Gloryland

September 15, 2009
Elijah Yancy was born with African and Indian blood in 1863 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Emancipation Day. But freedom is not synonymous with equality in Spartanburg. Out of fear for his safety, Elijahs parents force him to leave home at age 16. With few options, Elijah makes his way to Nebraska and enlists in the U.S. Cavalry. During stints in the Philippines, Cuba, and the Presidio, Elijah struggles with orders to subdue people fighting for their freedom. It isnt until he gets posted to Yosemite National Park that Elijah finally comes into his own. Patrolling the beautiful and wild nature preserve, Elijah has time to process all he has seen and been through, while finding comfort in a place indifferent to the color of his skin. Johnsons telling of Elijahs life takes the form of a diary written in prose with a soothing cadence, a medium in which a man feels at liberty to be brutally honest about himself and his circumstances. Johnsons novel is an engaging and poetic meditation on what it means to be truly free.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)