What do You think about Those Bones Are Not My Child (2000)?
I have been looking at this book on my shelf for some years. I love the work of Toni Cade Bambara, especially her previous novel, The Salt Eaters. Those Bones is not an easy read, but it is an extraordinary one. It is the story of one woman, one family, one city and indeed all of the USA. The story is about a spate of murders that occurred in Atlanta n the early 1980s. More than 40 black children were abducted, sexually abused, beaten and murdered. But the establishment deemed them runaways and did nothing.One morning the 13-year-old son of Mazala and Spence goes missing. They do everything to try to find him. The women in the community delve into what's happened, parents spend months doing daily searches, the men patrol the areas where the children have been found (those that were) dead.This book gives a portrait of a city unable to answer questions from its citizens. Toni Cade Bambara illuminates how oppression works and one can see these events being repeated in many cities around the world.A truly great read.
—Susan
There is no doubt that this is a hard book to read. It takes place in Atlanta during the time of the Atlanta Child Murders. I guess I like this book more than most people, because I feel that Bambara did a good job of capturing the fear and tumult that Atlanta experienced. I still have my "Save the Children" button, that many people took to wearing as some sign of solidarity during those traumatic times. It didn't matter, though, we were all looking at each other with wary eyes. Bambara also depicted life on ghetto streets, where children were no longer allowed to play or go to the store alone, with gripping accuracy. The abduction of their child is every parent's greatest fear, and to have so many young bodies found thrown off bridges or covered by leaves in the woods tore Atlanta in two. I truly believe this is book is worth reading.
—Maureen
I wrote a long review about this book and magically it disappeared. I'm taking that as a sign to be brief about my feelings regarding this book and move on to the next novel that awaits me. This isn't a good read. It is way too long and rather than focusing on the plot it reads like research on the Atlanta Child Murders instead of the novel that it presents itself to be. The characters seem to be thrown in as needed and the main character-the missing son- is rarely even focused on. The book completely lacks emotion. I am not certain that the mother even missed her son, Sundiata. It felt like the real joy was being apart of the movement to find the murderer(s) of the children. I understand that writers use the creative non fiction genre to use fictional characters to develop factual plots, but it is way too obvious in this "novel." However, from research I know that Bambara passed away before the publication of this novel. Her friend and literary heavy weight Toni Morrison is responsible for the end result. It is unfortunate that the reader will never know what Bambara would have done with her 1200 page manuscript had she lived to take part in the editing and publication.Finally, there are passages in this book that read like beautiful poetry and are completely mesmerizing. However, those passages are too few and hardly enough to sustain the work. You must have a deep interest in the Atlanta Child murders and a lot of patience to read this book.
—Latiffany
