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Clothesline Blues by B. Berry
on March 3, 2015
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 342 pages
When Hilda's love for Frank wanes and finally fades to dust, she becomes desperate to get rid of him, but she can think of only one way to escape the brute of a man. She devises a plan and with the help of her best friend Pearl, they pull off the impossible. In 1965, on the fringes of the Jim Crow days and the building tension of Bloody Sunday swirling around in the background, their world is turned upside down as secrets, lies and even murder tumble out, threatening the very lives they've worked so hard to change. Will these two women find the peace they so desperately seek?
Clothesline Blues by B. Berry is a story that centers on how far two women are willing to go to find their versions of happiness. There are also circumstances that land the two of them right in the middle of a conflict going on between the blacks and whites in the south during the turbulent era of the sixties.
Hilda’s life seemed perfect. She is well-educated, an elementary school teacher, owns her own home and was madly in love. But with all things time has a way of putting things into perspective and causing people to show their true colors. After twelve years of living with her common law husband Frank, Hilda comes to realize that the man she fell in love with has changed, for the worse. Frank barely acknowledges her anymore unless it is to raise his hand at her or to boss her around. Hilda then turns to a lover, Claude. Claude is there to fill the void left in her heart, he promises Hilda the moon and the stars and wants her all to himself, but how can this happen when she is still involved with Frank?
Hilda confides in her best friend Pearl during their secret rendezvous at the clothesline that separates both their houses. Hilda and Pearl are both unhappy with their current lot in life and use their time together to plan their next moves. These meetings cause Hilda and Pearl to become fast friends and loyal to the very end. Especially when things start to spiral out of control and their families are threatened, their friendship becomes even stronger and nothing or no one will get in their way!
Clothesline by B. Berry All was an enjoyable read that had me guessing about the outcome until the very end. It left me sitting with my mouth hanging wide open in shock when I finally did finish. Hilda and Pearl were my favorite characters because they were so loyal to each other,the situations they got themselves into were not ideal and were downright criminal, but the reader still has the urge to root them on and hope for the best. I really liked the fact that the story ties in with the civil rights era and offers up some historical facts that some people may not of heard about. I would recommend this book as a must read!
Reviewed by: Billie Jo
