I found The Catbird Seat to be an okay read. It was not what I was expecting at all. Not sure if it was for me or not. Three stars. ( )

I received this book as an Early Reviewer from LibraryThing.
In the letter that accompanied the book the author says she is a white woman telling “the complete race in America story.” First of all, how offensive and presumptuous!
I was mildly intrigued to hear her take on growing up in the 60’s and 70’s in the south, during a time that was definitely confusing. I too grew up during that confusing time, in the north. There was very little of that, which at least would have been her first hand impressions and observations.
Instead there are two stories told in alternating chapters. One, supposedly inferred from the diary of a Quaker farmer in 1857 South Carolina, about a journey with the slave he purchased and later freed. It’s an okay story, but not really this authors to tell.
The other chapters are written from the point of view of a young white woman in South Carolina in 2000, during the demonstrations over removing the confederate flag from the state house. That part of the book is all over the place as each new person or event leads to a lengthy history lesson. The history parts contain so much superfluous detail that they are difficult to follow and the whole is really disjointed.
I was disappointed in this book. It could have used extensive editing to make it readable, and probably shouldn’t have been written. I regret being misguided into choosing it and wasting valuable reading and thinking time. ( )

The Catbird Seat is an interesting work of fiction. I appreciated it more for the author’s extensive research on South Carolina history and slavery than the fictional story of Gil Culkin and William Medlin. The connection between the present-day Confederate Flag controversy and Medlin’s journey to the slave market, purchase of Hutto, and subsequent fraught journey home seemed lost among all of the facts Ms. Hollingsworth presented. One thought I did have is that in writing this book, the author might be confronting her own feelings around her Southern upbringing and heritage and in effect, offering readers an opportunity to confront their own. While I grew up in the Midwest and had a great grandfather who fought in the Civil War for the North, I admit to having had these rather grand notions of him and other Northern soldiers fighting for the cause of freedom and the abolition of slavery. Alas, my ignorance, corrected by reading this book. For the humble soldier it was more about Southern or Northern pride and for President Lincoln even, preservation of the Union. And as in most wars, the “common” soldier, the one who is wounded or dies, is the pawn of the politician and the rich. In the case of the South in the Civil War, it was the rich planter who needed slavery to exist for cheap labor. My sister-in-law recently moved to Columbia, SC and I plan to recommend this book to her. I think it will prove valuable insight into her newly-adopted city and state. It provided insight for me, as well, into the past and present. ( )

As a historian at the University of South Carolina, Gillian's newest assignment is to study an antebellum diary, newly unearthed and donated to the school. In alternating chapters a parallel narrative is told — that of the diary writer, a cotton planter in 1857, who is convinced by his brother he can score some easy cash by buying a few slaves from an auction in South Carolina, then turn around and sell them in Alabama. As Gil works with the historical artifact, her city of Columbia is at the center of contention surrounding the Confederate battle flag still flying from the state capitol building.

I'm sorry to say that this book was, for me, a slog. Having won a copy I felt obligated to read it, though abandonment was at times tempting. The biggest issue I had is that it can't decide whether it wants to be fiction or nonfiction, and thus it reads very oddly. It is less a novel than an infodump masquerading as fiction — all tell and very little show: "Gil learned that..." and "Gil realized that..." cue the reader that the narrative will now pause indefinitely for a history lesson. It doesn't seem like it saw a professional editor, but could really have used some tightening up. It also emits potent self-published, Mary-Sue, and As-You-Know-Bob vibes.

Critiques aside, Hollingsworth's heart is in the right place, and her passion for history strongly shines through. I enjoyed the historical timeline and appreciated what I learned in the contemporary timeline. As early as the Author's Note, I was impressed and could tell she has a talent for the written word, but ultimately I wished what followed could have been polished and sharpened by an editor. Bonus: my copy also had a delightful, almost intoxicating, new-book smell!

I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. ( )

This book is part memoir, part fiction, and part history of South Carolina. The story alternates between the year 2000 and a young white woman who seems to reflect the experiences of the author. The protests to remove Confederate flags is a catalyst for her self-reflection. The second story is set in 1859 and explores a farmer’s relationship with his slave. Discussions on racism are presented with reason and clarity.
I received this as an ERC through Librarything.