In the pre-Civil War South, Master Ben Satterfield's plantation has been ravaged by cholera. He refused to have his daughter treated for a "slave disease," so she died, and his opium-addicted wife, Amanda, will make him pay for this for the rest of his life. On the day her daughter dies, she takes a newborn slave from her mother, names the girl Granada and keeps her as another pet (alongside a monkey named Daniel Webster).
For $5,000, Master Ben buys a woman named Polly Shine, reputed to be a healer. Polly is a force of nature, who singles out Granada to live with her in the "hospital" Ben has built, insisting that the young girl has "the gift." Granada doesn't want any part of Polly or her hospital, being perfectly happy to dress in silk and enjoy special privileges. Her wishes are not considered; she becomes Polly's shadow, learning to keep still, watch and listen.
Granada, 70 years later, is Gran Gran, recounting past history to calm an abandoned child who has been brought to her care. Gran Gran recalls the influence Polly had on the plantation and its occupants. She does, indeed, heal bodies and souls; insists on improved housing and diet for the slaves; and aids at the births of more "stock" for Master Ben. That isn't all she does, though, and the way she accomplishes her ends is at once horrifying, compelling and too clever for words.
Jonathan Odell finds the right words, using the language of the day, its idiom and its music to great advantage in a compelling work that can stand up to The Help in the pantheon of Southern literature. --Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Ore.