp. liked: the tight plot (the counterpoint narrative in italics), the bildungsroman adventure (a once-tough boy sobbing in his mom's arms at end), the historical Kansas setting (Hiram may have gone thru my hometown--est. 1867-- looking for Gabriel west of Ellsworth), the many fascinating characters (Marshall, Eliza, the Scot, the fine Mexican family), the beautiful writing ("tangerine" sunsets, the deer caught like Absalom in the thicket near the Sangre de Cristo).... Comments?
Also, in spite of his brutality and crudeness, didn't you find Marshall somewhat redeeming (esp. his bluster, his wit, his homespun theology, his sense of fairplay)? Thanks.
Jabari Asim: Hello, Lenexa. On behalf of my Book World colleagues, I'd like to offer a hearty thanks for the lovely holiday greeting card. You have identified many of the things that I also admired about Gabriel's Story. The plot came together rather tidily at the end but quite frankly I liked that. Often when you encounter characters as richly drawn as these, the plot tends to be a bit on the skimpy side. Part of the appeal for me was trying to figure out exactly how Durham was going to bring all these disparate personalities together.
I too found Marshall fascinating although I'm hesitant to grant him even a small degree of redemption. It's true that he stepped in and saved Gabriel's hide and he did seem to be motivated by his own peculiar sense of cosmic justice (and yet he had the nerve to accuse Gabriel of self-righteousness!), but he also was gleefully sadistic. It's often said that villains are the most interesting characters, and Marshall is a credible defense of that observation.
Vienna, Va.:
What age is this book for?
Jabari Asim: The book was written for adults but I think it works just as well for teens. I heartily recommended it to my 19-year-old son with good results. One of our Book World reviewers who teaches at DeMatha High School, is using it in his classes there.
Crofton, Md.:
Mr. Asim, You picked a fine novel for December. It reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" and Huck Finn, a picaresque delight.
I was saddened to read of the brutal ending
but it did ring true. Would the novel have
been better if Gabriel had got hold of the
gun (as Durham clearly wanted him to) and
shot Marshall?
Jabari Asim: Yes, many readers have mentioned the similarity to McCarthy in particular. I've yet to read his famous trilogy, although it occupies a prominent space on my shelves. For reasons unknown to me I've always been hesitant to read much fiction set in the West. Durham, to his credit, is helping me to overcome that. Re the ending, I don't know if the alternative you suggest would have been better, but I must say I never believed it would end that way. For a long time I suspected that Gabriel's younger brother Ben would fire the shot that did Marshall in. I thought the author was setting us up for that with his passages about Ben's development into a crack shot. I appreciated Caleb taking the shot, however. I thought it gave the climax a certain awful symmetry.
Annapolis, Md.:
I vowed to put the book down at 11 pm on Tues only to read the part where they tell the brother that they are the second to ask about Gabriel's family. Needless to say, I put off the sleep.
Some thoughts. While the book discussed issues about race, I thought that it was not primarily about race until the end of the story when you know that Marshall is the brother to Caleb. At that point you almost need to reread the book to understand all the implications. What are your thoughts?
Jabari Asim: It's true that re-reading it brings out some themes in greater relief, which I think arises from Durham's choosing to make his points subtly--almost incidentally--instead of beating readers over the head with them. I took much of his writing about the Scot's background to be a veiled comment about race, a way of suggesting that suffering and oppression are not unique to any culture's experiences but seem to be an enduring and woeful constant in the human condition. I may be reading too much into it but I also took Caleb's muteness to show that he had less freedom to express his frustration than did someone like Marshall. Marshall and Caleb shared many similarities but there were fundamental differences as well that seemed to stem from race.
Arlington, Va.:
Would you recommend any other books by the same author?
Jabari Asim: I had the privilege of reviewing Durham's second novel, "Walk Through Darkness," for the Post. It is many respects less subtle than "Gabriel's Story," but an equally compelling story in its own right. It's another meditation on history told in duelling plot lines, rendered in Durham's shamelessly rich prose.
Durham recently won a Legacy Award for best debut novel in annual competition sponsored by the Hurston-Wright Foundation, for which I served as a judge. I was on hand to witness his remarks at the awards ceremony but have yet to hear him read from his work. I'll get my chance when he appears in Washington at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Jan. 24 as part of the PEN/Faulkner reading series. Interested readers can get more info at penfaulkner.org or by calling 202-544-7077.
Crofton, Md.:
Gabriel was such a strong character! Did he get his strength from the fact that his fmily felt comfortable being black in a white racist society?
Jabari Asim: You raise an interesting point. Gabriel's middle-class background did seem to have an impact on his thinking, which Durham presents in contrast to the philosophy of Gabriel's friend James, who is not from a middle-class background.
James came to Kansas with the legendary Pap Singleton, a real-life figure largely responsible for the migration of African-Americans to Kansas. More on the Exoduster movement to which Durham alludes can be found in Pearl Cleage's excellent play "Flyin' West" and in Exodusters, a fine study by the eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter.
Somewhere, USA:
Do you think this is a timely selection given the recent debate over Lott's remarks on segregation?
Jabari Asim: I suppose so, although I'm doubtful that reading this book or any other could do much to reform Lott's outdated thinking. I've often written on segregation in American literature and don't want to belabor the point here, except to say that Durham's books in most bookstores are confined to the African-American section, where a lot of his potential readers are not likely to wander. Both of his novels address the Scottish experience, among other topics. He lives in Scotland part of the year and is married to a Scottish woman, which of course probably would not have happened if Strom Thurmond (shudder) had been elected president in 1948.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Thank you. Welcome! Most people abhor racism and reading the William Tell account reminded me of some things Vonnegut wrote about: the "Artful Dodger" carnival game where some poor guy is conked dizzy by rednecks throwing baseballs. He also tells of a man sawed in half over the top strand of a barbed-wire. Of course, the worse the many lynchings cutting down--often young people--before they even had a chance to live. I was even thinking of Baltimore (contrasted postively here) was the site of Contee Cullen's ruined boyhood visit.
Durham presented it well--approaching people with caps in hands, heads down, didn't he? Also, just for fun, an easy one: What American writer actually killed his second wife playing William Tell at a party? Thanks.
Jabari Asim: Good point. Some readers have also pointed out that the passage in which Marshall encourages James and Gabriel to fight each other echoes the Battle Royal scene in Ellison's Invisible Man. Quite a few good books on lynching have come out in the past two years, including books by James Hirsch, James H. Madison and Philip Dray. The most effective for me is Without Sanctuary by Twin Palms Publishers.
Re the William Tell question, could it be my fellow St. Louisan William Burroughs?
washingtonpost.com:
Read the review of Gabriel's Story by David Anthony Durham.
Jabari Asim: For anyone just joining us or who hasn't had a chance to get up to speed on "Gabriel's Story," you can check out our review online.
Lenexa, Kan.:
It was Burroughs although I suppose the author of "Naked Lunch" having been married to two women is something of a red herring.
St. Louis (loved Musial as a boy listening on the old Philco). Burroughs, of course, ended up in Lawrence. You mentioned Parks and Hughes. Both also had Kansas ties--Hughes lived in Lawrence for a dozen years growing up and Parks was born in Ft. Scott I think. Looking forward to your next selection. Do you basically have one picked? Don't have to give it away, of course. Thanks.
Jabari Asim: It's probably no surprise that Langston Hughes is one of my patron saints. He wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"--one of my favorite poems by him--while sitting on a train outside St. Louis. I have no idea what my next selection will be. It's always a challenge because there really is a lot of good stuff out there that deserves wider attention.
Washington, D.C.:
Didn't read this book, but wondered if you had any recommendations for books to read over the holiday?
Jabari Asim: The last good books I read were The Winter Queen by Jane Stevenson and This Side of Sky by Elyse Singleton, both novels that would make fine holiday reading.
As usual, the hour has gone by quickly and it's time for me to sign off. I want to thank everyone who participated and wish you all a happy holiday. Cheers!
washingtonpost.com:
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