Those Bones Are Not My Child By Toni Cade Bambara

 

Those Bones Are Not My Child

By Toni Cade Bambara

Zala and her estranged husband Spence investigate the disappearance of their son Sonny amidst the 1980s black child and adult disappearances and killings in Atlanta, a city that touts itself as "too busy to hate." With little help from law enforcement which wants to blame the parents and/or the child, Zala and Spence form committees and task forces with the goal of uncovering the corruption they believe is responsible for Sonny's disappearance. The novel displays a city under siege, with Zala as a somewhat single woman trying to care for three children while going to school and working to make a better life for them as they live on the fringes of a society enjoying an economic book. 

Political, racial, and class tensions are highlighted in this novel. Sonny's family (unable to just set aside their lives in order to find him because if they did they would starve) after looking for help in all of the places one should be able to find it, knows that they are on their own, that the authorities are unable/unwilling to help them, and that if their child was white it would be a different story. The anguish Zala and Spence feel is intertwined with their determination to uncover the truth. Every attempt to stifle or silence them adds fuel to their fire. Their search leads them into the dark underworld of child enslavement and shady dealings where information is key, and often mismanaged or disconnected.

This was a tough book to get through. The story and its messages are interesting and important, but the story meanders from the main focus, with a lot of jumps between situations and characters, making it sometimes hard to follow. I also felt like I was receiving a lecture at times, which put me off a bit. It is a slow burn, for sure. However, the characters are very well done, realistic, and heartbreaking. This is a time in American history that I knew nothing about and was glad to be exposed to it. Sadly, not much has changed since the events in this story took place. The exploration of blacks as second-class citizens was eye opening and important. The first-hand account of a black woman trying to make a better life for herself and her family, then being treated as a perpetrator or worse of her condition was heartrending.

Because of its "flaws" and difficulty as a reading experience I can only give Those Bones Are Not My Child 3 stars, but I'm glad  read it.