In December I read A Free, Unsullied Land (Fomite Press, Nov. 1, 2015), a debut novel by Maggie Kast. Here are my thoughts on the book itself and the historical research it might inspire.

Henriette Greenberg is a college student in 1930s Chicago. The novel focuses on her relationship with her parents and with anthropology Master’s student Dilly Brannigan, her struggles to understand herself, and her radical political involvement. At one point she takes a train to Alabama to protest the unfair trial of the Scottsboro Boys and ends up in jail. Later she does anthropology field work on an Apache reservation.

There are several unique and interesting aspects of the novel, such as Henriette’s family background (her parents are Jews who converted to Unitarianism), differences between her upbringing and that of her boyfriend (e.g. he comes from a small town, where his family farms and hunts; Henriette’s parents hate guns in all forms), and Henriette’s regular psychotherapy appointments.

As you can imagine from her interest in psychoanalysis, Henriette has many issues that she tries to work through. Her emotions and reactions seemed true to life. On the other hand, I was often annoyed by her saucy repartee.

A Free, Unsullied Land is divided into three parts and covers the years 1927-1934. I found myself enjoying Parts II and III more than Part I, mainly because the first part of the novel jumped back and forth in time in a confusing manner. I also found that, although the tension in Henriette’s family was introduced at the beginning, it was vague and I had trouble sympathizing with her.

The main thing I disliked about this novel is that sexuality is a recurring theme. If sex is not something you enjoy focusing on in fiction, you won’t want to pick up this book.

Finally, I would like to make a few comments about the novel’s ending. I really liked that Henriette turned from anthropology to writing, since poetry was her first love. I’m glad that marriage was presented positively, but since Henriette wasn’t completely honest about her sexual past it was hard to feel entirely hopeful about her marriage. I also wish Henriette’s relationship with her parents were more resolved. Obviously I prefer more closure than the author!

Turning now to the historical references in A Free, Unsullied Land, you’ll discover them on nearly every page. If you find that historical fiction brings past decades to life before your eyes, you’ll probably be intrigued by many aspects of this novel. You could take any one of these topics as a starting point for your own research:

• Anarchism
• College life in the 1930s
• Communist Party USA
• Execution of Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo Vanzetti
• Freud and psychoanalysis
• The Great Depression
• The International Labor Defense
• The International Workers of the World (“Wobblies”)
• Jazz
• NAACP
• Native reservations
• The New Masses magazine
• Prohibition
• The Scottsboro Boys
• The study and practice of anthropology

Have you read any novels that made you dive into historical research? Please share!