Review of "Swift River: A Novel" by Essie Chambers

It's summer 1987, and in the New England town of Swift River, sixteen-year-old Diamond Newberry is troubled as usual. Ever since Diamond's father, Robert Newberry, disappeared seven years ago, she's the only Black person in town. Diamond is lonely and overweight, and she observes, "I am so fat I can't ride my bike anymore, so I let it get stolen on purpose....The bruises and stinging raspberries all over my body from weekly falls are constant reminders that the bike doesn't want me anymore."

Diamond lives with her mother, a White woman named Annabelle (Anna), who's very loving, but inept and addicted to prescription pills.



Since Anna's husband Robert has been gone for seven years, she hopes to get a death certificate, for the insurance money. Anna has a police report saying Robert's shoes, wallet, and keys were found beside the fast moving Swift River, but Anna hasn't filled out the proper papers, doesn't have witness statements, hasn't put a death notice in the papers, etc. So Anna has to go back and get her ducks in a row.



It's not clear whether Robert is dead or alive, but he vanished after being accused of theft, and after the police had taken to constantly driving by the house. Many people have reported seeing Robert here or there, but Diamond puts it down to racism - to White people being unable to distinguish one Black man from another.



Diamond and her Ma live in a dilapidated house with Robert's battered car still in the yard, but Anna doesn't drive and she and Diamond have to hitchhike or walk everywhere - including the Goodwill store where they buy their clothes.



Diamond has dreams though, and admits, "By the time I turn seventeen I want: a birthday party with German chocolate cake and friends, new clothes with the store smell still in them, [and] shoes that fit. I imagine leaving this place, leaving Ma. That thought hurts too much and I pinch it down to nothing." Still, Diamond is saving money from her part-time cleaning job at the Tee Pee Motel, and she's secretly signed up for Driver's Ed - to get her driver's license.



In the midst of this angst, Diamond gets a package from her Auntie Lena, whom she's never met. The package contains some keepsakes and a letter in which Auntie Lena says she's a nurse based in Atlanta, but is currently living in Woodville, Georgia. There she manages Newberry Fine Fabrics, the family business established way back in 1915, when the Newberrys migrated from Swift River to Woodville.



Diamond and Auntie Lena embark on a correspondence, and Diamond learns a lot about her history and her relatives. Auntie Lena says she and Diamond's father Robert grew up in Woodville together until the boy was seven-years-old. At that time, Robert's father took him up to Swift River, to be raised by Aunt Clara. When Robert grew up he met Anna in Swift River, and they fell in love, got married, and had Diamond.



The story shifts around between three time periods: 1987, 1915, and 1980.

1987
In 1987, Diamond is living with her doting mother whom she both loves and from whom she wants to escape. In short, Diamond wants to live in a place with people who look like her. Diamond also dreams of going to college and being a botanist. Diamond becomes friends with a Driver's Ed classmate named Shelly, who's 'a loose girl' with a good heart.



Diamond and Shelly's interactions with the driving teacher, Mr. Jimmy, are quirky and - for Shelly - inappropriate.



1915
In 1915, toxic discrimination leads to an exodus of all Black people from Swift River, in an incident called 'The Leaving.'



The ONLY Black person who remains in Swift River is Aunt Clara, an apprentice to the local doctor, who says he'll help her go to medical school at Howard University. Aunt Clara's voice and story are heard in letters she sends to her sister (Auntie Lena's mother) in Georgia.



1980
In 1980, nine-year-old Diamond and her parents take a trip south and have some trouble in town. Later that year, Robert disappears.

In the course of the story we learn about the historic racism in Swift River, which in 1915, was a 'sundown town.'



At that time, Swift River had signs all over town reading, "N....., don't let the sun go down on you in Swift River."



Things are less toxic in 1987, though Diamond is uncomfortable being the only Black person in Swift River. I was surprised that Robert and Anna, an interracial couple, (apparently) didn't experience overt discrimination on that score. Diamond IS called a name by a classmate in elementary school, which causes a small brouhaha.

The story has humor and heart, one of the high points being Diamond's family, who love one another, but have a hard time getting by in difficult circumstances. For one thing, Ma and Pop disagree about visiting relatives in Georgia. It's good to see Diamond mature over the course of the story, and take charge of her life.



Swift River was Jenna Bush Hager's June, 2024 'Book Club Pick.' Hager noted, "Swift River is a story filled with secrets: community secrets and family secrets. It is a book that made me cry and then filled me with enormous hope."

I enjoyed this well-written, enlightening book. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Essie Chambers, and Simon and Shuster for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars