Bookn' with Friends: "The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride

WPL's Bookn' with Friends book club will gather to discuss The Good Lord Bird by James McBride.

Selected to accompany WPL's September programming on the Civil War, The Good Lord Bird is a novel disguised as a memoir that offers a fresh perspective on the abolitionist firebrand John Brown. Awarded the National Book Award in 2013 and named a Kansas Notable Book in 2014, it is 417 pages long and has a 3.9 star rating on goodreads. 

From the publisher:

Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas territory in 1857, when the region is a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces. When John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area, an argument between Brown and Henry’s master quickly turns violent. Henry is forced to leave town – with Brown, who believes he’s a girl.

Over the ensuing months, Henry – whom Brown nicknames Little Onion – conceals his true identity as he struggles to stay alive. Eventually Little Onion finds himself with Brown at the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, one of the great catalysts for the Civil War.

An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBride’s meticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.

Related Programs:

Friends of WPL meeting and program by Kent Melcher on Monday, September 9 at 7:00pm

"The Civil War:  it began in Kansas!" a presentation by Kent Melcher on Thursday, September 12 at 6:30pm

"Last Stand at Rebel Creek:  The Osage as Union Allies in Civil War Kansas" a Humanities Kansas presentation by Isaias McCaffrey on Saturday, September 28 at 10:30am