Absalom’s Daughters

In Suzanne Feldman's Absalom's Daughters, two half-sisters—Cassie, a self-educated black girl working in her grandmother's laundry, and Judith, an illiterate white girl with dreams of becoming a radio star—embark on a daring road trip through the Jim Crow South in the 1950s. With aspirations to claim their father's inheritance in Virginia, they journey in a dilapidated car armed with little more than a frying pan, ham, and a few hidden dollars. This captivating blend of buddy adventure, coming-of-age narrative, and elements of magical realism explores themes of identity and race against a backdrop of beauty and turmoil.