Blurb:
A
former slave gets his dream job building the Brooklyn Bridge, but finds himself
at war with the gangs of Irishtown. Will the corrupt Metropolitan Police save
or sacrifice him?
1863 Weeksville, Brooklyn: The free Black
community of Weeksville becomes home to an unusually small boy and his mother
who fled Manhattan during New York’s Draft Riots. When his mother succumbs to
her injuries, the boy swears revenge against everyone and everything that
contributed to her death. His diminutive size and acrobatic climbing abilities
make him a spectacle to behold, while his awkward social habits make him an
outcast to everyone in Weeksville, except the adopted family he swears to
protect.
When
his stepbrother is attacked, the boy becomes embroiled in a battle between the
Irish Gangs and Whiskey Kings of Irishtown while the corrupt Metropolitan
Police sit on the sidelines. The backdrop of the action is the building of the
Brooklyn Bridge and the racial tensions of the period.
Will
the boy survive the ordeals of the day and achieve his dream of being a
high-flying tower man on the bridge project? Or, will he become another victim
of the Irish gangs and never know the joy of standing atop the tallest
structure in North America?
About the Author:
A.
Robert Allen is a long-time resident of New York City and a higher education
professional. A Wave From Mama is his
second novel of historical fiction and Volume Two in his series, Slavery and
Beyond. The impetus for the first volume, Failed
Moments, was his personal genealogical research which traced his family
tree back hundreds of years and uncovered roots that were White, Black,
Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish. Failed
Moments is a fictional account of his ancestors in 1790 during the slave
revolution in what would become Haiti, and later in 1863 during New York’s
Draft Riots. Find out more about the author and his works at his website: http://arobertallen.com
Review:
Venture
Simmons is a deformed child—short for his age, but with long arms, he looks
more simian than human. He and his mother escape slavery, only to meet
brutality on the streets of Manhattan. They escape to the free black community
of Weeksville, Brooklyn, before his mother succumbs to her wounds. Having
witnessed his mother’s assault, Vent vows to kill those responsible. However,
he’s so traumatized, he thinks everyone is—until he meets a man named Moses who
corrals him and turns him over to the Washingtons, who adopt him. Today, we
would probably call Vent autistic. Or maybe it’s all just post-traumatic
stress. But he’s a genius with math and a natural acrobat. And when they
announce plans to build the Brooklyn Bridge, he wants to become a tower man,
swinging from the heights of the structure, rigging the steel cables.
Unfortunately, he falls afoul of the Irish gangs and the Whiskey Kings.
A Wave From Mama was yet another original
plot with deeply-drawn characters by A. Robert Allen. We see the world through
the eyes of a traumatized child who speaks to his departed mother, and recites
his multiplication tables (well past those I learned) when he’s upset and needs
to calm down. We watch him heal, develop, and grow. We also see the inner
workings of the Irish gangs, the Whiskey Kings, the New York Police, and the
building of the Brooklyn Bridge. A Wave
From Mama is a fascinating page-burner, and I highly recommend it.
Author Website: http://arobertallen.com
Warnings: Violence
Length: 246 Pages
Prices:
Print: $9.99
Digital: $4.99
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