AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY by Christina Meldrum is a
contemporary historical fiction set in 1970's Michigan and
Africa. Written in a series of flashbacks from the past to
the present and in the voices of each of the members of the
Slepy family, it intertwines past history with present.
This is the story of Dick Slepy's obsession, of his wife
Seena, and his three eldest daughters, Mary Grace, Mary
Catherine, and Mary Tessa. Dick suspects his wife of having
an affair, especially after the birth of their fourth
daughter, Amaryllis, a child born suddenly while her mother
was picking blueberries (thus the title of the book) and
bears no resemblance to anyone else in the family. In an
effort to prevent himself from murdering the man he
suspects as being the father of Amaryllis, Dick packs up
the family and heads off to become a medical missionary in
West Africa, only to find that his past and present history
has followed him into the wilderness where tragedy and
heartache awaits the entire family.
This is a complicated story of family intrigue. Meldrum
spins a compelling story that has aspects of adultery,
forgiveness, redemption, murder, faith, acceptance,
sacrifice, and love. Incorporating the various voices of
the daughters, the mother and the father, Meldrum gives
each character a chance to share their point of view in
regards to the difficult situations the family encounters
as she guides the tale towards the surprising ending.
Although at times, I personally felt like I needed a
scorecard to keep track of everyone, especially all the
Marys, and the story is decidedly dark and rather haunting,
AMARYLLIS IN BLUEBERRY was an interesting look into the
traditions and cultures of an unfamiliar society.
In the stirring tradition of The Secret Life of Bees and
The Poisonwood Bible, Amaryllis in Blueberry explores the
complexity of human relationships set against an
unforgettable backdrop. Told through the haunting voices
of Dick and Seena Slepy and their four daughters,
Christina Meldrumrs"s soulful novel weaves together the
past and the present of a family harmed-and healed-by
buried secrets.
"Maybe, unlike hope, truth couldn't be contained in a
jar. . . ."
Meet the Slepys: Dick, the stern doctor, the naive
husband, a man devoted to both facts and faith; Seena, the
storyteller, the restless wife, a mother of four, a lover
of myth. And their children, the Marys: Mary Grace, the
devastating beauty; Mary Tessa, the insistent inquisitor;
Mary Catherine, the saintly, lost soul; and finally,
Amaryllis, Seenar's unspoken favorite, born with the
mystifying ability to sense the future, touch the past,
and distinguish the truth tellers from the most convincing
liar of all.
When Dick insists his family move from Michigan to the
unfamiliar world of Africa for missionary work, he canrs"t
possibly foresee how this new land and its people will
entrance and change his daughters-and himself-forever. Nor
can he predict how Africa will spur his wife Seena toward
an old but unforgotten obsession. In fact, Seena may be
falling into a trance of her own. . . .
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