Review by New York Times Review
"CHILD, everyone should know where they come from," Mildred Jackson tells her 22-year-old daughter, Faith, as she urges her to visit Jamaica for the first time. But knowing where you come from isn't as simple as it sounds, especially for Faith, a British citizen of Jamaican descent whose search for a sense of belonging drives the plot of Andrea Levy's moving new novel. Set in Thatcher-era England and Jamaica, "Fruit of the Lemon" explores the notion of home, and how it differs for the formerly colonized and their descendants. Growing up in London, Faith has taken scant interest in her parents' homeland, nor has she experienced the full force of the widespread but subtle racism characteristic of 1980s Britain. Only after she enters the work force and suffers at the hands of nasty white superiors, then witnesses a National Front attack on a black woman, does she begin to suspect that the nation she assumes she belongs to may not really want her. Levy (whose previous novel, "Small Island," won the Whitbread and Orange prizes in Britain) meets the challenge of dramatizing the difficult issue of identity through her restrained prose and imagery, and through Faith's ability, as she narrates her own story, to speak about the gaps in the understanding of racial issues that exist between so many groups of people - friends with different racial and cultural frames of reference, siblings, even parents and their children. It is Levy's light touch in tense situations - when a white friend's father calls a black girl "darkie" and "coon" in Faith's presence, when she interacts with villagers in the English countryside that allows us to experience rather than merely watch Faith's growing disillusionment. Perhaps less emotionally convincing, though still beautifully written, the second part of the novel chronicles Faith's attempts to recover her emotional stability on a visit to her extended family in Jamaica. This section, filled with short recollections by some of her relatives, is weakened by its shared narration. Here we lose track of Faith's remarkable voice, listening instead to stories about the legacy of slavery, of skin color preferences and the family disputes they engender. Although we miss Faith's guiding presence, Levy finally manages to hold these stories together through the sheer liveliness of the voices. At times, you might even be tempted to read bits and pieces aloud, just to hear the lyrical quality of the Jamaican-accented English. Though Levy writes specifically about black Jamaican Britons and their struggles to be acknowledged as full members of the larger society, her novel illuminates the general situation facing all children of postcolonial immigrants across the West, from the banlieue of France to the Islamic neighborhoods of New York to the Hispanic ghettos of Los Angeles. Throughout the world, unwritten policies of exclusion have created a ferocious discontent among citizens of some nations - who know where they come from, even if they aren't made to feel as if it's home. Uzodinma Iweala's first novel, "Beasts of No Nation," was recently released in paperback.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Booklist Review
In the twelfth century, the Salerno School of Medicine (in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily) boasted female students among its ranks. When Adelia, one of the university's prodigies, is summoned to considerably less-progressive Cambridge, England, to provide forensic support in the investigation of the murder of four children, she must conceal her identity lest she be labeled a witch. Still, her predicament is far less perilous than that of the Jewish residents of Cambridge, whom the Catholic townspeople have blamed for the quartet of deaths. King Henry II, while ruthless, is no fool; mindful of the tax revenues derived from Jewish merchants, he's vowed his protection until they can be exonerated. Adelia, whose entourage includes a Jewish investigator and a Muslim bodyguard, carefully analyzes the corpses. Her conclusions, alas, are far from definitive: the crimes could be the work of a serial killer, or perhaps one among the latest group of pilgrims who've recently returned from Canterbury. Though her narrative is somewhat uneven, Franklin ( City of Shadows, 2006) delivers rich period detail and a bloody good ending reflecting the savagery of the times. --Allison Block Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Had Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael been born a few decades later, he might have found a worthy associate and friend in Dr. Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar of Salerno, a short and short-tempered medieval coroner hired in secret by King Henry II to find out who's behind the horrific murders of Christian children in Cambridge, England. Prominent local Jews stand accused; Henry wants them freed, mostly for the sake of their tax revenue. As Adelia examines the children's bodies and gets to know the people of Cambridge, she has no trouble assembling a long list of suspects, but she encounters considerable difficulty trying to narrow it down, a struggle in which the reader gladly joins her. Not all of the plot twists are surprising and the romantic subplot is an unnecessary afterthought, but Franklin (City of Shadows) has developed a skillful blend of historical fact and gruesome fiction that's more than sufficient to keep readers interested and entertained. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
When four children are murdered in medieval Cambridge, King Henry begs help from the king of Sicily, a country famed for medical experts called masters of the art of death. In response, he's sent a prodigy named Adelia. Franklin, the pen name of historical novelist Diana Norman, was lucky enough to have rights sold in 12 countries. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
CSI meets The Canterbury Tales. After an unexceptional debut (City of Shadows, 2006), Franklin hits commercial paydirt with this criminal investigation drama set in 12th-century England. Led by "doctor to the dead" Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar--Adelia for short--the trio also includes Simon of Naples ("agent, investigator, go-between, reconnoitrer, spy") and Mansur, Adelia's bodyguard and servant, who is also a Muslim and a eunuch. Trained at the Salerno School of Medicine, Adelia is a brilliant forensic pathologist, but in superstitious England she risks denunciation as a witch. The three are commanded, however--by whom is a mystery--to investigate the brutal murder of four children in Cambridge, deaths that are being blamed on the Jews, whose resultant persecution is disrupting society and business. Adelia's scrutiny of the corpses hints at a serial killer with a taste for mutilation and woven quincunxes. Other clues suggest the culprit may be among the latest group of pilgrims to have returned from Canterbury, although a couple of crusaders, including burly tax collector Sir Rowley Picot, also fall under suspicion. Then Simon is murdered and Adelia finds an unexpected ally in Sir Rowley, who reveals he has been pursuing a child-murderer. Softened by Simon's death, Adelia also realizes she is falling for Sir Rowley. After pestilence at the convent and the kidnapping of Ulf, the housekeeper's son, there's a showdown on Wandlebury Hill and the villain is torn to pieces by a pack of hounds. Patchy pacing and anachronisms aside, Franklin has devised an appealing amalgam of genres. The second Adelia story already has a title and plot. A potentially winning formula, delivered with panache. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
