The Healing

Have you ever found yourself thinking about certain characters after finishing a book? This is what happened to me after reading Jonathan Odell’s THE HEALING (Feburary 2012). I absolutely fell in love with the characters. THE HEALING is a powerful, superbly written, character-driven novel about slavery in the South. It takes place just before the Civil War in Mississippi on a plantation of 4,000 acres run by over 300 slaves. Although The Healing has many well-developed characters, both major and minor, it focuses mainly on two women. The narrator, Granada, was born on this plantation and (for reasons revealed in the story) raised by the Master’s wife. She doesn’t know who her birth mother is and sees herself as a motherless child with dark skin living alongside the well-to-do white Master’s family. Granada's struggles with knowing where she belongs are further complicated when a witch doctor, Polly, arrives. A widespread illness has crippled the plantation and the Master is willing to do whatever it takes to save his slaves—including honoring Polly’s request to release Granada into her care. Granada joins Polly and begins her journey of self-discovery and healing. This is just the tip of the iceberg. THE HEALING is such a rich novel—in character development, writing, wisdom, and storytelling. Jonathan Odell is a very gifted writer. Every word is written intentionally and with purpose. His poetric prose grabs you and doesn’t let go. For example, here is an excerpt from when Granada first sees Polly: “The stranger was reddish brown with pointed cheekbones and amber eyes. Bird feathers stuck out of her braids this way and that, and around her neck she wore a ponderous necklace made of gleaming white shells. She was as skinny as a river bird, and draped over her shoulders was a mangy wrap made from the fur of some animal Granada imagined being too ugly to ever have lived." (69) I couldn’t wait to finish this book but I didn’t want it to end. If you are looking for a good spring or summer read, be sure to get a copy of THE HEALING. Granada, Polly, and the many other characters are sure to remain in your heart as they have in mine.

The Healing