Title: When Stars Align
Author: Carole Eglash Kosoff
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 9781456738907
Pages: 389, Hardcover/Paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: Barbara Miller, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
When Stars Align, a historical novel by Carole Eglash-Kosoff, is set in the late 19th Century in Louisiana, a time in which the Civil War and the nation’s view of slavery were in turmoil. She writes about a taboo interracial relationship in the Deep South. It unveils how slaves, like Rose and Faris, were treated by their slave owners, Jedidiah and Ruby Rogers.
Throughout the novel there is a contrast between good and evil, which is personified by the different slave owners. For example, Rose was raped by Jedidiah Rogers’ only son Henry Rogers, still in his teens. Rose became pregnant and ordered to be sent away to have the child which was an embarrassment to the white owners. Rose wanted to stay in her slave quarters at Moss Grove, a cotton plantation, to have her baby where she was close to people she knew. However, she was put into a wagon and taken to the home of Massa Rogers’s kin near Baton Rouge to bear him a nigger grandchild. The servants treated her very well, giving Rose her own room and cared for her like family. Immediately after the baby was born, Sarah, Moss Grove’s Mammy, handed over the baby to the new parents that would care for him. This broke Rose’s heart. She wanted to keep her son, and despised Henry for raping her and stealing her innocence.
The arrival of their first grandchild touched Jedidiah and Ruby deeply, naming him Thaddeus. Jedidiah and Ruby really didn’t care if the baby was a mixed colored baby living in the house. Jedidiah felt free to bend the social mores of Louisiana and the South.
One day, another slave was brought to work at Moss Grove by the name of Faris. Not only was he used for working the cotton fields, but also for breeding with Rose. The two wed, without any objections and moved to their slave hut in Moss Grove. They had a son named Matthew, who was baptized in the plantation’s small chapel. There was a real connection between Faris and Rose; one that would help heal some of her wounds from the past. Although, she never told Faris that she was attacked by Henry Rogers.
On January 9th, 1861 the Civil War began. Louisiana and other southern states followed suit. Within weeks the confederacy had been officially established with Jefferson Davis as its President. Soon after, Henry married Elizabeth Williams, which was a small Moss Grove family affair. Shortly after his wedding Henry went to join the war.
Things began to change. Ruby passed away, Jedidiah became very depressed; his son was off to war, and even Thaddeus had run off to war for a brief time. Faris decided he wanted to be free of Moss Grove. He wanted to try and find a better life for himself and his family. Unfortunately, before he had the chance, Faris was killed and his body brought back for burial by the militia.
Carole Eglash-Kosoff did a remarkable job capturing universal human emotions and frailties; whether it’s the loving relationship a mother has with her child that she isn’t permitted to know, the wisdom there can be happiness in a forbidden interracial relationship, the pain and blame that haunts a wife when her husband is murdered, or the inability to see others as they really are. This is a sweeping saga of the people of the American South, spanning from antebellum to Civil War to the Reconstruction. The author illustrates the high purposes for which the South fought the war and also demonstrated the utter futility of the Southern position and the senseless nature of most conflicts.
This is an incredibly well written book about the death of a civilization and the struggles to survive in the new era. Carole Eglash-Kosoff successfully incorporates the primary thoughts of plantation owners, slaves, and visitors in the South to powerfully illustrate in a straightforward manner what plantation life really felt like. The dialogue is simply smashing. The characters are realistic and resonate on a soulfully deep level. She makes you feel what each character felt, especially the love that Thaddeus and Amy have for one another; a love which could have them killed. The end of the story isn’t a traditional happy ending, and you will really feel the strong bond Thaddeus and Amy had for one another. Carole Eglash-Kosoff makes you feel sympathetic to people with totally different values from your own, which is by no means an easy feat. When Stars Align should not be missed, particularly for those who enjoy historical fiction.
