The main idea in the book “Pray for Sheetrock” by Melissa Fay Greene is the racial and social movement. In her nonfiction work, Green elaborates the issues that faced McIntosh, a small town in Gorgias. For a long time, the town was ruled by a white sheriff who seemed to care very little about the skin color (Greene 3). However, he used his political tactics to rule the town like a monarchy. No black was allowed in any political position. The people of the McIntosh town accepted the status quo of racial discrimination and segregation. The blacks had no option but to endure this discrimination because all the political leaders were blacker. The leaders did not care about the discrimination and segregation, but rather, all they cared about was to run their illicit businesses such drug trafficking, prostitution, and gambling.
Greene portrays the town as a total different world, detached from the reality and democratic civilization. The whites are portrayed as the rich and the elite group. They came to the town to look for women, to gamble, to drink, to buy or sell drugs, to buy guns among others. McIntosh was a sanctuary of lawlessness and nobody cared to address it, even the sheriffs and the deputies. The black did not take any tangible actions. They believed that their problems can be solved by prayers. Whenever they had any problem, they could go to the church and pray over it, anticipating that things will change. They did nothing to solve their oppression other than going to the church to pray over it (Greene 12). However, nothing changed. When Thurnell Alston arrived in McIntosh, things started to change. He told the blacks that their problems cannot be solved by prayers alone. They have to take action against the discrimination and segregation which was persistent in the town. Thurnell worked hard to solve the problem of the social relationship which existed between the white and the blacks. Thurnell was later arrested and charged with drug trafficking. This was a representation of mass incarceration, which existed among the African American Communities.
The book was organized in a coherent with ideas which are flowing and easy to understand. Her expressions and stress on the issues made it quite vivid as you picture the scenarios she was explaining. Greene is a novelist, but she decided not to use the novelistic techniques because she knew that if she does so, the readers may mistake it as a fiction or exaggerated events. She employed journalistic tricks which made her events flow in the right way and bring a picture of reality among the readers. She even employed some effects of Truma Capote in his book “In Cold Blood”. She did not use asides, but she could skillfully describe the events and the plots in a way that a mere exposition could not easily do. She also applied distinct voices and poetic rhythms in the book. She was able to praise the county in which the events took place in a way that the residents will develop the urge to read the book even longer. As a matter of fact, Greene is a skillful writer who used her techniques to write an exquisite book that would give the readers the true picture of the information she was trying to deliver. With her journalistic writing styles and the application of unique effects, the book can easily be read by the general public. So long as you are able to read a newspaper, “Pray for Sheetrock” is a good book for you.
My opinion is that the book looks neutral with no bias towards any fact or any ideology. Moreover, Greene was just reporting the events of what really took place in the town of McIntosh. Julia Reineke, a book reviewer in Atlanta said that “Pray for Sheetrock” is both legendary and true. She admires Greene’s writing skills and the ability to express the facts so vividly. I will recommend this book to other readers because it’s one book that you will learn both the unique writing skills of non-fiction novels as well as getting the true picture of what McIntosh really was. A simple way to travel time and visualize the actual vents of what took place in McIntosh.
Works Cited
Greene, Melissa Fay. Praying for sheetrock: A work of nonfiction. Da Capo Press, 2006.
