A New York Times Notable Book of 2016 One of Janet Maslin's Top 10 Books of 2016 in the New York Times One of The San Francisco Chronicle's Top Ten Books of 2016 One of the Best Books of 2016 - Amazon, Kirkus , The Tampa Bay Times , The Houston Chronicle, BookPage, St. Louis Post-Dispatch A Kirkus Prize Finalist Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Named one of fall's most anticipated titles by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus , The Millions, Literary Hub and others! Stacy Schiff, author of The Witches Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder and director of the Equal Justice Initiative Truevine , Macy manages to do what all the exploitative showmen wouldn't dare; she humanizes the Muse brothers, and in doing so, she has written an unforgettable story of both heartbreak and enduring love."—Gilbert King, author of Devil in the Grove Kirkus (starred) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks... both are absolutely stunning examples of narrative nonfiction at its best...Certain to be among the most memorable books of the year."—Connie Fletcher, Booklist (starred review) Hampton Sides, author of In the Kingdom of Ice, Blood and Thunder, and Americana Truevine has given us a stirring story of the persistence of faith...the strength of love...in this tale of a mother's journey to reclaim not only her sons but her right to them."—Nikki Giovanni, poet and one of Oprah Winfrey's "Twenty-five Living Legends" Edward E. Baptist, New York Times Book Review Janet Maslin, New York Times Kevin Canfield, The San Francisco Chronicle Jeff Baker, The Wall Street Journal Gene Seymour, USA Today Marilyn Smith of Kepler's, Literary Hub Maria Carillo, The Houston Chronicle Jeff Debell, Roanoke Times Boris Kachka, Vulture New York Times bestseller 'Factory Man,' does us the favor of respecting that complexity."—Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times Jeff Calder, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Truevine ...not only puts the real faces and lives of George and Willie to the legend, but also speaks to the ongoing struggle for racial justice in the United States."—Allison McNearney, Time Alice Cary, BookPage Rob Walker, Richmond Times-Dispatch People Tina Jordan & Isabella Biedenharn, Entertainment Weekly Diana Potts , Signature, 8 Books That Honor History's Unsung Female Heroes Darrell Laurant, News & Advance Truevine is a moving attempt to reconstruct this David and Goliath story...If even "Eko and Iko" can be given back their stories, there might be hope for us all."—Julian Lucas, The New Republic Randy Dotinga, Christian Science Monitor
Macy is a gifted storyteller and a dogged researcher, and readers will be riveted by her account of Harriet Muse's struggle to find her sons.
The New York Times Book Review - Edward E. Baptist
…[Macy's] second expert work of nonfiction…Ms. Macy gives herself several objectives for the strange story told in Truevine. First and foremost, she wants to examine the story that members of the Muse family believed for 100 years, even though Ms. Macy could quickly tell that it couldn't withstand scrutiny. Second, at a time when Roanoke remains a city that "demographers still consider among the most segregated in the South" and racial tensions have been aroused throughout the nation, she means to provide an eerily resonant vision of the past. And last, though hardly least, she wants to try to understand what happened to the Muses…Ms. Macy's…reportorial methods are inspiringly persistent…
The New York Times - Janet Maslin
A story about family, race, and reclamation, Truevine is a stunning example of why freedom and love is worth fighting for.
Expert...[Macy] has done [Willie Muse's] life justice in a riveting story that zigzags in unexpected directions...her enthusiasm never lags...even in the worst circumstances, Ms. Macy makes clear, the Muse brothers maintained their humanity.
The Wall Street Journal Jeff Baker
'It's the best story in town,' a colleague told Beth Macy decades ago, 'but no one has been able to get it.' She now has, with tenacity and sensitivity. She gives a singular sideshow its due, offering these 'Ambassadors from Mars' a remarkable, deeply affecting afterlife.
author of The Witches Stacy Schiff
A vivid and moving history that uncovers much more than exploitation and racism.
Christian Science Monitor Randy Dotinga
A deeply moving and endlessly compelling book. ”
A deeply moving and endlessly compelling book.
Deeply reported and told with the kind of nuance and grace that define Macy's storytelling. I have been a fan for a long time...It's also just a remarkable story...Of a proud legacy, one that should be told, and thankfully, by a gifted writer.
The Houston Chronicle Maria Carillo
Macy’s conscientious reporting and her vigorous storytelling make the saga of George and Willie Muse even more enthralling than fiction.”
A truly remarkable work of researched narrative nonfiction, one the probes every corner of its topic and values every subject who has something to say.... Factory Man does justice to every hidden corner of the story. It's a book that leaves you feeling better for having read it.
San Francisco Chronicle Lucas Mann
An intimate, strange and compelling story with big characters and legal intrigue... Macy shares infinite details in smooth, brilliant storytelling.
Steamboat Today Jennie Lay
Truevine is a moving attempt to reconstruct this David and Goliath story...If even "Eko and Iko" can be given back their stories, there might be hope for us all.
The New Republic Julian Lucas
A testament to the strength and determination of those whose lives were shaped by segregationist laws and the resulting deep poverty.
The Idaho Statesman Bob Kustra
If over a hundred years ago there had been Black Lives Matter, the mother of George and Willie Muse would have joined and marched for the safe return of her sons. Back then, almost a century ago, she could only keep learning and finding folk who agreed she had a right to her family...a right to the love and protection of her sons. Beth Macy in Truevine has given us a stirring story of the persistence of faith...the strength of love...in this tale of a mother's journey to reclaim not only her sons but her right to them.
poet and one of Oprah Winfrey's "Twenty-five L Nikki Giovanni
Beth Macy has a way of getting under the skin of American life, burrowing into the seemingly ordinary to find the weird and wonderful taproots of our society. This true tale from rural Virginia will enrage you, inspire you, make you shake your head and rear your fist. And as the pages keep turning, you'll feel yourself slipping into a gothic world of freaks and geeks, and surreal racial thinking, that seems both deeply strange and yet, sadly, all too familiar.
Extraordinary... 'Truevine' is at once poignant and rigorous, a compassionate dual biography and a forthright examination of codified racism. Macy is a resourceful reporter and a strong but never showy writer... This book, her second after 'Factory Man,' is the work of a journalist whose persistence, empathy and commitment to accuracy can't be doubted.... 'Truevine may focus on events that began a century ago, but its guiding spirit couldn't be more urgent.
The San Francisco Chronicle Kevin Canfield
An entertaining, provocative, often moving search for the truth about the brothers...Like "Factory Man," "Truevine" is rigorously researched and skillfully written...she provides rich detail about their lives...With empathetic storytelling, Macy raises questions about the brothers and their world, questions that persist. As we inch toward a forthright discussion of race in America brought on by police violence, Black Lives Matter, immigration and a mixed-race president, "Truevine" elicits self-examination.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Rob Walker
Macy's conscientious reporting (affirming the story's accuracy) and her vigorous storytelling make the saga of George and Willie Muse even more enthralling than fiction...Macy is as tender and solicitous in telling their stories as she is in recovering, in print, the dignity of a family broken apart by avarice and injustice.
Love and kinship impelled Harriet's family to try for a century to protect George and Willie...from a world that saw them as objects for exploitation. Macy, for her part, works hard to illuminate the brothers' story...Macy is a gifted storyteller and a dogged researcher, and readers will be riveted by her account of Harriet Muse's struggle to find her sons.
New York Times Book Review Edward E. Baptist
Narrator Suzanne Toren brings an understated and lucid voice to this strange but true story of the Jim Crow South…Toren’s poised, sophisticated narration makes for enjoyable listening while still allowing author Beth Macy’s impressive journalistic efforts take center stage.”
In a class with other runaway debuts like Laura Hillenbrand's "Seabiscuit" and Katherine Boo's "Behind the Beautiful Forevers": These nonfiction narratives are more stirring and dramatic than most novels. And Ms. Macy writes so vigorously that she hooks you instantly. You won't be putting this book down.
New York Times Janet Maslin
One of my favorite nonfiction books of the season...fascinating.
WAMC's "The Roundtable" Joan Grenier
Even in the worst circumstances, Ms. Macy makes clear, the Muse brothers maintained their humanity.”
Macy is a gifted storyteller and a dogged researcher, and readers will be riveted by her account of Harriet Muse’s struggle to find her sons.”
New York Times Book Review
An inarguable page-turner, Truevine is a fascinating and shocking account of Jim Crow's legacy and America's strange (and often brutal) past.
Lenny Letter Dianca London
One of my favorite works of nonfiction of 2016...Macy nails it.
WYSO "Book Nook" Vick Mickunas
Provides an important lens through…America’s tortured racial history.”
New York Times bestselling author Bryan Stevenson
An "impeccably reported tale
Entertainment Weekly Tina Jordan & Isabella Biedenharn
Truevine serves as a primer about racial inequality that all Americans should read.
Literary Hub Marilyn Smith of Kepler's
Laying out her decades of journalistic persistence, [Macy covers] the uncomfortable aftermath that followed the boys' heroic rescue by their mother.
You may find yourself wanting the tale of the Muse brothers to emerge as a simple tale of inhumanity and injustice. There's a certain satisfaction in that. But the story is too thorny and complicated for that approach, and Macy, whose last book was the New York Times bestseller 'Factory Man,' does us the favor of respecting that complexity.
The Dallas Morning News Chris Vognar
Macy puts their story into its larger historical context, giving the reader an understanding of the virulent, often violent racism of the Jim Crow era.”
Truevine ...not only puts the real faces and lives of George and Willie to the legend, but also speaks to the ongoing struggle for racial justice in the United States.
'Truevine' is dominated by delight and triumph. Macy is a fine Blue Ridge wit...She paints vivid portraits of wily, creative minds...In a timely way, "Truevine" explodes the presumption that moderns are less gullible than in an earlier era.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Jeff Calder
Macy's exploration of the long-hidden fate of two young African Americans and how that fate illuminates the atrocities of the Jim Crow South is as compelling as Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks... both are absolutely stunning examples of narrative nonfiction at its best...Certain to be among the most memorable books of the year.
Booklist (starred review) Connie Fletcher
Taking us into the dark corners of American history that are discussed only in whispers, Beth Macy shines a bright light on the racial profiteering of circus freak shows and the Jim Crow South. In the remarkable Truevine , Macy manages to do what all the exploitative showmen wouldn't dare; she humanizes the Muse brothers, and in doing so, she has written an unforgettable story of both heartbreak and enduring love.
author of Devil in the Grove Gilbert King
A fascinating history.... Macy puts their story into its larger historical context, giving the reader an understanding of the virulent, often violent racism of the Jim Crow era, which affected the Muse family deeply.
Tampa Bay Times Colette Bancroft
Nonfiction storytelling at its finest.... It does what the best business books should: It delivers a heavily researched, highly entertaining story, at the end of which you realize you've learned something.... This is a great American story, the kind that we don't read often enough.
New York Times Bryan Burrough
Intriguing, enlightening and multi-layered... In so diligently and thoughtfully researching and writing this book, Macy has paid tribute to George, Willie and Harriet, and ensured their life stories have finally been accurately and fairly told.
Winnipeg Free Press Sharon Chisvin
Macy's digging, and how she chronicles her effort to find the truth... make 'Truevine' a true mystery that provides insight into a long-gone world that still has echoes today.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dale Singer
This compelling account of one family's tragic exploitation provides an important lens through which America's tortured racial history and the cruel legacy of Jim Crow can be seen anew.
author of Just Mercy and founder and director of t Bryan Stevenson
Macy earns a seat at the table of today's most accomplished nonfiction storytellers... The tale of Willie and George Muse makes for a spellbinding read.
Roanoke Times Jeff Debell
[Macy] spent more than a decade following these trails in search of facts.... what finally emerged is not only riveting, but multi-layered.
News & Advance Darrell Laurant
While it was clearly no picnic, Macy portrays life in a circus sideshow as a community experience that could provide emotional support, protection - and a living - to those who might otherwise have been ostracized or locked away.
A well-crafted and epic tale.... Artfully told.
The Wall Street Journal Marc Levinson
Deep in circus history, beneath racist lies and family secrets, [Macy] found a gripping tale of the cravenness of human nature—and the power of family.
07/01/2016
Narrator Suzanne Toren brings an understated and lucid voice to this strange but true story of the Jim Crow South. In 1899, brothers George and Willie Muse lived and worked with their sharecropping family on a tobacco farm in Truevine, Virginia. At ages 6 and 9 the brothers—both African-American albinos with golden hair—were kidnapped by circus agents and displayed as “freaks” for the next 13 years. As George and Willie traveled worldwide with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circuses, their mother tirelessly worked to bring them home. Toren’s poised, sophisticated narration makes for enjoyable listening while still allowing author Beth Macy’s impressive journalistic efforts to take center stage. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
DECEMBER 2016 - AudioFile
★ 2016-06-22
