Rough Trade by Arthur Lett-Haines

Rough Trade (1935)
Arthur Lett-Haines (English, 1894-1978)
Watercolor and crayon on paper
26.7 x 21.6 cm.

 

Sojourn Among Shadows by Murrell Edmunds

Caldwell, ID : Caxton, 1936

Sojourn Among Shadows opens with a young man in a park listening to live music. He is soon joined by a stranger, an older man, who eventually gets his attention and has a story to tell. He claims the story is not about himself, but he uses the first person just for the ease of the telling. They meet in the park over the course of several days as he relays his story. 

The story's young protagonist grows up the son of a preacher who is less than godly in his behavior. His mother dies and he is rescued from his abusive father by his uncle, Tom. Uncle Tom feels it important to get him away from his father but doesn't see himself as a person fit for him to be with. The boy's father often argued with his wife regarding Uncle Tom's 'degeneracy' and she would point out that it was his god that had created Uncle Tom. Hoping to protect the young man from his 'vagabond life', Uncle Tom places him with a family only to later learn that he has seen the truth of the world even in isolation.

The novel is complicated by the author's decision not to provide names for most of the characters. Some characters are eventually named, but names are offered as an aside after the bulk of the action involving them has passed. The only character that from the start is given a name is Uncle Tom, and this is maybe not completely surprising. Edmunds tackled controversial issues in his life and in his writings, having been a strong voice against Jim Crow laws. Written in the form of a fable, this novel, while not a true defense of homosexuality, does argue all humans are born as their creator intended. Using the name Uncle Tom for one of his characters and also making that character gay may be a way of showing a connection between the challenges faced by both blacks and gays.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Young (1135)