Sweetbitter: A Novel

By Reginald Gibbon and Reginald Gibbons

Book Overview

Set in turn-of-the-century East Texas, Reuben Sweetbitter, a young half-Choctaw, half-white boy is left to fend for himself after the death of his mother. He is taken in by a compassionate black woman who teaches him to read. Along the way, Reuben loses contact with his Choctaw heritage and yet can belong neither to the white world nor that of the blacks who give him shelter. He leaves and finds his way to the town of Three Rivers, where he falls in love with Martha Clarke, a white woman, who is the daughter of a local lawyer. Their forbidden love is tested when they are forced to flee amid an explosive lynching climate.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140252428
• ISBN13: 9780140252422
• Release Date: February 1996
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.3" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Couldn't put this book down

Couples may not have to trek through the woods and hunt for food now, but for those who dare to cross the racial lines here in the South, it can be lonely, and even brutal.

Couldn't put it down. Beautiful love story.

This book is the story of Ruben S. (for Saved) Sweetbitter, a half Choctaw boy who meets and falls in love with Martha, the well-to-do daughter of a white lawyer in Three Rivers, Texas, at the turn of the century. Though they know their love is forbidden, Martha loves Ruben and sees him secretly until a young man, who works with Ruben at a sawmill, and who has designs on Martha himself, sees them together and reports back to Martha's family. Martha's mother pleads with her daughter to denounce the Indian boy but Martha refuses, being too much in love to care about the consequences. Because of her refusal, Martha's father kicks her out of the house, causing her to run away with Ruben, thereby saving Ruben's life from a band of vigilantes. After traveling many miles on foot, the two finally find what they believe to be a safe haven. This book moved me intensely. It is the best book I have read in probably five years and I read upwards of forty novels a year.

Captivating story! Would make a wonderful film!

Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover! I had to choose a book quickly since I had two small children with me at the library. I lucked out with Sweetbitter. It is an enchanting love story about two people from different cultures who fall in love and try to raise a family. Not only is it romantic but you can't wait to read what happens next. I am still thinking about the ending. I would certainly like to read any future books written by this author