Embers on the Wind

I am new to this author, but I look forward to reading her future books. Embers on the Wind is a story where time intersects, and generational families intertwine. It is part Black magical realism and part historical fiction.

This tale, which expertly portrays both the Black and the White experience with a delicate sense of balance, reminds us that the atrocities of slavery are still a part of the American fabric.

Even though years separate now from then, the fabric of time has held onto those memories, whether in actual ghostly form or the collective consciousness. Rosenberg is a… show more.

A routine tale told in a familiar way can be comforting and satisfying.

Embers on the Wind is a different kind of thrill altogether. The story is fresh, the characters are multifaceted, and the storytelling is original. When I picked up this novel, I knew only that it was about a purportedly haunted home that had once been part of the Underground Railroad. I had no idea what I was in for or the wild ride the author would take me on.

Each character perceives reality a bit differently, and those differences make big waves. It's best to be surprised… show more.

Lisa Williamson Rosenberg’s first novel is an original and outstanding exploration of the brutality in the lives of the people America enslaved as well as the enduring trauma from bondage faced by their present-day descendants. The plot is ingenious: the fantastic old Whittaker House in The Berkshires was a stop on The Underground Railroad. The ghosts of the freedom seekers who died while hiding there remain trapped in the house—children, adults, elders. Similarly, the contemporary Black women who visit are still weighed down by slavery’s legacy. Williamson Rosenberg does a remarkable job at entwining past and present, along with balancing… show more.