Welcome back to Books With Cause! Let’s dive into my latest review: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due — a supernatural horror novel set in 1950s Florida, where racism and brutality are more terrifying than ghosts.
If you’ve been following my blog for any time now, you’ve probably noticed that I do enjoy a book recommendation. There are just so many books out there, and it’s simply not possible to read them all. Even if it’s the only thing we ever did, there isn’t enough time to read all those books. So we need ways of working out what books are worth our time. No two ways are going to work the same for any two readers. To an extent, I know what I like and am pretty good at finding my own things to read. But I always hear someone out when they suggest something I might like.
Such recommendations have led me to find new authors to add to my favourites list. As mentioned in a previous article, it was a recommendation from my cousin that led to my love for Richard Laymon. It was rating a Laymon novel on Goodreads that led me to join Horror Aficionados, and I’ve been reading recommendations of that group for over three years now.
On top of that, I personally put a lot of stock in the Bram Stoker Awards. Named after the author of Dracula, the awards are hosted annually by the Horror Writers Association. Stephen King and Robert McCammon were the inaugural co-winners of the Best Novel award in 1987 with Misery and Swan Song, respectively. It just so happened that I had already read numerous books that had won this award without even knowing that it existed. I have since made it my mission to read as many of the books that have won this award as possible. I have currently read twenty-four of the forty winning novels. More so, my larger goal is to have my work nominated for the award in the future. Never let it be said that I lack ambition.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is in an exclusive club of being a Bram Stoker Award-winning novel as well as being Horror Aficionados’ recommendation. So reading this hefty book resulted in ticking two boxes in one go. I always have to second and triple check whenever I write Due’s first name, but this was also my second time reading her work, having previously read and enjoyed The Good House, so I was looking forward to getting stuck into another of her offerings.
Robert Stephens, our protagonist in this story, isn’t a bad kid. He’s only twelve, but he finds himself in some seriously deep trouble. All he was doing was standing up for his sister after she received some unwanted attention from a local boy. It’s just the merest of scuffles. The problem isn’t just the colour of Robert’s skin in comparison to the boy he disagreed with. It’s also the fact that the other boy comes from a rich and powerful family with friends in high places.
You see, this book is set in 1950s Florida. At a time when the Jim Crow laws were in full effect. Not only is life not fair for people of colour, but it’s also grossly inhumane. Instantly found guilty in a sham of a trial, Robert is sentenced to live in a reformatory for misbehaving boys. The titular establishment has a long history of cruelty and a track record of inmates who have died under mysterious circumstances. To say that Robert is not cut out for life in this setting would be an understatement. At best, he’s a tiny minnow in an ocean full of hungry sharks.
Of course, this is a horror novel, and a supernatural one at that. Robert is one of many children who has a particular gift. He can sense ghosts. But his senses are more attuned than most, and a building like the Reformatory is an all-you-can-eat buffet for ghosts. So much so that the building has been building quite a negative reputation. The Warden is desperate to repair the reputation of the place and makes a deal with Robert. If Robert can help capture some of the ghosts, the Warden might be willing to recommend Robert for an earlier release.
While we all like what we like, I think it’s important to challenge ourselves to read something different from time to time. There’s no getting away from the fact that I’m a white man and, as such, have been subject to certain subconscious privileges. While these circumstances are out of my control, I do think we all have a responsibility to educate and inform ourselves.
And that burrows down to the core of this novel. Yes, it’s a supernatural horror novel. But the fact of the matter is that ghosts are nothing in comparison to the reality of racism and the KKK that haunt every page. That’s the real horror. The biggest evil in our world is probably inequality. And when you think about a story that is set seventy-five years ago, you might well get to the final page of this one and question what has really changed in this world.
My Goodreads Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 stars)
Buy the Book:
These are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
