There's a particular reading pleasure which comes from getting lost in a great family saga and “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” certainly counts as one of the greatest. Part of the resonance of this form of writing comes from the question: how much can we ever know about the lives of generations who've proceeded us? There are unique challenges associated with African American genealogy due to the slave practices of the Antebellum South and North which resulted in a lack of birth or death records, name changes and a conscious erasure of family histories. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers' triumphant debut is in part about directly facing this struggle as the story's protagonist Ailey grows up to be a student researching Indigenous, Black and White generations past who've inhabited the small town of Chicasetta, Georgia. This is her own family and her study is a process of gathering tales and uncovering the truth about the betrayals, triumphs and savvy reinvention individuals from the past experienced while enduring the injustices of the past. Scenes from previous generations are interspersed with Ailey's coming of age tale in a way which shows how the past bleeds into the present. This novel gives an entirely new view of history while also telling an exquisitely detailed, enthralling, inventive and utterly immersive story.
The novel engages seriously with the ideas of the great sociologist and historian W.E.B. Du Bois, but the reader doesn't need to be aware of his work to appreciate and enjoy Jeffers' story. However, it does help and add to the meaning of the book to understand his concept of double consciousness in subordinated or colonized groups. Du Bois himself plays a small part in the novel through anecdotes told to Ailey. This serves as a remind that seminal figures such as Du Bois were only human despite their significant contribution to society. In fact, Jeffers' story is a critique as well as a tribute to Du Bois as she brings a more modern and feminist perspective to his important concepts. Similarly, Jeffers takes to task the way the past is perceived and interpreted by current academia and at historic sites. There's a dark humour as well as a rigorous seriousness to the way in which the author takes to task the way African American history can be wilfully misrepresented and dangerously disassociated from issues to do with racism today. But Jeffers shows in her story that reckoning with the past doesn't mean that we need to be trammelled by guilt as we proceed into the future. As the character of Uncle Root states: “The truth can be both horrible and lovely at the same time... It's important to know what the truth is even if you only say it to yourself.”
There's a tremendous momentum to the novel which is built over hundreds of pages as the past is revealed alongside Ailey's discovery of it. Though I know many people are hesitant to read a book that's so long its length does feel necessary to show the full complexity of this epic tale. There are many surprising twists which develop over the generations as well as in Ailey's own immediate tale – especially to do with her relationship with her two sisters and the secret they share between them. It's meaningful how Jeffers shows that though the same trauma might occur for multiple people it will inevitably affect them all differently as everyone has their own methods of dealing with it. The way this plays out in the story is so insightful and meaningful. At the same time, this tale is infused with such warmheartedness and humour. I found certain scenes so endearing such as when Ailey drinks too much orange juice before going to church and then struggles to sit still as she needs the toilet, but the ladies around her assume that her fidgeting means she's possessed by the spirit. Similarly, it's amusing how disappointed she is at being given a first edition of “The Souls of Black Folks” for her teenage birthday. It's only natural a teen would rather receive anything other than a dusty old book for her birthday, but it's touching knowing how it will go on to inspire her. Similarly, I hope the importance of Jeffers' novel is something we will continue to recognize in the years to come.
