The Storycatcher by Ann Hite is an intriguing, sometimes
frustrating, circuit from Black America, through a hillbilly noire
looking glass, and back. This book is filled with the sort of inveterate
controversy that has divided the United States for over 150 years, and
like the American vista that it articulates it is more of a moire
pattern than blend.
The narrative is first person with the feel
of autobiography, rather than fiction, and a plethora of personal points
of view (POV) which combine to eliminate any clear narrator. In
addition to the quirky style, the stories wind about one another in a
slipstream fashion that defies categorization, and ultimately
identifying a clear target audience. At times it reads like a YA
paranormal romance, at others a gothic horror, and still others it seems
to be reaching for literary fiction. But without a clear focus, the
story never really catches and falls a little short of the passion and
drama necessary to satisfy readers of any one genre'.
The story
opens with the POV of self employed housekeeper Ada Lee Tine. Her racism
and two dimensional portrayal of whites and light skinned blacks is
disturbing and off-putting enough to make her unsympathetic. By starting
from her POV the author inadvertently promotes this perspective.
Without the introduction of a mystery, which is not solved until the end
of the book, I would have found it impossible to continue beyond the
first chapter. Introduction of the mystery was a bit too cryptic and
risked losing interest as well.
Despite its flaws, The Storycatcher
manages to capture the imagination and entertain. The disparate pieces
gradually resolve into a coherent plot that is both imaginative and
unusual. The black characters, living and dead, are vital and
compelling. When Ada Lee reappears toward the end of the story, we find
her a very different and likeable person.
Bottom line: Readers of genre' fiction will likely find The Storycatcher
inaccessible and tedious, and readers of literary fiction will tend to
find the story bland and esoteric. However for those who are willing to
make the leap it can be enlightening and offer a perspective on 20'th
century life that has been quashed in the name of political correctness;
a perspective impossible to explore in its contemporary setting. For the believer, in particular the Methodist, this story will offend. The Storycatcher's
jaundiced, two-dimensional portrayal of Christianity and promotion of
witchcraft and necromancy as morally superior alternatives will be a
clear and unjust indictment. This is a book that will offend and should
probably be a pass.