Publication Date: August 1, 2023
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
Gibbons’s first novel takes place in east Texas in 1910 during the time of white rule-not by law but by lynch mob. Amid the suffocating racism and fear, half-Choctaw, half-white Reuben Sweetbitter and Martha Clarke, a white woman, fall in love. Forbidden to be seen together, they escape to the town of Harriet, where an influential friend of Martha helps them settle down and raise a family. Atypical of love stories, this realistic work maintains a historical perspective in lending the couple short-lived happiness. Martha’s brother James comes for vengeance, and Reuben flees to the forest, which has always been his refuge from the white world. Reuben and Martha’s love is strong, but, dishearteningly, racism is stronger. Timely in the subject of interracial love, this authentic, richly detailed novel plumbs sacrifice, fear, and the loss of one’s identity, bringing the anguish of the two young lovers to life.
East Texas in the early 20th century was much like other parts of the country when it came to interracial relationships—they weren’t tolerated.
However, skin color doesn’t factor into the relationship between Martha and Reuben. The young white woman and half-white, half-Choctaw young man are not the typical couple.
Author Reginald Gibbons details their story in Sweetbitter. His writing style uses more formalized language that evokes a poetic sense. However, because the author transfers dialect into the conversation between characters, it can be challenging to stay engaged.
Their journey to find safety is perilous and leads both of them to reflect on the past. Although she is white, Martha isn’t free from past hurts at the hands of her brother. Their story together is deep as they search for a new beginning.
Sweetbitter delivers a story of two people who defy social norms for a life together.
Reginald Gibbons Reginald Gibbons has published eleven books of poems, including CREATURES OF A DAY (Finalist for National Book Award) and, most recently, RENDITIONS. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, Center for Hellenic Studies. His prizes include the O. B. Hardison, Jr. Poetry Prize from the Folger Shakespeare Library; Best Novel, Best Book of Poems; and Best Short Story from the Texas Institute of Letters, Chicagoan of the Year in Literature (Chicago Tribune), and The Fuller Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame. He lives in Chicago with his wife, the acclaimed children’s author and memoirist Cornelia Spelman.
