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“If you have gold, you’re good for the rest of your life so long as you hide it.”

Three generations of women are brought to life on these pages, a strangely hopeful tale of family, class structures, and solace — as each woman’s life, and experiences, indelibly affects the others— as they search for their place in a world experienced by each as radically different.

First, we meet Grandmother Sabe, still traumatized from the echo of a childhood burned by the bombings of the 1921’s race riots. Sabe, comforted by her long-time partner, the gentle Po’Boy, carries scars, a deep and abiding focus on survival, and a desperate love for her daughter, Iris and granddaughter, Melody.

Iris, pregnant at fifteen, always in motion, is uncomfortable in her own skin, seeking something more she’s not at all sure of – a search made even more frantic when she’s confronted with the urgent needs of her newborn daughter Melody.

“She felt red at the bone —like there was something inside of her undone and bleeding.”

And finally, Melody herself, who we first identify as a sixteen-year old Daddy’s girl, seemingly secure, befriended and confident, who is soon revealed to be anything but.

As each women tells her story, back and forth through time, and across multiple locations, the author weaves a theme about gold, about burying it, both metaphorically and physically, in a world which is not safe, will never be truly safe, and for which one must prepare for.

A book club read that is sure to generate much discussion, this is a fascinating character study which also serves up historical references — most of them horrifying — about the times we live in, and have lived in, (and may live again) and how close to the surface all of those happenings remain.