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The BookBrowse Review
The BookBrowse Review
Published December 4, 2024
ISSN: 1930-0018
The BookBrowse Review
Published December 4, 2024
ISSN: 1930-0018
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An explosive and emotional story of four siblings―each fighting their own personal battle―who return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them, from the author of One Summer in Savannah.
"Don't let the white man take the house."
These are the last words King Solomon says to his son before he dies. Now all four Solomon siblings must return to North Carolina to save the Kingdom, their ancestral home and 200 acres of land, from a development company, who has their sights set on turning the valuable waterfront property into a luxury resort.
While fighting to save the Kingdom, the siblings must also save themselves from the secrets they've been holding onto. Junior, the oldest son and married to his wife for 11 years, is secretly in love with another man. Second son, Mance, can't control his temper, which has landed him in prison more than once. CeCe, the oldest daughter and a lawyer in New York City, has embezzled thousands of dollars from her firm's clients. Youngest daughter, Tokey, wonders why she doesn't seem to fit into this family, which has left an aching hole in her heart that she tries to fill in harmful ways. As the Solomons come together to fight for the Kingdom, each of their façades begins to crumble and collide in unexpected ways.
Told in alternating viewpoints, Long After We Are Gone is a searing portrait on the power of family and letting go of things that no longer serve you, exploring the burden of familial expectations, the detriment of miscommunication, and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children.
Excerpt
Long After We Are Gone
People who don't live here call it the Solomon Plantation after the original owner, John Solomon, who built it in 1782. The locals, including his siblings, call it the Kingdom, in honor of King Solomon, Mance's father, and every firstborn son in the Solomon family. Even for eighteenth-century architecture, the house has a heft and audacity that is striking. A fortress. Too impractical, too big for every iteration of the Solomon family who has lived here.
Mance looks in the direction of the workshop and contemplates his and King's day, set to begin in a few hours. Normally, he doesn't know what King will have him doing. But today, he knows.
The front of the Kingdom is sagging. More specifically, the second-floor porch now droops, the old columns, last replaced a hundred years ago, no longer able to shoulder the weight of the roof. Thanks to a recent hurricane, the entire facade of the house, not just the second-floor porch, would have collapsed if not for the four white columns that circle the house balancing and distributing the weight. Another hurricane or a hit in the right place, and the home his ancestors built will fold in on itself.
They should have been replaced years ago. Mance noticed the wood rot on one of the columns while replacing a few cedar shingles that blew off during several days of spring monsoon weather. King had his own ideas and timeline for renovations, and they always involved Mance's labor but rarely his opinion. Years spent replacing the grand staircase and all the windows, and building and installing all the crown molding, were not in vain. It all needed to be done. The house was in disarray. But the columns—the columns should have been priority.
They are now, which should satisfy Mance, but instead humbles him under the weight of the work King prescribes. King, as always, insists on maintaining architectural accuracy by building his own columns instead of purchasing premade ones, a project that will take a few months to complete and thousands of hours of labor.
"My great-great-granddaddy built this house with his own two hands." King always looks at his ashy, scarred hands, with their own share of half and crooked digits, when he says this. Until today, Mance never looked at his hands. They were well on their way to mirroring King's. Wood has splinters. Tools are sharp. They've dropped a few parts along the way. Such is the life of a carpenter and his carpenter son.
Mance builds things with his hands but never thought they would speak for him. That they could serve as a way of communicating. He presses his fingers against his palm, making a fist, and moves his thumb over his index finger. A. Then slowly lifts his fingers and touches his thumb to the base of his pinkie. B. He curls his fingers. C. He holds the C and tries to recall how to form a D.
Fuck this, Mance thinks and shakes his hand free of the invisible alphabet, lighting a cigarette with it instead. He can do that with ease. The crisp scratch of the flint hitting steel, the sound of burning ash filling his ears. He doesn't need to learn this. Henry is going to be fine. Solomon men stand strong, resilient. They survived slavery, four wars, and Jim Crow. Henry can survive silence.
Mance reminds himself to be where his feet are, the ground beneath him. His land. Ten acres of swampland that no one but him wanted. Not even King when Mance approached him about it.
"We don't need that land."
"It's ten acres. It will give us the waterfront. The Kingdom should lead to the water."
"We have all we need right here."
"If we don't buy it, someone else will. Miss Jessie said she heard some white men in suits asking about it."
"Let it be."
King listened to all of it and heard none of it. Their conversations often went like this, around and around, ending at what King wanted. Let it be. Mance wasn't meant to oppose him or understand why he reached whatever conclusion. To have a voice at all, really. Normally, he was content to defer to...
Excerpted from Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris. Copyright © 2024 by Terah Shelton Harris. Excerpted by permission of Sourcebooks Landmark. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Sourcebooks Landmark. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
Here are some of the recent comments posted about Long After We Are Gone.
You can read the full discussion here, and please do participate if you wish.
Be aware that this discussion will contain spoilers!
Are there passages or quotes that stood out for you?
I was struck by the richness of Ms Harris' descriptions. One of my favorites is "“The humid air stinks of minimum wage and food stamps, of fried food and bad decisions.” Are there passages that you find richly descriptive? - chrisnicel
Each of the siblings makes some pretty questionable choices. Do you think they all redeem themselves in the end?
I think a girl summed up my feelings very well. - swchis39
How did each of the four siblings grow and change throughout the course of the book in your view? Was there one sibling whose story or struggles particularly resonated with you?
I loved following the growth of the four siblings. After losing Simon, Junior learned to stop being who others expected him to be and just be himself. Mance learned to leave behind his life of violence. Cece has to accept the consequences of her ... - bettyt
How did each of the siblings feel about their relationship to the family property, in your opinion? Were they all equally impacted by the family’s history on the land? Did that change by the end of the novel?
I thought Mance and Tokey were the most connected to The Kingdom, maybe because they chose to stay there. Although, Tokey may have been more of a prisoner to that life than choosing it. But they did all seem to understand that selling the land was ... - scottishrose
How do you see the effects of intergenerational trauma playing out among each of the characters? Do you think they were successful in breaking the "Solomon curse"?
Sometimes the only way to get a fresh start is to get rid of something that has been the weight on the shoulders of those involved. In this case it seems to have been the land and house. At the end, the family members did seem to have come together ... - rebeccar
How do you think accepting the money might have changed things for each of the siblings? In what ways would their lives be better, and in what ways, worse?
Accepting the money would not have solved all of their problems. In time the money is gone. Keeping the land has lasting benefits and helps the family unit. With no land who knows where each family member would have evolved. - swchis39
In the Author's Note, Harris says she feels strongly about trigger warnings. What did you think of this statement? Did it alter your approach to the novel?
I agree with darleneb…I don’t require or find necessary, but for some it may help them decide to read or not. - jillg
Overall, what do you think of Long After We Are Gone (no spoilers)
I am a huge fan of Terah Shelton Harris’ writing style and her artfully done story telling. I really enjoyed this book and I too had never heard of “heir property “.
A family so at odds but also so filled with ... - jillg
Tokey feels like an outsider in her own family. Why do you suppose this is? Did you ever feel that way in your own family?
Tokey is far less successful than her siblings. The contrast which she perceives is an added burden to her life; her reliance on food as a "solution" is a common way to deal with life's problems. Many people find a salve to ease... - patriciag
Tokey thinks that it was impossible for King to be a good parent all the time to each of his children. Do you think that was true? What did you think of King as a parent?
With all his own grief and emotional problems, King was doing what he could. I don’t think he knew how to handle some of kids issues. King was overwhelmed - judiem
Were you familiar with the concept of heir property before you read this book? What is your take on it?
I am glad to know that I am not the only one who did not know about heir property. I thought it was sadly lacking in this book to not give more information about this issue. The title seems misleading as well. What could have been saved "long ... - linz
What audience would you recommend this novel for? Are there other books that you’ve read that you felt were similar, either in themes or writing style?
I also see this as a good book for book clubs. However, I’m in two clubs and only think one of them would possibly like this. I also enjoyed her book, One Summer in Savannah. - jillg
What could King or Junior’s siblings have done to help him define his identity as he was growing up? Do you sometimes feel like a different person on the inside than you are on the outside?
Until Junior acknowledged and accepted himself, no one else could help him or make him feel accepted. Hiding a secret will always put a barrier around you, one that you have to always keep up and therefore you cannot relax and be your true self. ... - ruthiea
What did you think of Ellis's reaction when CeCe finally tells him the truth? Did it surprise you at all?
Ellis loved CECELIA unconditionally. He had overlooked her past indiscretions.
I wasn’t surprised he left she let herself down by embezzling funds. But he was also very upset at what she did. Interesting I think he’ll wait for ... - judiem
What did you think of Junior's confrontation with James? Did his actions surprise you?
I believe Junior’s anger was justified - but - violence is not the right way to achieve justice. The presence of the sledgehammer was a constant from the beginning of the book so it made sense, but again brutally beating his wife’s father... - LS
What did you think of the path each sibling's life took in the Epilogue? How do you see their lives proceeding? Which do you feel will fare well?
They will all come to terms with their pasts, and pay their dues, especially CeCe, and then move forward. I think they will move on in different directions but return to their land as some families return to the family home. They will be there for ... - ruthiea
What do you think each of the siblings' different reactions to the passing of their father says about them? What do you think it says about grief in general?
The children in this book are very much like siblings in real life. Many times there is no way to predict how everyone is going to handle it. Unfortunately, if a parent still owns property, it can complicate everyone working together unless a parent ... - rebeccar
Why do you think CeCe was so reluctant to give in to her love for Ellis? What held her back?
I felt so sad for Cece’s need to get away. She clearly felt she could do more with her life and wanted the attention that money, clothes, “a fancy life” could bring her. So much stemmed from the lack of importance she felt in her ... - candaceb
Why do you think King didn't tell his children the truth about what happened to their mother?
I think King was of a generation that didn’t talk about anything that was traumatic or shameful. I think also that denial can be strong. He was so involved in work, making money to keep a roof over their heads, etc. perhaps her death was so ... - candaceb
Why do you think Mance had such trouble accepting that his son is deaf, and why do you feel he was so reluctant to hold him? Why does this change at the end of the book?
Mance had used his hands to build things and also in violent ways. I don't think he knew what to do with a baby. I found his focus on Henry's laugh to be interesting. It seemed to calm Mance in times of stress. I although think that because... - scottishrose
Terah Shelton Harris's marvelous family drama Long After We Are Gone begins with the death of the Solomon family patriarch, King, whose last words are "don't let the white man take the house." As his four adult children return to the farm that their ancestors have occupied for generations, they discover how difficult it will be to fulfill King's wish. The 200-acre parcel has been passed down over the years as heir property — a system whereby all legal heirs receive an equal interest in the land (see Beyond the Book). Because King had no will, developers are challenging the family's ownership of the valuable waterfront property.
Complicating matters is the fact that each of the four siblings feels differently about the homestead. Mance, for example, maintains a deep connection to it ("He loves this land because his father does. It provides a sense of belonging…He isn't from this land; he is of this land"). His sister, CeCe, on the other hand, has no desire to retain the property ("The humid air stinks of minimum wage and food stamps, of fried food and bad decisions"). For the eldest, Junior, being home brings painful memories, while Tokey, the youngest, hopes being in their childhood house together will create a sense of family she's never known.
Although the property dispute provides the bones of the story, at its heart are its four main characters. Each is beautifully drawn and unique, coming into the novel harboring painful secrets that they're unwilling to share with the people who should love them unconditionally. Separated by age and temperament, they all feel isolated from the others in their own ways. As the book begins they've individually hit crises unrelated to King's death, aching to reach a point where their lives are stable — and the pain of each situation is palpable. In one instance, Mance is contemplating his infant son, who's been born deaf:
"It astounds Mance that this tiny person already means more to him than anyone else does. That one day he existed when the day before he did not. How instantly parental love materializes. A fierce desire to protect him flooded Mance when he first held him in his arms…Yet he struggles to accept him as he is. He struggles to make sense of such feelings. The two emotions grate against each other and torment him, fracturing his breath and massaging his heart."
The siblings are all deeply flawed but so relatable that they feel like friends rather than characters in a book. One can't help but root for them to overcome their challenges and for the estranged family to heal. The story rotates its point of view between the four, so readers get to know them all intimately, strengthening the connection to them even more.
Beyond the injustices of racism and heir property, Harris explores other issues that might arise in any family (violence, homophobia, disability, eating disorders). Perhaps most crucially, she illustrates how trauma is passed down through families, generation after generation, and considers how one might break the destructive cycle. I appreciated the way the author dealt with these sensitive subjects, subtly examining them without allowing her message to become overbearing.
The book is fast-paced, and I found it hard to put down. There are a few over-the-top scenes that, critically speaking, one might consider unworthy of such an otherwise outstanding work; they explode with improbable action more fitting of popular cinema than fine literature. I have to admit, though, I found them exceptionally satisfying; while implausible, they still feel right for the moment, and will leave many readers cheering.
Overall, I felt Long After We Are Gone to be a sensitive exploration of heir property and family dynamics, and I heartily recommend it to a broad audience. The novel's many themes and relatable characters make it a great choice for book clubs.
Reviewed by Kim Kovacs
Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of No Two Persons
Etaf Rum, New York Times bestselling author of A Woman is No Man and Evil Eye
Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author ofThe House Girl and The Last Romantics
Rated 5 out of 5
by Betty Taylor
Emotional Sibling Drama
"Long After We Are Gone" by Terah Shelton Harris is a compelling and evocative exploration of family, secrets, and redemption. The novel centers around the Solomon siblings, who return to their North Carolina home, known as “The Kingdom,” following their father’s unexpected death to save their ancestral land from being sold. Their father's last words, “Don't let the white man take The Kingdom,” set the stage for a powerful family drama.
The characters in this novel are incredibly relatable and endearing, each with their own set of flaws and vulnerabilities. I couldn't help but like them all, despite their imperfections and the questionable choices they sometimes made. Junior, the eldest, is secretly in love with another man despite being married. Mance, the second son, struggles with his temper and legal troubles. CeCe, the eldest daughter, faces the consequences of embezzling money from her firm’s clients. Tokey, the youngest, grapples with her sense of belonging and harmful coping mechanisms. Each sibling's struggle is depicted with sensitivity and depth, making their journeys both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Ellis, who was treated like one of the siblings, was a voice of reason and an anchor for the siblings.
Rated 5 out of 5
by Carmel B
A House Is Not A Home
Secrets, lies, shame and guilt prevent three generations from enjoying their family home and each other, until four gritty siblings join forces to change their future. While we watch each one of them reach inside themselves and come to their collective “David and Goliath” moment, the buried tragedies of the deep south are once again brought into the light of day. Harris brilliantly weaves in a lesson about The Torrens Act (aka The Real Property Act of 1900), its original purpose of “helping to clear titles for black landowners” and its ultimate “scheme by the rich to seize the land of the poor.” Suspenseful and startling with a fair measure of romance. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Rated 5 out of 5
by Carmel B
A House Is Not A Home
Secrets, lies, shame and guilt prevent three generations from enjoying their family home and each other, until four gritty siblings join forces to change their future. While we watch each one of them reach inside themselves and come to their collective “David and Goliath” moment, the buried tragedies of the deep south are once again brought into the light of day. Harris brilliantly weaves in a lesson about The Torrens Act (aka The Real Property Act of 1900), its original purpose of “helping to clear titles for black landowners” and its ultimate “scheme by the rich to seize the land of the poor.” Suspenseful and startling with a fair measure of romance. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Rated 5 out of 5
by Sonia Francis
Drama in King Solomon kingdom
Family saga- this one is for you.
Long After We Are Gone is a ridiculously explosive account of the Solomon family and the secrets each carry. Coming together after their father’s death to save their ancestral home is no easy task. Each of the four Solomon siblings are broken, there is a comma between them all , they are all trying to be patched back together any way they can. As they come together to fight for the kingdom each of their facades begin to crumble and collide in spectacular unexpected ways.
Terah Harris brilliantly tells a story in alternating view points from each sibling revealing a power keg about family and the secrets kept, the things that one refuses to let go. Secrets from addictions , embezzlement, homosexuality while being in a lengthy marriage and criminal acts and violence.
This is a heartfelt story about the power of family and letting go of the toxicity that no longer serves you and legacies we pass on to children.
This novel is ripe for bookclubs discussion. I unequivocally loved it and I highly recommend it. I have already wishlisted Terah Shelton Harris other novel One Summer In Savannah .
Rated 4 out of 5
by Jill
Great Read
LONG AFTER WE ARE GONE
Narration by Diontae Black was very well done.
I enjoyed her previous book, One Summer in Savannah, and I enjoyed this one, as well. I am a huge fan of Terah Shelton Harris’ writing style and her artfully done story telling. A generational family drama set in North Carolina, where patriarch King’s last words are, “Don’t let the white man take the house.” Thus, binding his children to the preservation of his legacy, and his dreams.
A family so at odds but also so filled with love. Four siblings that are each battling personal problems, must come together to try and save the Kingdom from a development company.
Touching on buried secrets, forgiveness, love, homophobia, heir property (which I had never heard about), addiction, and violence.
I look forward to more from this accomplished author.
Rated 4 out of 5
by Robin
Intriguing
A much needed exploration into heir property , something many of us know nothing about but should be more informed. For me this claimed to be an introduction into an area I will further investigate on my own.
In Terah Shelton Harris's novel Long After We Are Gone, the family at the heart of the story is at risk of losing their land because it's considered "heir property" (aka "heir's property" and "heirs' property"). The author defines this as "a form of ownership in which descendants inherit an interest in the land, similar to holding stock in a company. Heir property does not constitute a clear title which means the land is vulnerable to developers, corporations, and governments to use 'legal' laws to acquire the land." Because of the vagaries of ownership associated with heir property, it's often been used to deprive Black farmers of their inherited land — just one of many such tools that have been systematically employed to dispossess them of their property over the decades since emancipation.
Black farmers have historically faced massive hurdles to land ownership in the United States. Before the American Civil War, not very many were able to establish their own farms, in some cases being prohibited by law. There was a glimmer of hope that this would change after the defeat of the Confederacy; civil rights laws were passed which in theory granted Black men equal rights to white ones. In addition, a few reparation programs were put in place, including Special Field Order No. 15, which divvied up Confederate plantations and deeded them to formerly enslaved Black families. However, Abraham Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, ordered the lands returned to their original (white) owners, so most Black farmers were divested of the land they'd been given, and many states enacted laws restricting their rights.
Some Black landowners were able to hold on to their property, but financial stability remained elusive. Most farmers, then as now, took out loans to buy seed and fertilizer for the coming year, which they'd pay back once harvested crops were sold. White farmers could obtain these loans from the federal government, which denied them to their Black counterparts. Black farmers were forced to turn to their wealthier white neighbors for funds, who frequently charged exorbitant rates, often leading to loss of land (which they'd then continue to work as sharecroppers, a system only marginally better than slavery). Nevertheless, in 1910 it's estimated that some 200,000 Black farmers owned around 20 million acres of land, primarily in the South.
It's long been acknowledged that federal practices, particularly those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have been responsible for Black land loss since its peak in the early 20th century. USDA policies were deemed so discriminatory that at one time the agency was widely known as "the last plantation." Over the past century, these practices, including laws that make it harder to retain heir property, have resulted in the systematic seizure of millions of acres of farmland and have, according to the National Black Food and Justice Alliance, "robbed Black farmers and their families of hundreds of billions of dollars of inter-generational wealth."
Recent years have seen movements to correct some of these wrongs. In 2020, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Kirstin Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Justice for Black Farmers Act, which would "enact policies to end discrimination within the USDA, protect remaining Black farmers from losing their land, provide land grants to encourage a new generation of Black farmers and restore the land base that has been lost, and implement systemic reforms to help family farmers across the United States." Among other things, the act would:
It has been pointed out that such land grants were awarded early in the country's history (e.g., the 1862 Homestead Act), but most were unavailable to Black citizens. The proposed 2020 act died in committee. It was reintroduced in 2021 and again in 2023 but has yet to pass as of this writing.
Black farmers protest USDA discrimination at Lafayette Park across from the White House in 1997, from U.S. Department of Agriculture
Filed under Places, Cultures & Identities
By Kim Kovacs
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