Vocal Expressions

Sula is the type of story that pulls you in slowly then locks you into a fantastical tale with eyes peeled and ears eavesdropping on the lives of black folks between 1919 – 1965 in a place called the Bottom of Medallion, Ohio. Readers are introduced to colorful, quirky, intriguing, and mystical characters whose lives intertwine based on their beliefs in omens and the energy they give each other. Sula and Nel have been friends since they were kids. Sula is from a family whose matriarch, Eva Peace, “sat in a wagon on the third floor of her rooming house and directed the lives of her children, friends, strays and a constant stream of boarders.” There were no rules. Nel grew up the complete opposite, living in a house governed by rules and neatness. These two girls were inseparable until Sula went off to college and Nel remained in the Bottom, got married and had three kids. Ten years later, Sula came back to the Bottom. She was now a seductress, evil, conniving, and complicated. Y...