Category: Drama Publisher: Hartwood Publishing
ISBN-10: 1629166367
Type: Fiction
Pages: 268
Copyright: March 1, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781629166360
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
When nineteen years old, Odella discovers her whole life has been a lie, she is not who she thought she was. Her papa is not her father, and questions surround her birth. Her biggest challenge comes when she is face to face with a man who claims to be her father.
Life is changed forever for nineteen year old Odella when a handsome and mysterious young man with an eye patch appears at her front door unexpectedly one day. Possessed with an ancient wisdom of her recently deceased Baba, and the audacious courage and independence of her youth, Odella finds that she must not only confront this stranger, but also unlock the secrets of her past before she can fully embrace her dreams for the future. This is a story of both generational sin and generational loving-kindness. Written in beautiful prose, it is an unprejudiced testimony to the resilency and power of the human spirit.
A review written by Mary Rymer
and approved by author of The House On Sunflower Road/ Elizabeth Towles
April 5, 2016
Excerpt
The Doberman and Boxer stood waiting for Odella at the edge of the yard. Two pairs of eyes shot looks at her, next launching that same look at the house; the back and forth of their eye movements never ceasing as she approached them. Something was wrong! She shushed them quiet with the touch of a finger to her lips.
She eased across the yard, a dog at either side. And even though her eyes remained on the front of the house, she could sense their glances to her face. Again, she placed a finger to her lips, sending a command with her eyes to each dog. She felt the animals' repressed, alerted energy in her very bones. Baba had trained them well.
She lifted a foot to the first step. A voice came from inside the house..and she froze in place.
Professional Reviews
An Unforgettable tale told in powerful, lovely prose with a purposeful and tender message
Life is changed forever for nineteen year-old Odella when a handsome and mysterious young man with an eye patch appears at her front door unexpectedly one day. Possessed with the ancient wisdom of her recently deceased Baba, and the audacious courage and independence of her youth, Odella finds she must not only confront this stranger, but also unlock the secrets of her past before she can fully embrace her dreams for the future. This is a story of both generational sin and generational loving-kindness. Written in beautiful prose, it is an unprejudiced testimony to the resiliency and power of the human spirit.
A Wonderful Book
The House On Sunflower Road is a poetically tale of the South which seduces its readers into wondering: Who is(or was)the natural father of protagonist Odella Jumaane )beautiful, courageous, 19-years-old, sole occupant of Nonsuch, an isolated home on a large fenced in plot of land located several miles outside of tiny Reedy Creek, Georgia)? Was it the deceased Baba Yesu Jumaane to whom she was "Binti" (a Swahili term for daughter) throughout her early years? And was he married to her mother, LuElla, at the time of her unexpected death? And did he-or did others-cause that death? Next, enter Luc Sweetwater (young, wearing an eye patch, with strange ties to Yesu Jumaane)to whom Odella is physically attracted but wary of his trustworthiness. Finally there is Tully Blanchard who has recently moved into a home near Nonsuch and whose interest in Odella appears abnormal. Is he someone to fear? Or to befriend? There are also others: persons who know all about Odella's parentage but are reluctant to come forward.
As the questions and mysteries mount, Elizabeth Towles begins the process of explaining. Everything, it seems, stems from a night out by a liquored up group of local good old boys culminating in an act so horrendously violent and revolting that it becomes difficult even for Ms. Towles to describe. Finally, however, at book's end readers are put at ease when the author renders a complete accounting of all that's occurred. Thankfully they now know that Odella will survive. But for most of the book they weren't at all sure she would.
The House on Sunflower Road is a magnificent book, one that should be included in every library, both public and private. Highly recommended!
Steve Kanne
Stephen L. Kanne, author
I was entranced with Ella's story
Being an avid reader, if a book doesn't grab my attention in the first few chapters, I put it down and select another one. The House on Sunflower Road had me at the first few pages. As I became entranced with Ella's story, I kept reading "just a few pages more" and finished the book in less than 2 days.
Three years after her Papa's death, Ella retrieves documents from a safe deposit box and these documents turn her world upside down...she realizes she isn't who she thought she was. When a handsome stranger, Luc, brings her a packet of letters, these also add to her turmoil. Luc becomes her protector and the sweet romance that blossoms between them is part of the charm of this wonderful book. Ella's discovery of her lineage and her growth, maturity, and acceptance of the past made it possible for her to look towards the future. A wonderful touching story and I look forward to more books from this author.
Cookiegranny, April 22. 2016
Elizabeth Towles has written a southern mystery and love story novel set in Reedy Creek, a fictitious town in southern Georgia. Reedy Creek is seemingly quiet and peaceful during the idyllic and archaic time just after the end of World War II. Vestiges of the old South remain. But it is now a time of neighborly growth and friendly prosperity. The story is not about a house, but about a girl becoming a woman, Odella, affectionately called, Ella.
Ms. Towles, using unique characters that are so well-defined that one can pick them up again many pages later, weaves a tight plot that involves all of these characters and their stories into a conclusion that neatly ties up all the loose ends that get created along the way from the fullness of time and distance with secrets kept. Elizabeth's use of unique names and lots of accurate period references makes one believe that the story could be true. That is good fiction at its best.
Nonsuch, the name given to the house on Sunflower Road, does have secrets that Ella's father held for many years, but then died before he revealed them to her. And, there is unknown evil lurking from the secrets deeply hidden and left over taboos associated with what it meant to be black in the old South. The fenced and gated perimeter of the place does seem to be a stretch, though. Probably, because it's a device needed often to make the story more dramatic.
For anyone interested in mystery and romance set in a historical and seemingly rather innocent time and place, I highly recommend the book. I enjoyed reading it even though I generally don't read this type of book. It's that good.
Ronald W. Hull is author of Hanging by a Thread, his autobiography, and nine other books.
A page-turning novel about a relationship between best friends that is interrupted because of betrayal , deceit, sexual promiscuity and pregnancy happens!
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