In his novel, Goldens Are Here, Andrew Furman takes his readers on a journey backwards through time to the year 1961 with all its glories and pitfalls.
The highlight of this novel is its refreshing and nuanced depiction of Florida in the 1960s from the point of view of a Jewish-American family, the Goldens. Throughout the story, we follow the Goldens after they move south to tend to an orange grove in Florida. With their sickly son and young daughter in tow, Isaac and Melody Golden struggle to find their place in this Southern society. The challenge only becomes greater as they find themselves the target of vandalism when racial slurs are cut into the bark of their orange trees. However, the Goldens aren’t the only new people in town. A young, black man in a suit and tie is stirring up trouble because no one can quite figure out what his business is, and it seems to the locals that he can only cause problems. Everyone is suspicious, even Isaac Golden himself. The story is told in multiple points of view. Isaac, Melody, their son Eli, and a native Florida farmer named Clay all have the chance to develop their voices and characters in chapters devoted to their personal struggles and the struggles of the society around them, namely that of the Civil Rights Movement.
The story is driven forward by the relatable and realistic characters. From the Goldens themselves to the workhands on their grove to the men that make up the local co-op, each character adds another layer to the plot as it unfolds. Eli is a young boy, but his diminishing health is a focal point of the story. He’s small for his age, and he’s described as having a “chicken chest, forced convex from his fierce bronchial battles over the years.” His illness is one of many conflicts that flare up throughout the story. Furman handles each character with care, especially as he shifts between points of view, allowing the reader to inhabit the minds of these complex individuals. The characters and setting have been treated with a heavy brush; Furman creates vivid scenes and evokes emotion in an almost tangible way. He takes great care to elaborately describe the different processes behind orange farming, even going so far as to describe the different methods of budding. Isaac himself spends much of his time seeking innovation in farming while the other farmers do their best to dissuade him from challenging the way things are. This rejection of the status quo is an important theme of the book as it grounds itself in central Florida during such a tumultuous time period. Furman delivers a story that focuses on the relationships that exist between characters, history, and the environment. All of the characters in the story are forced to engage with each other in the wake of the fight for equal rights. And at the backdrop of this novel is the gossip around the Kennedy Space Station and the murder of a local couple who dared to change the Southern way of life. Although these events do not take place in the novel, the characters, especially those characters that are people of color, are very much aware of their impact on themselves and the world beyond them.
Those interested in intricately woven and detailed characters grounded by a strong historical narrative will find that and more inGoldens Are Here.
Andrew Furman is an author and professor of English at Florida Atlantic University. He writes both fiction and non-fiction, his most recent publication being an environmental memoir titled Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair with Florida. Furman enjoys writing stories that revolve around subjects such as Jewish identity and Florida.
Reviewed by Ashleigh Ray
The highlight of this novel is its refreshing and nuanced depiction of Florida in the 1960s from the point of view of a Jewish-American family, the Goldens. Throughout the story, we follow the Goldens after they move south to tend to an orange grove in Florida. With their sickly son and young daughter in tow, Isaac and Melody Golden struggle to find their place in this Southern society. The challenge only becomes greater as they find themselves the target of vandalism when racial slurs are cut into the bark of their orange trees. However, the Goldens aren’t the only new people in town. A young, black man in a suit and tie is stirring up trouble because no one can quite figure out what his business is, and it seems to the locals that he can only cause problems. Everyone is suspicious, even Isaac Golden himself. The story is told in multiple points of view. Isaac, Melody, their son Eli, and a native Florida farmer named Clay all have the chance to develop their voices and characters in chapters devoted to their personal struggles and the struggles of the society around them, namely that of the Civil Rights Movement.
The story is driven forward by the relatable and realistic characters. From the Goldens themselves to the workhands on their grove to the men that make up the local co-op, each character adds another layer to the plot as it unfolds. Eli is a young boy, but his diminishing health is a focal point of the story. He’s small for his age, and he’s described as having a “chicken chest, forced convex from his fierce bronchial battles over the years.” His illness is one of many conflicts that flare up throughout the story. Furman handles each character with care, especially as he shifts between points of view, allowing the reader to inhabit the minds of these complex individuals. The characters and setting have been treated with a heavy brush; Furman creates vivid scenes and evokes emotion in an almost tangible way. He takes great care to elaborately describe the different processes behind orange farming, even going so far as to describe the different methods of budding. Isaac himself spends much of his time seeking innovation in farming while the other farmers do their best to dissuade him from challenging the way things are. This rejection of the status quo is an important theme of the book as it grounds itself in central Florida during such a tumultuous time period. Furman delivers a story that focuses on the relationships that exist between characters, history, and the environment. All of the characters in the story are forced to engage with each other in the wake of the fight for equal rights. And at the backdrop of this novel is the gossip around the Kennedy Space Station and the murder of a local couple who dared to change the Southern way of life. Although these events do not take place in the novel, the characters, especially those characters that are people of color, are very much aware of their impact on themselves and the world beyond them.
Those interested in intricately woven and detailed characters grounded by a strong historical narrative will find that and more inGoldens Are Here.
Andrew Furman is an author and professor of English at Florida Atlantic University. He writes both fiction and non-fiction, his most recent publication being an environmental memoir titled Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair with Florida. Furman enjoys writing stories that revolve around subjects such as Jewish identity and Florida.
Reviewed by Ashleigh Ray
