Who is Clover by Dori Sanders for?
If you care about learning more about the racial divide, Clover by Dori Sanders is for you!
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Below, you'll find my thoughts on Clover by Dori Sanders. The book is important because it starts the conversation on race relations.
Introduction: Clover by Dori Sanders
I learned about the book, Clover by Dori Sanders while taking my Research for Writers course online. During the course, there were clips of the film, which I learned was based on a book of the same name.
Based on what I saw, the story sounded interesting, so I read the book. The main character is a 10-year-old10-year-old10-year-old, Clover Hill, who has recently lost her father, Gaten Hill, a few hours after his marriage to Sara Kate, a white woman.
Clover by Dori Sanders is about the racial divide between Blacks and Whites in the United States, the issues arising from interracial marriages, as well as death and rebirth of a family.
Published in 1990, the story is set in a rural South Carolina community. Gaten first meets Sara Kate when he is in the final stage of his college degree, but he doesn’t deepen the relationship until shortly before his death. The story is told in flashbacks.
What is Clover by Dori Sanders About?
When the story starts, Gaten’s sister-in-law, Everleen Hill, is preparing the wedding meal when the family receives a phone call that a drunk driver has hit Gaten’s car, just hours after his marriage to Sara Kate. He doesn’t survive the accident, and Clover is now an orphan.
Family members expect Sara Kate to return home, but she views herself as being responsible for her new step-daughter and thinks that her late husband would want her to raise his daughter.
Unfortunately, Gaten did not do the important work of allowing Sara Kate and Clover to spend time together to develop a relationship.
Prior to reconnecting to Sara Kate, Gaten ended a relationship with Merlee Kenyon, a black woman. Merlee talked behind Gaten’s back, telling those who would listen, that she didn’t want a readymade family. Little girls also got on her nerves. She doesn’t realize that loose lips sink ships.
Gaten is furious when he hears what his girlfriend is saying he and his daughter, so he breaks off his relationship with her. To get away, he visits his sister in Maryland, and while he is out and about, Gaten bumps into Sara Kate and they start a relationship. Gaten is truly happy in his relationship with Sara Kate, even though his family has objections to the relationship because of his girlfriend's color.
When Gaten dies suddenly, Clover had been around Sara Kate only a few times. The 10 year old is surprised to learn that Sara Kate intends to raise her. Racism goes both ways, and Gaten’s family gossip behind Sara Kate’s back, and they have unflattering things to say about her. They also resent her because she now owns Gaten's portion of the family's peach orchard, but she doesn't do any of the work. Sara Kate works as a graphic designer, but the others do not view it as real work, although she is earning more than enough money to take care of Clover and herself.
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Gena Cox, Organizational Psychologist, Executive Coach, Speaker and Author
Clover is scared and unhappy about her father’s death, and who can blame her? Her life suddenly turns upside down, and things that we often take for granted in life suddenly become an issue. For instance, Sara Kate doesn’t know how to comb Clover’s hair because the texture differs from hers. Another big issue is food. The food that Clover is accustomed to eating differs from the food that Sara Kate prepares.
Interestingly enough, as a black woman from Jamaica, I couldn’t relate to some foods that are mentioned in the story because those foods are unfamiliar to me. People from the south also could not relate to some foods that Jamaicans eat because they are unfamiliar to them, so it goes both ways. Because of the unfamiliarity with the food, Clover hates the food that Sara Kate prepares, which also is healthier than what her family prepares for her, and the portion sizes are smaller.
The relationship between Clover and Sara Kate is very rocky at first, and the young girl doesn’t trust her stepmother. There isn't clear communication between the two, and Sara Kate doesn't set boundaries for Clover because she is unsure of how to perform her new role. When Clover hurts her leg, she doesn’t tell Sara Kate, neither does she tell her when something gets into her eyes.
In one section of the book, the two argue and Clover is rude and disrespectful, and what she said must have been terrible because when Sara Kate complained to Everleen, the aunt was furious with Clover. I think this was a turning point in the relationship between the Hill family and Sara Kate.
The other critical point in Clover
by Dori Sanders is when Jim Ed, Everleen's husband, and Gaten's brother, gets stung by bees, which he is allergic to, Sara Kate saves his life by performing CPR.
As time passes, Clover realizes that her step-mom is not a bad person, and the two can forge a relationship, creating a new family structure. When the two are acting as a family unit, Clover tells Sara Kate that she would like a purple, 10-speed bike, which is something she has wanted for a while now.
Should You Read Clover by Dori Sanders?
Clover by Dori Sanders highlights the importance of clear communication in relationships. And one way to deal with the interracial divide is for people from different races to take the time to get to know each other. I recommend you read Clover by Dori Sanders.
Books by Dori Sanders
Dori Sanders' Country Cooking: Recipes & Stories from the Family Farm Stand by Dori Sanders
Clover: A Novel by Dori Sanders
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