Africa, Liberia, home to ex-slaves, possible paradise so long ago; it was an unbelievable opportunity to return home, the land of ancestors, and build a life without chains. This story appeals to the dreams of many. It is about family and it is about survival.
In Helene Cooper’s novel, The House at Sugar Beach, this is the life we explore. What a great opportunity! To have returned to Africa all those years ago, to really be able to say, “I am African,” and to rise above the psychological trauma of slavery, was a part of the utopia. Unfortunately, Cooper is able to give the reader a taste of reality. If only it had come true in all ways, a return to culture and the language. We learn the good and the bad. The ex-slaves returned to Africa and took with them what they had learned about class and the accumulation of material wealth.
The House of Sugar Beach is far from sweet. Yet, Cooper grabs and holds your attention as the youthful characters expose the tender playfulness of children as they build friendships across the jagged edges of class differences. At the same time, she exposes the extravagance of wealth and the tragic consequences of superior attitudes and unfair social practices.
Political unrest is violent and destructive, bloody and cruel; women are extremely vulnerable and must defend themselves and their children. The story shows us various family structures and struggles; it shows confrontations and damage when citizens and state officials clash; and it becomes a story of immigrants.
by Bacchus
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