February’s frigid windy snowstorms provided my perfect excuse to wrap up, hunker down and dive into a long neglected pile of to be read titles. I chose books from the middle that could not have been more diverse. Yet after reading them both, theme threads crossed and linked tales of strong characters who both endured the indignity and injustice of prejudice.
In her novel “The Frozen River”, author Ariel Lawhon borrows pages from the diary of real life 18th century midwife Martha Ballard to shine an historical spotlight on the plight of violated women who had no rights or route to justice. The suspected murder of a man accused of rape, and the acquittal of his high society accomplice, fan the flames of gender prejudice in small town Maine mere years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Martha defends her friend who must carry and birth the child that was violently forced upon her. She refuses to accept anything less than the truth that could cost more than she can bear.
Fast forward to present day USA and the impossible dream of a classical violinist who happens to be Black. Ray McMillian endures sneers and slammed doors for the love of his music. His Grandma Nora gives her grandson a fiddle that she got from her grandfather PopPop, a slave freed as reward for the music he played for his ruthless owner’s pleasure. No one saw the value of the beat up violin in an alligator skin case with a broken handle until expert repair and appraisal uncovered a rare Stradivarius. The $10 million instrument is stolen days before the opening round of the Tchaikovsky Competition, the Olympics of classical music. Blatant racism binds with the primary plot line, its importance in Ray’s life at times overpowering his desperate search and desire to recover what has been taken away.
“The Violin Conspiracy” is a lesson in the rewards and perils of possessing the priceless.
“The Frozen River” focuses dogged determination for justice against unforgiving odds.
