Summary

The novel begins in 1867 during “Freedomtime,” on the plantation where a community of former slaves continue to live, now calling the site a town (3).

The eerie wailing of a baby, Black-Eyed Bean, woke the townsfolk. The novel’s protagonist, Rue, went to check on him in her capacity as midwife and healer. Bean had been an object of suspicion in the community since his birth a year ago, when Rue had delivered him trapped in the caul, a pale baby with black eyes. Bean’s strange appearance had disconcerted Rue and his mother, Sarah. Rue had hidden the “damning black caul” in the sheets and told the father, Jonah, to burn them (12).

The second chapter (13 – 28) is set in 1854, “Slaverytime.” Rue’s mother, Miss May Belle, was the midwife and healer but also earned money practicing hoodoo. The cook, Big Sylvia, thought that a...