In Search of Bisco

Rating:
Summary: IN QUEST OF A FRIEND
Review: Erskine Caldwell takes us on a journey in search of a childhood friend whom he never forgot. Erskine and Bisco were good friends as children but were torn apart due to the segregationist mores of their times. Bisco was a so-called Negro and Erskine a so-called White. The two were destined to inhabit a land and culture which promoted inequality and friendship for both young people.

In Search of Bisco is a chronicle of Caldwell's search not only for his friend (now that he is an adult) but also an examination of the root sources of hatred and racism that separated the two. He takes us to South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana and their varied communities and asks about his friend. He gets a wealth of information about attitudes both black and white concerning Bisco.

Caldwell's south as he knew it doesn't exist today but the attitudes that it nurtured still persist. Bisco is more than a mistreated Black man but for Caldwell has become a metaphor for the oppression of Blacks throughout the south. In every state, whites share their contempt for the Biscos of this world. When encountering Blacks Caldwell finds rebellious Biscos, conservative Biscos and proud Biscos who refuse to bow to the conventions of their day. The reader is given a superb portrait of the struggle of African-Americans in the south prior to the civil rights movement and the attitudes of their white counterparts.

Bisco is a commentary on race but most of all it is a look at a friendship that could have blossomed but was stunted early in these men's lives. Bisco and Erskine show us the possibilities of what could have been in the south in terms of enduring friendships. Erskine presents us with the harsh realities. This is an excellent book worth your reading and reflection over a time and a friendship that is no more.