Slave Graves

Rating:
Summary: Good story desperately in need of a proofereader
Review: After reading the Secret Life of Bees, I decided to go with amazon's recommendation for this book. Hollyday has an excellent sense of place, and I was most interested in the location, having spent a large part of my life along the Chesapeake and southern Delaware shores, a fascintating area with plenty of history. Hollyday has chosen well. Despite the somewhat predictable Jake "the bad guy", I was pleased to see other colorful characters throughout, specifically Soldado and the Butterfly Lady, who make the piece more than a conflict between two opposing forces.

My BIGGEST complaint is with the typesetting. Many readers may not care or even notice; but, there is no substitute for good proofreading to assure a book's chance at being accepted as a quality piece of literature worth reading. No excuse for the distracting spelling and grammar errors, missing words, "snakes and rivers" throughout the text (only one space after a period, please), and an odd and annoying mixture of typesetter's quotes/apostrophes and straight quotes. Please take care of this so the book has a proper chance. After all, we are reading a finished work --- not something hot off a word processor.

Rating:
Summary: Gainesville Sun review of Slave Graves
Review: Gainesville Sun, August 18, 2003, Tom Hollyday's newest novel "Slave Graves" is set in contemporary, coastal Maryland and explores issues both current and timeless: slavery and the triumph of the need to be free; greed versus generosity; and the allure of love. The cast of characters is varied and lively. A mysterious shipwreck is discovered under a Maryland marsh. An expensive real estate project is held up while the site is evaluated for historical significance, while local researchers fend off impatient contractors who are losing money for failing to meet deadlines. Hollyday's always present and eclectic universe of Maryland characters living and dead, including a mysterious waterman of Mexican heritage, Native Americans, farmers, birdwatchers, Confederates and ghosts, converge on and add color to the site.

Rating:
Summary: Gainesville Sun review of Slave Graves
Review: Gainesville Sun, August 18, 2003, Tom Hollyday's newest novel "Slave Graves" is set in contemporary, coastal Maryland and explores issues both current and timeless: slavery and the triumph of the need to be free; greed versus generosity; and the allure of love. The cast of characters is varied and lively. A mysterious shipwreck is discovered under a Maryland marsh. An expensive real estate project is held up while the site is evaluated for historical significance, while local researchers fend off impatient contractors who are losing money for failing to meet deadlines. Hollyday's always present and eclectic universe of Maryland characters living and dead, including a mysterious waterman of Mexican heritage, Native Americans, farmers, birdwatchers, Confederates and ghosts, converge on and add color to the site.

Rating:
Summary: Review of Slave Graves, a novel by Thomas Hollyday
Review: October 15, 2004
John Goodspeed, Book Critic
Slave Graves, a novel by Thomas Hollyday

Slave Graves is a novel about contemporary Eastern Shore social and commercial problems, written by an author who grew up on the Eastern shore.

He studied creative writing under Elliott Coleman at Johns Hopkins University and he writes clear, plain prose.

The locale is a little island along the shore, somewhere between The Bay Bridge and Salisbury (I think). Hollyday calls it "River Sunday" and is writing several novels about it, according to his publisher.

The plot of this one involves two professional archeologists, a young woman and a fairly young man; a socially active African-American Minister, a grinning hoodlum and, among others, a rich real-estate Developer who grew up in River Sunday but now operates out of New York and wants to build fine new houses for rich folks there and a fine new bridge to the mainland across an area the minister believes Is a slaves' graveyard.

Part of a sunken ship has been found there too. The young woman, a State employee, is sent there to determine if the site is historically (or otherwise) important enough to stop construction. The fairly young man, head of a college archeology department, is asked to inspect the site because the developer believes he'll say it's not important enough to stop excavation to accommodate new bridge construction.

The big finish is a surprise!


Rating:
Summary: Slave Graves
Review: Slave Graves is a must-read for anyone hailing from the Eastern Shore / Tidewater area. The vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of the area instantly took me back and made me homesick. This author clearly has an intimate knowledge of what makes this region so special and unique. If you're not familiar with this part of the world, take Hollyday's tour in this novel. The story is fiction, but the beauty is real.

Rating:
Summary: Slave Graves
Review: Slave Graves is a must-read for anyone hailing from the Eastern Shore / Tidewater area. The vivid descriptions of the natural beauty of the area instantly took me back and made me homesick. This author clearly has an intimate knowledge of what makes this region so special and unique. If you're not familiar with this part of the world, take Hollyday's tour in this novel. The story is fiction, but the beauty is real.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific book from a new author
Review: Slave Graves is a terrific book from a new author, Thomas Hollyday, who has certainly captured the small town and character of the eastern shore of Maryland. He has skillfully blended his fictional River Sunday with an assortment of unusual and sympathetic characters so reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor.
The story focuses on one archeological discovery but for his well crafted characters has unearthed multiple motivations. Hollyday has created an interesting tension between historical preservation vs. commercial development, acedemic and idealistic beliefs vs. reality and commercial "progress". Secrets, intrigue and ambition are skillfully explored in Slave Graves.

Rating:
Summary: Slave Graves
Review: This new author has a great talent of mixing history with fantasy resulting in a hard-to-put-down reading experience.
His personal VietNam experience thirty-five years ago fits well
in this story, comparing the uncaring power of the real estate developer of today with the bigshots in Washington then who managed the VietNam war. Like Nelson Deville's Viet Nam flashbacks throughout his novels, Hollyday's flamboyant "tall tale" fantasies of peace and beauty among the horrible injustices presented in "River Sunday", strike a realistic picture of good and evil. I look forward to his next work.

Rating:
Summary: Local Author Publishes Novel
Review: Thomas Hollyday, a native of Easton and son of famed photographer H. Robins Hollyday, has written a mystery novel called Slave Graves. It is about a mysterious shipwreck discovered on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the fictitious town of River Sunday.

A very good read with a surprise ending.


Rating:
Summary: Review on Slave Graves
Review: What a wonder filled introduction to the south of the new century. I couldn't put it down! I loved the voice of this author, the overlapping mysteries of his characters and plots, and the great animals, including the leopard-spotted cat and the persecuted butterflies. Let me know when his next book is out, please. I want to read more about his world.