River, Cross My Heart
Breena Clarke's novel follows a Black family in 1920s Washington, D.C., after the drowning of a young daughter.
Breena Clarke’s novel is set in the Georgetown neighborhood of 1920s Washington, D.C., in a close Black community shadowed by segregation. When five-year-old Clara Bynum drowns in the Potomac, her family and neighbors are left to absorb the loss, especially her older sister Johnnie Mae. Clarke draws a vivid portrait of a place and a people, and of grief moving through a tight-knit world.
Recommended by 1 Person
Oprah Winfrey
It is a really powerful story in a very, very quiet kind of way. I'm sure that you're going to enjoy it as a family drama and also as an intimate glimpse into a time and place that we don't often hear about.
Book Club · October 1999
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