I saw Sinners last night, which is an incredible new film by Ryan Coogler that mixes elements of historical fiction and the supernatural. Since seeing that film, I’ve been thinking about a few books. So here are characters from the film as books:
!CAUTION: SPOILERS!
Smoke & Stack
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
You may have seen this book on many lists connected to Sinners for multiple reasons. The story of Maryse and the resistance fighters takes place in Macon, Georgia in 1922. Like Smoke and Stack in Sinners, they fight their would-be oppressors who are literal monsters. Other similarities include body horror, art as power, ancestral connection, WWI veterans, and juke joints.
Murder City: The Bloody History of Chicago in the Twenties by Michael Lesy
Smoke & Stack return to The Delta after many years in Chicago where they allegedly worked for “Capone.” This triggered my memories of reading Murder City when I was studying History in grad school. This book covers a ton of murders and a chunk of them are connected to Al Capone. Knowing this history gave me an understanding of just how dark Smoke & Stacks’s time in the city probably was and why they decided to go back home.
Annie
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
Another historical fiction that I think ties in nicely with Sinners is The Monsters We Defy. In 1925 Washington DC, Clara Johnson has a gift that allows her to see into the spirit world. She realizes she must gather accomplices to help her save the souls and futures of her community from a menace. When I saw Annie on the screen in Sinners, this book sprung to mind.
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
This one may seem odd but stick with me!! In Sinners, Annie and Smoke see each other again after he lays flowers at the grave of their infant daughter. Like Yasmen and Josiah in Before I Let Go, they rekindle a love that was wounded by loss. Their chemistry is undeniable and feels deep.
Mary
Passing by Nella Larsen
As the title implies, this book is about Irene, a woman who passes for white occasionally so that she can enjoy the basics of humanity that white folks in New York enjoyed in the 1920s. Irene doesn’t actually wish to be white, but her childhood friend Clare is entrenched in whiteness. It has given her a false sense of security that ultimately puts the Black folks around her in danger. Mary reminded me of this story because she believed her whiteness would help her people only to be the one to bring danger their way.
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
Similar to the film, the vampires in this book act as a colonizing force. It takes place in 1840s along the Mexico-Texas border just as the Mexican-American War begins. Nena, like Annie, is a healer who fights for her community. This book also centers around a romance that began in Nena and Néstor’s youth, as their families were intertwined, until Néstor leaves, similar to Stack and Mary.
"Preacher Boy" aka Sammie
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
One of the essays in this book describes Baldwin’s time as a child/teen pastor and his eventual withdrawal from the Christian faith because he felt repressed by it. He talks a bit about Christianity’s “white god” and the oppression connected to him. All of which made me think of Sammie’s father telling him to chose between his faith and his passion for music. Like Baldwin, “Preacher Boy” finds freedom in his art.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
This book is LaValle’s take on the Black character’s perspective in Lovecraft’s "The Horror at Red Hook," published in 1927. In this paranormal Historical Fiction story, Tommy is hired for many odd jobs including one where he must deliver a mysterious book to a woman in Queens. Suspicious of the book, he takes on page out and, soon after, asked to play the guitar for a white man’s party. Like Sammie, a money-making opportunity with his beloved guitar sends Tommy to a point of no return.
Remmick
The Wages of Whiteness by David R. Roediger
This book was another gem from my studies in grad school and immediately came to my mind as I watched Remmick try to relate with the Black folks at the Juke Joint. Roediger has a chapter called “Irish-American Workers and White Racial Formation,” which explains how these immigrants who were treated only slightly better than Black folks joined the Democrats in the 1830s in order to join in the consolidation of European-Americans into whiteness. At the time, the Democrats were pro-slavery. So despite the fact that the Irish people were fleeing similar persecution from the English, they turned away from the persecuted Black folks of the U.S. in order to gain a spot of privilege. I thought about this as I saw Remmick choose a couple of Ku Klux Klan members as his first recruits.
I wanted to include more characters in this round-up but it seems that I haven’t read any books about Chinese-American folks in the American South or sharecropping and convict leasing.
If you have any books about those topics that you’d recommend, please share them in the comments!!
