Into the Fire

The Making of Isaac Hunt by Linda Leigh Hargrove, a joint imprint of Institute for Black Family Development and Moody Publishers (copyright 2007), is a fascinating story about a young black man with light skin and blue eyes who discovers a startling revelation from his granddaddy on his death bed.

Except that nothing is as it seems.

Except for some things which propel Isaac Hunt from Raleigh to the small town of Pettigrew in North Carolina, to look for Betty Douglas, the woman with whom he has a significant connection he's never known until her name was revealed to him by his granddaddy in the nursing home.

In his present state the young handsome figure of Isaac Hunt is the spoiled son of Judge Ricky Hunt and his wife Chloe. He's angry about the tone of his skin defying the darker color of his heritage. He's angry for multiple reasons he hasn't really figured out yet, but his mission to Pettigrew is the only solution he's got to come up with some resolution to what has suddenly become a confused mess of a life.

From the moment he arrives in the Pettigrew neighborhood where he hopes to find Betty Douglas, everything goes haywire. He wakes up in an old woman's home in significant pain from a beating applied by a mean white guy who was abusing a dog when Isaac intervened. There he meets Miss Lucretia, the kind owner of the home, her beautiful, spunky granddaughter nicknamed Catty, a little boy who won't talk named Patrick, and a white migrant farm preacher-man "Trip" who rooms there with all of them.

The story focuses on Isaac's determined search for Betty Douglas, her relationship to him revealed in the prologue. Through pain which includes the physical, emotional, and spiritual, Isaac perseveres until the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is revealed to him concerning the lifetime of hidden information designed to keep him safe. In Pettigrew he learns he is anything but safe at times and exceedingly well-protected at others, but the information he needs to find himself is slow to come and not without trauma and heartache.

Being a "white" woman, I loved this novel because it taught me about the different perspectives of color from the black, or African-American, points of view. Sometimes sorrowful, sometimes baffling, and sometimes refreshing, the unique conflicts and the expected and unexpected prejudices were handled expertly by Linda who created a balanced and intelligent picture of both the highs and lows of the mysteries of and reactions to skin color.

Linda Leigh Hargrove's writing style meshed the sophisticated with the lowlife perspectives, creating an interesting story of people keeping secrets all along the way of Isaac's journey to discover who he truly is. He realizes more about his personal makeup than he bargained for, regardless of his heritage, and ultimately decides he needs to do the only thing that can truly help him.

The faith issues are handled with humor and directness but clearly illustrate the sometimes difficult path to arrive at solid and meaningful conclusions that satisfy the longing of the soul. The Making of Isaac Hunt is a good story about a young man who must come to understand how he truly feels about who he is and his amazing heritage.

Although a bit fantastical in the end to decipher the labyrinth and complexity of Isaac's extended family, the story entertains, satisfies, and informs. Good job, Linda.

Father, please continue to bless Linda in all of her writing endeavors. Keep giving her stories to tell and open doors for her work. Please watch over her and pour out your Spirit upon her and her family. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.