Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Pieces of the Heart-Bonnie Calhoun

Pieces of the Heart


Bonnie Calhoun

Abingdon Press, Jun 1 2013, $12.99

www.Abingdon press.com

ISBN: 9781426752728



In 1938 Cordelia Grace and Bernard Howard met when both were young as he interceded when the five Wilson bullies attacked her. He was her hero and she planned to one day marry her knight in shining armor. In 1942, about to turn eighteen years old Bernard joins the army after he confronted his abusive father for hitting his mother. He promises Cordelia they will marry when he comes home.



She begins to construct the Pine Cone quilt that she plans for their marriage bed. For the next three years her work on the quilt kept her dreams alive that once he returns they will live a fairy tale forever life together. At the same having come from an integrated community, Bernard struggles with the segregated military. When Bernard comes home, he does not seem like the amiable caring man Cordelia loved before he left for war. Instead over the next few years he struggles with battle fatigue while she struggles to be there for him like he was for her when they first met.



The ninth Quilts of Love inspirational (see A Healing Heart by S. Dionne Moore and Beyond the Storm by Carolyn Zane) is an enjoyable WWII drama that focuses on the impacts of war and racism on a loving couple. The storyline insightfully looks at the lives of Bernard and Cordelia; starting with the racism she receives for being a lighter skinned Black from darker skinned Blacks and what he dealt with in an under-equipped colored only unit risking their lives. Although the coupling of the protagonist never comes together (except early and late), readers will enjoy this tale as love seems not enough.



Harriet Klausner

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