The Darkest Child

The Darkest Child was selected for a third time as March 2020 Book of the Month.

We did not meet this month due to moderator illness and most likely the next few monthly meetings will be virtual and/or online discussions due to the shelter in-place mandates. Hopefully, we’ll adapt to a ‘new normal’ or return to some form of normalcy in the aftermath of COVID-19 – we’ll just take it one day/month at a time. In the meantime -- Please Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and Stay Home (as much as possible).

Our Thoughts

• Vanessa, Our Moderator: 5. A well written story that kept me on an emotional rollercoaster- even after reading it a second time.

• Davita: 3. It is a very descriptive book with injustice and sadness.

• Phyllis read the book years ago and wrote at review at that time with a 4 rating. I did not re-read it for this meeting, so my comments are based on my first impressions from 2004. I recall being really impressed with her writing skill (considering she worked in the medical field (a nurse, I believe)) and thought she delivered an outstanding debut which was inspired by a poem she wrote. The character development was solid, the story’s theme was compelling (a young girl wanting an education, yearning for better – I was rooting for Tangy from the beginning). While fictionalized and at times overly dramatic, there were elements of realness – unfortunately and frequently, messed-up stuff like this does happen (to children). Even now, 16 years later, Rozelle still resonates with me as one of the most haunting, cruel/abusive (physically, emotionally, and mentally) mothers in literature I’ve encountered.

2020 Group Rating: 4

Previous Group Assessments:

Three years ago in May 2017, the group rating was 3.5, whereas in April 2005, the group rating was 4.4.

Maedean was the original moderator in 2005 and after our internal discussion arranged a wonderful phone interview with the author, Delores Phillips. This proved to be a treat to speak with her about the book and the planned sequel that fans were clamoring to read. Unfortunately, she transitioned in 2014 without completing the follow-up novel, so the fate of Tangy Mae and the Quinn Tribe remain in the readers’ hearts and imaginations.

It has proved to be a polarizing book with a couple members passing on it due to the act of infanticide and the pervasive aspects of (child) abuse.

So far, I received input from Vanessa and Davita. If I missed anyone’s ratings or outtakes, please let me know and I’ll update accordingly.

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FYI - Phyllis’s Amazon Review is located here. For those who can’t access it, it’s included below:

The Darkest Child is a powerful debut from Delores Phillips; one so strong, I think she should earn a nomination for "rookie author of the year," if such a category in literature exists. It is a harrowing saga set in the late 1950's in rural Georgia and narrated by a teenaged Tangy Mae Quinn. Tangy is child number seven from Rozelle (Rosie) Quinn, a beautiful woman who has slept with most of the men in the town resulting in marriage to no one and ten fatherless children by as many men. Rosie exhibits selfish, erratic behavior leading the reader to believe she is a paranoid schizophrenic, although she is never diagnosed as such in the novel. Rosie rules the household with an iron fist (and an occasional iron poker) and is mean-spirited and merciless. Partially because of her mental condition, Rosie brainwashes the children with biblical references to "Honor Thy Mother" which burdens them with an obligation to forfeit all earnings to Rosie and never abandon her.

Although Tangy is the lead storyteller, there are numerous characters with much drama of their own and a subplot surrounding the Civil Rights struggle and school integration. Phillips also adds the classic theme of "colorism", in which the options of dark-skinned women in a color-conscious, male-dominated society are limited; however in this novel, Tangy tries to overcome it via education. There are tantalizing family secrets and vivid descriptions of child abuse which elicits reader empathy for the characters. I felt the characters' pain as they struggled with suppressed anger/frustrations from the domestic situation with a manipulative, mad mother as well as the social situation regarding second-class citizenry in the segregated South.

This is a really good book if you like to read about African American family and women's issues and struggles. However, I thought it could have been a great book if the cause of Rosie's dementia was revealed and had more closure on the outcome of key characters. Perhaps a sequel is forthcoming....if so, I would love to read it.