Wow - history I never knew. Stories I never would have known. This book is heartbreaking, heart-healing and a very good reason to take an 'afternoon off' just so you can read. Really interesting read, I love books that keep ruminating around in my head long after I've finished. This is one of those books.

This story is a version of a life, based around the Civil Rights Movement, KKK and the 1962 Orly Paris plane crash that killed 130 people. Pittard weaves together the lives of the survivors and their relationships with those in the crash and each other. Multi layered with Civil Rights events and Atlanta GA society, this book is a myriad of the times. Pittard's writing is honest and clear and she pulls you in with her characters and their tales.

Pittard has managed to write an exquisite novel about a few weeks in the lives of people living in Atlanta in 1962. The catalyst which propels the story is the crash of a plane carrying the leading and richest citizens of Atlanta.

The book centers around the lives of Robert and Lily, profoundly affected by the crash. Lily has lost both her parents and her wealth while Robert has lost his mistress. .The book takes the reader through the issues of Southern society and attitudes via the character of Piedmont, the young black man who is thrown into their orbit. He is portrayed as a man with great potential, but a product of the dangerous times faced by Negroes in 1962 America.

The carelessness and white privilege in the American South is embodied by the character of P.T. Coleman. The author skillfully brings these characters together during the few weeks between the crash and the birth of Lily and Robert’s child. There is unexpected love, as well as forgiveness.

This is a compact book, that enthralls the reader with each carefully chosen word. As one sinks into the lush narrative it reveals the prejudice which was the miasma that surrounded every piece of life in the “new South”.

There is an inner decency in both Lily and Robert that offers hope for the future. As a reader I marveled at how much Pittard was able to portray in these pages. I was also saddened by the similarities to today’s world that existed in 1962, such as police treatment of minorities.

Without a doubt, this is a special and beautifully written novel that should not be missed by both individuals and book clubs.