Accident of Birth

November 1, 2004
A World Court trial of a Liberian man accused of war crimes forces an African-American woman to come to terms with her troubled past in Neff's uneven third novel (after Wisdom
and Blackgammon
). Reba Freeman leads a full, busy life as a high-level Washington human rights advocate with a precocious teenage daughter and a loving albeit distant relationship with her well-to-do husband, Carl Thornton. The issue driving a wedge between Freeman and Thornton is the lingering emotional presence of Joseph Thomas, Freeman's first husband, who abruptly left her to return to Africa after a brief courtship and subsequent wedding. Twenty years later Freeman still carries a torch for Thomas, who returns to her life in alarming fashion when she learns that after a brief period as a village schoolteacher, he apparently became a notorious Liberian terrorist who is being tried for murdering more than 30 innocent villagers during his country's civil war. Freeman takes up Joseph's cause when she learns that the accusations may be false, risking her career and marriage to go to Switzerland and help prove his innocence. The contrast between the two story lines is sharp: the current political subplot packs a compelling punch, but Neff dulls the impact with a series of long, ham-fisted flashbacks tracing Freeman's past. A taut climax provides relief, but can't entirely make up for the meandering backstory. Agent, Denise Stinson.

November 1, 2004
Neff's (Blackgammon) heroine is torn between two loves and two countries in this novel about the American dream vs. the tragedies of war in Africa.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2004
After 20 years of marriage to Carl Thornton, Reba finds herself still haunted by her first husband, Joseph, a Liberian student she met in college. She and Joseph split after two years of marriage when they could not reconcile his desire to return to Liberia and teach in his village with her decision to stay in the U.S and start a career. Now living very comfortably in suburbia and working with a nonprofit organization that helps refugees relocate in the U.S., Reba has discovered that Joseph is on trial for human rights violations for his participation in a militia group in Liberia charged with slaughtering villagers. Reba finds herself once again torn--between Carl, ambitious and materialistic, but very much in love with her, and Joseph, embittered by the politics of his country and not asking for her help. But she is driven to learn the truth about Joseph. Neff deftly interweaves the past and the present in a novel that explores the cultural differences between Africans and Americans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)