The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia Book

I really enjoyed the first half of The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia. Gladys, the eleven-year-old narrator, has an authentic voice. The town of Threestep, Georgia in 1938 feels very real. The author does a great job of capturing the times and the location. Despite the large number of characters, they are described in sufficient detail that they are easy to keep straight. The author has clearly done a tremendous amount of research.

A new teacher, a world traveler, arrives and shakes up the town in many ways. She introduces her students to the Arabian Nights and dares to teach black students alongside white students. Issues of race and prejudice weave through the text in a thoughtful way.

The teacher rallies her students and the town to put on a Baghdad Bazaar, Just past the halfway point, the big night arrives. The plot begins to unravel a bit, with developments that don't seem plausible or in character with the rest of the book.

The narrative grinds to a complete halt when a story within a story within a story only tangentially related to the plot goes on for 70 pages. The author's editor did not do her a favor by allowing this aside to stay in the novel. The relevant information could have been relayed in a few pages and the rest left out entirely or added in an appendix. I can feel the author's passion for the information in the way it is conveyed, but as a reader it was hard to get through while impatiently waiting to hear what's going to happen next with the main thread of the book. I actually skipped to where the original narrative started up again, finished the book, and then went back to skim through the story within a story within a story.

There was a lot of wrapping up of plot points and characters' lives in the last chapter of the book, along with the introduction of new plot points that didn't add to the resolution of the book. Events happened that did not seem in keeping with the book's overall tone.

I recommend The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia with mixed feelings. I would have given the first half of the book five stars. Other readers may be less disappointed in some of the plot turns, or may find the long aside more interesting. If thoughtful and well researched historical fiction of this sort appeals to you, I would certainly recommend giving the book a try.