Magic City

by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Book Overview

"A compelling page-turner that will keep readers hoping against hope that everything will somehow, magically, turn out for the best." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

With a new Afterword from the author reflecting on the 100th anniversary of one of the most heinous tragedies in American history--the 1921 burning of Greenwood, an affluent black section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as the "Negro Wall Street"--Jewell Parker...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063073226
• ISBN13: 9780063073227
• Release Date: May 2021
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Historical Fiction

Magic City was a thought provoking, yet enjoyable read. The main characters, Joe Samuels, black, and Mary Keane, white, reared in two different environments with different values, yet had many similiarities. They both had domineering fathers and they both yearned to leave their clutches. They both had jobs that were totally against their fathers' wishes and they were both lonely in their own ways. After their initial meeting in an elevator sent Joe running for his life, Mary did all she could to prove him innocent of a blameless crime. The fact that this novel was conjured from actual events evoked many emotions and made it even more endearing.

A compelling fictionalization of a true event.

A gift from a friend, I devoured this book on my flight back from Phoenix. It was compelling and disturbing. For those of us who did not live in the segregated society prior to 1950 it was an eye-opening experience of a time when color was more than a distinction, it was a determination of your life, and sometimes death. I have saved it for my 15 year old daughter to try to explain a time that I don't fully understand. Read it!

Great Historical Fiction!

Our book club choose "Magic City" for our selection this month. We were not disapointed. The novel tells a story, which is based on a true event. The reader must accept that this is a work of fiction, however, it introduces history that many Americans (myself included) never heard of. We salute Ms. Rhodes as a great American writer, and a great story teller! You Go Girl!!!!

A mirror from the past.

Magic City is a thrilling retelling of an ugly period in the history of Tulsa, and by extension, most of the USA. The story is told through fictional characters and does not attempt to recreate history so much as to recreate the mindsets of the populations that allowed such a tragedy to occur. And while it is easy and comfortable to imagine that the events in this story, which occurred in 1921, could not happen at the close of this century, the characters in this novel have a disturbing familiarity. We see the attitudes they hold in news stories about police brutality. We see them in the militant antiestablishment movements. If we are honest, we see them in ourselves, and that's when change can begin. That's what makes this book important as well as entertaining reading.

Wonderful

It was a truly enjoyable book begining to end. Parker-Rhodes is a dynamic author with the gift of providing the reader with clear imagery. I am looking forward to reading more of her work.