Review of Deceptive Calm

[Frances Camera Kaplan]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The author of "Deceptive Calm," Patricia Skipper, was definitely on a mission to give us a message - a message that came across loud and clear: the vileness and decrepitude of this country's bigotry and racism have no limits.

The book carries us from the southeast of the '60s to the west coast of the '80s, and from the secretive depths of the classless Klansmen, to the idolized and privileged, wealthy upper crust. The author makes it difficult to discern which of these perpetrate the worst of the unforgivable, inhumane acts of racism. Or should I say the author makes it easy to see how naturally these despicable, horrific acts seem to come to people of all walks of life.

At the beginning of the book I felt like I was getting my first inside look at the type of violence wrought by Jim Crow during my lifetime. A look I didn't really want to have. I thought I might have to stop reading the book if that were to continue. If it had been a movie or TV show I could just close my eyes till the unpleasantness stopped and the scene changed. Luckily, the story also moved on quickly and I could continue reading.

There are some very strong female characters in this book who undergo lots of difficult and painful emotional and physical trauma. In addition to racism, these women also rise above the gender discrimination they endure in their chosen careers. Towards the end of the book, one of the worst acts of violence perpetrated upon them will keep you riveted to the page as they attempt a difficult and harrowing escape.

The ending, while not exactly resolving all issues, is happy for the most part. I couldn't tell if its abruptness was due to the possibility of a sequel, or perhaps the writer just couldn't carry on. I imagine if you had any type of connection to any of the main events of this book, it would have been very difficult to write.

The writing is good enough to spur you on, and the messages, while sad to say we still need to learn in the 21st century, are very important, and for those reasons I rate this 4 out of 5 stars. However, there are multiple trigger warnings including sex, violence, profanity, abortion, rape, bi-racial identity crisis, and marital infidelity.

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Deceptive Calm
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