Cardinal Hill
Cardinal Hill is a thoughtful coming-of-age novel set in the Deep South in the 1930s and ´40s. Margaret Norman barely remembers her mother, who died just after her birth. Margaret’s sister, Louisa, resents her sister for reasons that Margaret can’t fathom. Her father, Jim, is busy with his law practice and leaves the rearing of his daughters to their great-aunt Maggie and their black housekeeper, Ida. In fact, Ida’s daughter, Lily Mae, is more like a sister to Margaret than Louisa has been. What should be a comfortable, secure life is beset by insecurities and secrets—no one talks about Margaret’s late mother, Weezie, though her absence is felt daily.
Margaret finds comfort in her art and hopes that her father will deliver on his promise to enroll her in art lessons. When she ultimately does begin art lessons, the teacher turns out to be her mother’s old friend, who begins, bit by bit, to dole out precious information about Weezie. When Margaret sees a painting of her mother dressed as a nymph, she begins to put together the pieces of her mother’s life and to answer some questions that have plagued her since she was born.
The book evokes a bygone time and place, dropping the reader squarely in 1940s Georgia. Though Margaret is growing up during a time of depression, war, and racial tensions, she is a typical teenage girl who is an engaging protagonist. The book flows seamlessly, as it tackles themes of identity and family.
