What happens when we do not know our history? This is the central question Dolen Perkins-Valdez asks in Happy Land.
Perkins-Valdez’s 2022 release, Take My Hand, reinforced my belief that we repeat what we do not remember, and the characters and plot stay with me three years later. When Happy Land was announced, I added it to my To Be Read (TBR) list immediately.
In the beginning of the story, Nikki is on her way to Western North Carolina after her estranged grandmother, Mother Rita, pleads for her to visit. Nikki hopes to learn why her mother and grandmother are no longer speaking. What she learns instead is a powerful story about her ancestors and the kingdom they built after the Civil War.
The novel moves forward with two timelines, one narrated by Nikki in the present day and the other in her great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Luella’s, voice. Queen? Yes, Queen. Nikki learns how her ancestors, along with other freed slaves, escaped the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina and founded a kingdom called Happy Land in the mountains of North Carolina.
Happy Land is historical fiction based on real events in the 1870s and 1880s. More than one of these communities existed in the late 19th century in the South. They offered formerly enslaved people a safe haven and freedom. Most United States history classes do not cover this topic, and why it is so important to be a reader and push ourselves to learn more about the American experience.
Look for these recommendations and other books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent book store each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to make you one, too. For more recommendations or just to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
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