Caroline George offers a story of overcoming generational trauma and the curses we put on ourselves and each other in “Curses and Other Buried Things.”
As Susana Prather approaches her 18th birthday, all she can think of us the curse her great-great-great-great-grandmother Suzanna Yawn placed on her family’s firstborn females — a curse that leads to madness and early death. She’s determined to break the curse, therefore allowing herself the chance to dream of a future.
Will visions of her family’s past help Susana reconcile her present? Will she and her friends end up reliving the curses of each of their families, or will they be able to work together to break their familial holds?
Written in a deeply descriptive manner, “Curses and Other Buried Things” is a deep southern folkloric story based on the author’s own family legends. George takes on topics like silence and secrecy; superstition and blame; kin and loyalty; history is not so easily buried; we choose to live with curses; we have to choose to grow from mistakes; and reminds us to live an incredible life (“Live a life so impossible that when you die and people tell your story, listeners will question whether you’re a tall tale. Stories turn even the most ordinary of persons into myths”).
This story also reminds us that no one is perfect and that we must be aware of not passing along more damage to others (“Key ain’t to blot out all the bad. Nobody’s perfect. I think all we can do is work to ensure whatever bad we pass down won’t leave an irreparable wound”).
Featuring a tone similar to Delia Owens’ “Where the Crawdads Sing,” fans of books like Kimberly Brock’s “The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare” and authors like Jaime Jo Wright will enjoy “Curses and Other Buried Things.”
Four stars out of five.
Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.