James McBride has done it again. Although, “Miracle at St. Anna’s” differs in genre from his first book, “The Color of Water”, his style of writing is still comparable.
I had to read “The Color of Water” as part of my role as an RTA for the freshmen class. As I was reading the book, I became drawn to McBride’s story, and connected with it on a personal level. Therefore I was beside myself when Seton Hill University hosted him to come and talk to the students. Pittsburgh Live had a reporter come to Seton Hill to conver the event.
When James McBride visited Seton Hill University in the Fall, I purchased his second novel “Miracle at St. Ana”. I knew that this book was fictional, compared to the autobiography which I fell in love with, however thought that I would give it a try. I began to read the text after the Lecture; however as the story of a SHU student’s life goes, there isn’t much time for personal reading.
It honestly wasn’t until it was assigned that I was able to pick up the book and enjoy it. While reading the book, I saw James McBride in Sicilian Hall talking about his trip to Italy to write the book. While reading the book I became attached to Train. I’m not sure if McBride intended the reader to fall in love with this character however he did an amazing job with the adjectives he used to describe him. Train’s physical characteristics almost ascend above humanity. His chocolate features, larger than life size and simple southern language really gives him character. As if Train’s physical descriptions weren’t attractive enough for a character, his emotional side indefinitely catches my attention. While reading the book, all I really kept in visioning was this man beyond men cradling this, as portrayed on the cover and through the text, frail, sick, lonely boy in the middle of a war. A war which he probably doesn’t understand, then again how many of us even understand it. I was just captivated by the characters that McBride shares with us, and am thankful that the book was assigned because I don’t know that I would have gotten to a ‘pleasure reading book’ until the summer time.
More will be added to my blog because this is the text that I will be presenting on, so look for some additional posts and though driven questions.