Balm is the second novel from Dolen Perkins-Valdez and yet another fantastic book from this author. Her first novel, Wench, which was incredible, dealt with the lives of people living during the Civil War while Balm addresses the time after as people struggled to rebuild lives shattered by the war.
Balm takes us into the lives of three people who are trying to move on after the war and while their stories are separate their lives intersect throughout the novel. First we have Sadie, a white woman, who was married off to a soldier by her parents. However upon arriving in Chicago she finds herself a widow. Then there is Madge who was raised as a freeborn slave by her mother and two aunts. They were healers and this gift passed down to Madge. Last there is Hemp who doesn’t even remember his real name. He worked as a slave during the war and was only freed afterwards.
These three have been affected by the war but also by things internally within themselves. Sadie finds herself a wealthy widow who is lost … until the spirit of a young soldier who died in the war begins to talk to her and through her and she learns that she is a talented medium. Madge grew up learning about the different herbs and such that are used for healing. Her gift of being able to lay hands on someone and know what’s going on in their bodies is something she wants to explore further. And Hemp finds himself at an uncertain point in his life as he desperately searches for his wife who went missing in the war. They all have to find ways to move on from their past hurts and make new lives for themselves.
Balm is a powerful novel both in words and descriptions of how people’s lives changed in the aftermath of the war. It is a novel of healing and of hope. I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended for historical fiction fans.
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You’ve made me want to read this. I love the cover. I don’t generally read a lot of historical fiction set around the Civil War. It’s never held the draw for me that WWII has. I’m not sure why.
Wendy, her books are quite good. I really enjoyed Wench and this one as well. Usually the ones I read don’t show the aftermath of the war – it’s usually during. That’s what is different about this one.
Wonderful review. I loved Wench and have been looking forward to her next book.
Nise, Wench really was good. It’s still my favorite but I enjoyed this one as well.
Darlene, this sounds like a wonderful, lovely novel. I’ll keep this one in mind.
Susan, it really is a good novel. Hope you get to read it at some point.
I enjoyed Wench and am looking forward to reading Balm. I love historical fiction, especially from the Civil War era.
Sandra, Wench was such a good novel. This one is really good as well although Wench is still my favorite.
I absolutely loved her novel WENCH and this one sounds like it will be just as good!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
Heather, I loved Wench as well. Hope you get to read this one too.
Perkins-Valdez even has me okay with reading magical realism. She is such a great writer and it’s such an interesting time period in the U.S.
Lisa, I like magical realism so that part of the book really appealed to me. Yes she’s a great writer, It’ll be interesting to see what she tackles next.
Hallo, Hallo! 🙂
Coming through the blog tour route tonight, as I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing what other readers felt whilst they read BALM! This was my first experience reading the author’s collective works, and I had the pleasure of meeting-up with her during #LitChat before my readings which I think was a benefit because I was able to draw a bit of insight into her writerly process and how the characters and the stories themselves knit inside her mind. Sometimes I like to find a connection to the writer’s process before I read a novel, and in this case, both the pre-reading experience and the book itself transformed me.
Her narrative in BALM was so very evoking of the human spirit and the breadth of the human soul I felt as if I was crossing into her world by heart rather than by mind. Nice to see how her words impacted you as you read the story and that your an appreciator of her novels, too!
Drop by: Jorie’s Review