Book Talk: ‘Greenbrier’ is compelling tale of Civil War – Akron Beacon Journal
“Greenbrier,” a praiseworthy novel by Ravenna resident Jay Brackenrich, is rich in its description of its Virginia setting and of the senselessness and waste of the Civil War.
Rumelow Brajkovick is called “a little slow” by his harsh father, who hopes the characterization will deter the 14-year-old Austrian boy from being called up to serve in Franz Joseph I’s war. Rumelow knows little except how to care for horses, but at this he is exceptional.
Rumelow’s father scrapes together every coin to send Rumelow and his brother to America under assumed names, in the most appalling of conditions on a cargo ship. Only Rumelow arrives in Norfolk.
Fairlea is the finest farm in the Greenbrier Valley, owned by Dan Hedrick and his bride Eliza, the fairest flower of Norfolk. With her comes a complete service of Wedgwood china and the envy of every woman in the county. Their two sons, Trace and Connard, grow up with all the young people in the community, the girls eyeing Trace and his eventual inheritance of Fairlea and the Wedgwood.
Meanwhile, Rumelow does nothing but work. He manages the livestock and saves every penny, having long ago envisioned a farm of his own. Connard, knowing he would not inherit Fairlea, is directionless. The young ladies work their embroidery and engage in petty, even vicious gossip about their marriage prospects with the young men who go off to West Point, training for a war that surely will never come.
The attitude toward Black people, enslaved and free, ranges from benevolence, as the local Quaker family work quietly to guide and shelter escapees on their way north, to indifference to a scene of the most deplorable violence. A tent revival minister is told he can not welcome Black worshippers: “No use to be mixin’ ‘em up here on Earth when you know sure as hell they ain’t gonna be mixed up in heaven.”
The Civil War theme of brother-against-brother is saved from cliché by Brackenrich’s understatement, with battle scenes focused on humanity instead of graphic violence.
Rumelow is a silent man, but the reader will find him heroic and determined. Some copy editing is needed to polish an otherwise outstanding effort.
“Greenbrier” (312 pages, softcover) costs $14 from online publishers. Jay Brackenrich is a native of Greenbrier County, in present-day West Virginia, and earned an MBA from the University of Akron.
Events
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Case Western Reserve University classics professor Rachel Hall Sternberg signs “The Ancient Greek Roots of Democracy,” 1 p.m. Sunday. At 2 p.m. Sunday, Liz Ferro signs her psychological thriller “Chameleon Girl.”
Hudson Library & Historical Society: Anthony M. Amore, director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, discusses “The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist,” about the Irish heiress with a Ph.D. in economics who stole valuable paintings as part of a 1974 Irish Republican Army plot, in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Monday, former Wall Street Journal fashion writer Sara Gay Forden talks about “The House of Gucci: Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed.” At 7 p.m. Thursday, actress Hayley Mills talks about “Forever Young: A Memoir” and her Hollywood career. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Parma-Snow branch, 2121 Snow Road): Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai discusses her debut novel “The Mountains Sing,” a multigenerational story which begins in 1920s Vietnam, from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday.
Cuyahoga Falls Public Library: Maine author Caitlin Wahrer talks about her debut legal thriller “The Damage” in a Zoom event from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogafallslibrary.org.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Ellet branch, 2470 E. Market St.): Martin Gitlin, author of “The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time,” offers trivia and history, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Canton Palace Theatre (605 Market Ave. N.): Cleveland Art Institute graduate Marc Brown, creator of the Arthur the Aardvark character, joins the Dr. Audrey Lavin Speaking of Books Series from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Masks are required. Register at starklibrary.org.
Cleveland Heights-University Heights Libraries: South Euclid author Abby Collette launches her Books & Biscuits mystery series with “Body and Soul Food,” and Cleveland author Stephanie Cole talks about “Crime of the Ancient Marinara,” second in her Tuscan Cooking School mystery series, in a virtual event from 7 to 8:30 Wednesday. Register at heightslibrary.org.
Cleveland Public Library: Fantasy and science fiction author Nnedi Okorafor, whose works include “Who Fears Death” and the Binti novella trilogy and have won Hugo, Nebula and Eisner awards, appears in a Zoom event as part of Maker Faire Cleveland 2001 at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cpl.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library: Martin Gitlin talks about “The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time” in a Zoom event from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Also Wednesday, from 7 to 8 p.m., Mary Higgins Clark Award winner (for 2016’s “The Lucky One”) talks about “Death at Greenway,” a suspense novel about a murder at Agatha Christie’s country estate during World War II. From 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Michael DeAloia discusses “Lost Department Stores of Cleveland.”
Chaiconnect.com: The South Asian women’s online social community’s book club is joined by Jyotsna “Jo” Sreenivasan, who will talk about “These Americans,” her collection of eight stories and a novella, and answer questions, 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Register at chaiconnect.org/bookclub.
Celia’s Boutique (2210 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls): Mary Jackson Meyer of Silver Lake signs her comic mystery “Lyla’s Encore,” 1 p.m. Saturday.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (Green branch, 4046 Massillon Road, Green): Jane Blasio discusses “Taken at Birth: Stolen Babies, Hidden Lies, and My Journey to Finding Home and the Hicks Clinic in McCaysville, Georgia,” 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.