My Favorite Reads-June 4th

Alyce at At Home With Books just started a wonderful new Thursday meme called My Favorite Reads! This is where we can feature one of our favorite reads that we finished before we started blogging or even for older reviews that we would like to feature. We're not reviewing the books, but just giving a brief description (most likely the publisher's blurb) and then we tell you why the book is one of our favorites.

I think that this is a fantastic idea as there are so many books that I've read before I started this blog and would love to share them without a full review(many I have read years ago and my memory on all the details isn't the best). Also, I like the idea of featuring books that have been out awhile and not always focusing on current books and new releases.


For me, I've chosen a book that I read several years ago with my book club. It has stayed on my list of favorites for years and I would love to share a bit about this book with you.

The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate

(first published 2002)

Cover Art: I found the changes in the covers very interesting. The one on the left is the harback cover that I read, the middle cover is the trade paperback and the right is the mass paperback cover.

Description from Martha Southgate Website:

The Fall of Rome tells the story of Jerome Washington, the sole black faculty member at the Chelsea School, an exclusive New England boys’ boarding school. From his perch in the Classics department, Washington lectures about the glories of Roman Civilization. Washington is a rigorous, difficult and lonely man who has spent much of his career trying not to appear too “racial” to his white colleagues.

Into his classroom steps Rashid Bryson, a bright, appealing young African-American who mistakenly assumes that the black teacher will be an ally. In the end, Rashid forces Jerome to examine his own self-hatred, and as a tragic triangle forms between these two men and Jana Hansen, a new white female teacher, the stage is set for a painful confrontation.

My thoughts on this book:

As I mentioned, I read this book with my book club several years ago. The author grew up nearby in Cleveland, Ohio and most of us are familiar with the city and several of us grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland as I did. Cleveland is a racially diverse community as well as many of the suburbs. I liked how the story is told from the perspective of the three characters and you learn how each of them end up at the Chelsea school. I found this book to be an interesting look at race and class and how the characters were effected by their past, their own experiences and their own perceptions. The story examines how characters of the same race clash and differ. This is a coming of age story that also focuses on finding racial identity. As a reader, the story makes you question your own stereotypes and to look at race from different sides. For me, it was the storytelling itself and the authors writing style that impacted me as I read this book. The descriptions were vivid and real and it was the kind of book that made me think about my own perceptions about race and class. We had a great discussion of this book at my book club as well. I just learned in looking back on the book that it is considered Young Adult.