Sweetsmoke
By David Fuller
(Hyperion, Paperback, 9781401310059, 336pp.)
Publication Date: September 2009
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover
Categories: Historical - General
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The year is 1862, and the Civil War rages through the South. On a Virginia tobacco plantation, another kind of battle soon begins.
"A fascinating and gripping novel about the Civil War. The slave, Cassius Howard, is a great fictional character, and his story is part mystery, part love story, and a harrowing portrait of slavery that reads with the immense power of the slave narratives."
--Pat Conroy, author of Beach Music and South of Broad
"David Fuller vividly and movingly describes the life of Cassius, a slave on a Virginia tobacco plantation. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Sweetsmoke resonates with unforgettable characters, and is a gripping story of loss and survival."
--Robert Hicks, author of The Widow of the South
"Fuller works hard to give us a mid-19th century world that feels authentic, from small details . . . to the larger sprawl of the plantation . . . captivating."
--The New York Times Book Review
"The plot unfolds at a brisk pace, and Fuller does an especially good job with the battle scenes . . . Cassius, who has never drawn a single breath as a free man, is a compelling character from the start. Sweetsmoke is a well-imagined and researched novel of survival and courage."
--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Featuring slave traders, smugglers and spies, the novel transports us to a chilling milieu in which human beings are humiliated, and the slaves have a forlorn hope of freedom, decency and dignity . . . Sweetsmoke haunts us long after the final page is turned."
--Tennessean.com
David Fuller has been a screenwriter for 25 years. He became fascinated with the role of African Americans in World War II as a young man when he befriended an African American pilot and worked closely with him for years. Fuller lives in Los Angeles with his wife, a VP for Twentieth Century Fox, and twin sons. Sweetsmoke is his first novel.
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