Sweetbitter

by Reginald Gibbons

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award

“Reginald Gibbons’s first novel takes place in east Texas in 1910 during the time of white rule―not by law but by lynch mob. Amid the suffocating racism and fear, half-Choctaw, half-white Reuben Sweetbitter and Martha Clarke, a white woman, fall in love. . . . Reuben and Martha’s love is strong, but, dishearteningly, racism is stronger. Timely in the subject of interracial love, this authentic, richly -detailed novel plumbs sacrifice, fear, and the loss of one’s identity, bringing the -anguish of the two young lovers to life. Highly recommended.”―Library Journal

“Far more than a spellbinding love story . . . a novel wide and deep in its understanding. . . . An unforgettable story, a remarkable piece of work.”―Dallas Morning News

“I love this it sings, it soars. Simultaneously deft and deep, it brings a lost world back to brilliant light.”―Andrea Barrett

“Surprising in every way. . . . The novel’s ending is as strong as its beginning―terrifying and beautiful, a true tour de force.”―Chicago Tribune

Genres: Historical Fiction

421 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Reginald Gibbons is an American poet, fiction writer, translator, and literary critic. He is the Frances Hooper Professor of Arts and Humanities, Emeritus, at Northwestern University. Gibbons has published numerous books, including 11 volumes of poems, translations of poetry from ancient Greek, Spanish, and co-translations from Russian. He has published short stories, essays, reviews and art in journals and magazines, has held Guggenheim Foundation and NEA fellowships in poetry and a research fellowship from the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington D.C. For his novel, Sweetbitter, he won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award; for his book of poems, Maybe It Was So, he won the Carl Sandburg Prize. He has won the Folger Shakespeare Library's O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize, and other honors, among them the inclusion of his work in Best American Poetry and Pushcart Prize anthologies. His book Creatures of a Day was a Finalist for the 2008 National Book Award for poetry. His other poetry books include Sparrow: New and Selected Poems (Balcones Prize), Last Lake and Renditions, his eleventh book of poems. Two books of poems are forthcoming: Three Poems in 2024 and Young Woman With a Cane in 2025. He has also published two collections of very short fiction, Five Pears or Peaches and An Orchard in the Street.

Reviews

[Marka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, but after reading 400 pages, the end/last chapter is written in a completely different style and and verb tense. That was rather confusing in terms of reality of the story and was disappointing.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a story I've read before. Not the best telling but raised interesting questions.

[Craig Barner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Reginald Gibbons tells a tale of interracial love, racism and a long journey in Sweetbitter. His portrait of the racism of east Texas in the Jim Crow era is devastating -- lynchings, harassment and poverty. These evils get unflinching treatment in the book, yet the work is suffused with a lyrical feeling. Gibbons's hatred of racism is intense, but the love of his characters is stronger.

Though many authors have tackled racism, Gibbons invents an intriguing situation in the fictional Three Rivers. His protagonist, Reuben Sweetbitter, is half-Choctaw and half-white. Whites grudgingly tolerate him. And though the blacks generally accept him and even house him, their community feels somewhat alien to Sweetbitter. Amid the fear and oppression, Reuben falls in love with a rich white girl, Martha Clarke. Could Reuben be lynched? Black men merely suspected of romantic attachments with white girls were strung up. In an act of insane rebellion, the lovers flee Three Rivers on foot to start a new life in Oklahoma, where Native-white marriages are accepted. The question: Will Reuben and Martha get to their destination and be able to live together?

The story is compelling, though there are rarely any unexpected turns. The grittiness of the characters, the lives of the indigenous community and life on the run is raw. The last chapter of the book is told hypothetically -- what might have happened -- rather than in the straight style. That innovative treatment kept me thinking of the story after I finished it. And Gibbons's depiction of estrangement within the family is haunting.

I immersed myself lost in his poetic writing, but Gibbons sometimes goes overboard. His indictment of racism is worthy of attention, but the chief villain is crudely drawn.

These quibbles aside, readers will find a visit to Three Rivers challenging and rewarding.

[Brea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Constantly on the edge of my seat but no real cliff hanger. A book about falling in love despite societal rule and loyalty throughout life’s biggest storms. The ending was bad but I enjoyed the story throughout.

[Laurel Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly inciteful novel from the perspective of a mixed breed Indian / white man and his struggles not being accepted by either race. Chilling how he had to live in fear most of his life. Very well-written.

[Zvez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've worked in the industry myself and completely relate to the nocturnal lifestyle. It was a bit slow for me. And at moments I was frustrated with the main character. At times I rooted for her and at times she just annoyed me.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

About the love of a poor, half-Choctow man and a white, middle-class woman in the early 1900s. It's about racism and culture, and makes you think about what each one gives up for their relationship.

[Aerinsword · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt the author does not like his own race or culture very much.

[Cindy Deaver · Rating 1 out of 5]

extraordinarily bad

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. The really clunky writing style put me off after a couple of chapters.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

long and moody, a great story about how hard it is to transcend bigotry + race.