In keeping
with my intention to periodically spotlight an author whose work touches me,
this month, I’d like to tout a particular novel, The Last Blue. Above all, it’s a superb love story, literate
without being kiss-of-death literary.
Of course, it is literary in form, use of exquisite language, and heft.
Emphatically, it is not a Harlequin
Romance or anything else in that formulaic genre. It is rich in characters with character, intricate plot, and
exuberant, eloquent descriptions of Eastern Kentucky wilderness. I found myself
pulling for Havens and Jubilee, the story’s protagonists, teared up at the
conclusion.
That said,
underlying this patiently and credibly developed love story is a deeply weighed
examination of prejudice against human difference. In this case, the rejected
are blue-skinned people. That’s right, blue.
There is a genetic condition, met-hemoglobinemia, in which, due to a lack of a
catalytic substance in the blood, the person’s skin is blue. This is not science fiction. Though it can be fatal,
there are variants that are treatable. The person can not only live, but live
with normally complected skin between treatments.
The author,
Isla Morley, grew up in apartheid
South Africa, extensively affected by the violence surrounding racial prejudice.
The Last Blue was her attempt to
explore the inanity of prejudice of any kind. Somewhere in the mix, an element
of ignorance, especially willful
ignorance, seems indispensable for prejudice, destructive as it is in any form,
to become violently toxic. How many of us have heard someone utter a variation
of “I don’t care if a person is black, brown or green?” (Why do I, at those
moments, suspect I’m listening to a denied prejudice? Isn’t that how it becomes
rooted? By starting with denial?) Well, what about blue?
In the 1930’s,
FDR dispatched artists (in Morley’s story, a writer and a photographer) to
Appalachia to capture and comment on the extreme poverty and deprivation of its
people. To his credit, FDR was trying to keep artists employed, in an effort to
keep art alive. He recognized its potential for spiritual uplift during the
Depression.
Morley
stumbled upon these historical facts serendipitously, but then, used them to
create a heart-wrenching, heart-expanding story. The tale moves between 1937 and
1972, and after reading the book, I also view Morley as a master weaver who
left no threads dangling at the conclusion.
For a spirit-dilating reading experience, I recommend The Last Blue. Available on Amazon.com.
