by Beth Macy
First published 2016
The year is 1899 on a sweltering tobacco farm in Truevine, Virginia. Two young brothers, George and Willie Muse, are offered candy by a white man, a fateful decision that will take them around the world as circus freaks. Forced to perform outrageous caricatures for royalty and packed houses, the brothers become global superstars. But their success is rooted in the color of their skin and the degrading acts they're compelled to do. Back home, their determined mother spends 28 years trying to bring them back, raising a question: Were the brothers better off as famous performers or in poverty at home? Truevine is a compelling true story rich in historical detail and racial implications.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, forced-proximity
Setting: Roanoke Region, Virginia
432 pages · Paperback · Pan
Content warnings: racism, slavery