Bluebird, Bluebird Summary and Theme

Bluebird, Bluebird Summary

The novel opens in Lark, Texas, in October of 2016 with Geneva Sweet attending to the graves of her husband, famous blues guitarist Joe “Petey Pie” Sweet, and son Lil’ Joe. Cut to a courtroom where Black Texas Ranger Darren Mathews testifies about his role in his buddy Mack's altercation with neighbourhood white supremacist Ronnie Malvo. Although Darren believes he has done enough to shield his buddy from prosecution, the murder weapon is still missing, and Darren is also dealing with personal issues.

He is battling alcoholism, on administrative leave, and separated from his wife. Because of his friendship with Mack and his wish to put an end to all crimes with racial overtones, Darren feels a personal connection to the case. His choice to join the Ranger Corps instead of continuing his studies to become a lawyer was not supported by his wife or his Uncle Clayton, who was a lawyer.Darren reviews the autopsy reports for both Missy Dale and Michael Wright, revealing Missy was strangled and Michael was savagely beaten with a wood board before drowning. Darren interviews Lynn the bartender at the icehouse and concludes Missy and Michael were murdered. Darren zeros in on Keith Dale, timber mill employee and husband of Missy Dale. After a violent confrontation with Darren, Keith confesses to killing Missy and beating Michael with his hands.

He stopped short of using the wood boards in the back of his truck. Once Isaac is caught fleeing Wally’s compound in Michael’s stolen BMW and he confesses to killing Michael, the last piece of the puzzle is complete. Isaac also confesses to being an accomplice to Joe Sweet’s murder. Wally, whose father loved Geneva and bought the café for her, murdered Joe in a fit of rage and bitterness with Isaac as the only witness. For six years, Isaac carried the secret until Michael Wright came to town to deliver Joe’s long-lost guitar from Michael’s uncle, a former friend, and band member with Joe.

Geneva is finally able to rest knowing the truth of her husband’s death. Darren returns home to continue his career as a Ranger, but a part of his past returns in the form of his alcoholic mother holding Mack’s missing pistol. Darren’s future hangs in the balance to be continued in the second book of the series Heaven, My Home, published in 2019.

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Bluebird, Bluebird Character Analysis

DARREN MATHEWS

Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is an officer of the law with a deep personal conviction to help solve racially motivated crimes and a personal past that deeply shapes him as a person yet threatens to overshadow his present life situation. Darren is not an ordinary middle-aged man. Raised by his twin uncles, he has lived his entire life under the care and abiding love of William and Clayton but without the influence of a female. Torn between the two loves of his uncles, practicing law and serving as an enforcer of the law, his life and allegiances are split. When the narrative begins, Darren is presented as a protagonist who traded the affluence of a law degree for the true love of his soul, wearing the badge of a Texas Ranger. Though Darren claims it was the infamous dragging death of James Byrd that drove him home and into the service of the Rangers, in his heart, he knows it is ultimately for William: “Darren had decided on the immediacy of the only law that mattered to him them: boots on the ground-hand-stitched, preferably, gator or cowhide- a badge, and a Colt .45. The internal scales that forever weighed on his heart tipped in favor of his uncle William” (35). Darren is also burdened by a growing addiction to alcohol that is affecting his relationship with his wife and clouding his judgment.

Darren’s entanglement in his friend Mack’s case reveals his crusade to eradicate racial hate crimes, but what he finds in Lark, Texas, forces him to truly examine his motivations and come to terms with the deeply embedded inequalities in the justice system in which he serves. Through his character, racial strife that still exists in America is highlighted. As a Black man, Darren has achieved a high status, yet he is still judged unequally by the color of his skin. The investigation into Lark pushes him to his professional and personal limits. By the end of the narrative, Darren can harness justice for the murders of Missy and Michael and the release of his dear friend Mack. However, his relief is short-lived as his mother reenters his life holding a .38 and the potential to ruin him. Darren’s story is left unfinished in anticipation of revisiting it in the next book in the series.

GENEVA SWEET

Geneva is a Black woman, who despite having been deeply wounded by her community, continues to serve it with grace and delicious food. Geneva is introduced first, alone and visiting the grave of her husband and son. Later portraits of Geneva paint her as closed off and evasive. Her café Geneva Sweet’s Sweets sits along the highway and is a welcomed stop for weary travelers and hungry locals. The environment is calm, with Christmas decorations up all year long. Although Geneva's food is filling and hearty, she is hiding deep suffering behind her counter and her resolute demeanour. After Mary, who killed Geneva's son Joe, was imprisoned, she was left to raise her granddaughter, Faith, leaving a hole in her heart from the loss of her spouse and only child. She has had little time to process and grieve her losses due to the demands of operating a business and raising a teenager, and she frequently has to deal with Wally's looming intimidation. No one in the community was more alarmed by the deaths of Missy Dale and Michael Wright than Geneva. She is compelled to reveal to Darren her broken heart.

Darren is drawn to Geneva’s café for clues, but he stays for the delectable food and Geneva’s powerful presence. Geneva’s presence fulfills a motherly influence that Darren is unable to feel with his mother, as he thinks, “The apron, the scent of the food surrounding Geneva, the discerning gaze, it was a tableau of maternal warmth that tickled a hunger in Darren that he sometimes forgot was there” (124). Geneva stands as a pillar of her community but soon becomes the center of the investigation as Missy Dale spent part of her last night with her son’s grandmother. Pathos is created by showing Geneva bouncing her grandson on her knee. She is now not just a grieving widow and mother, but a compassionate grandmother offering help and comfort to Missy. Ignoring the portending presence of Wally, a man she is tied to in ways she cannot ignore, Geneva goes about her life humbly serving others. When Geneva is arrested and jailed for potential involvement in Missy’s murder, the full scale of the corruption of Van Horn and local law enforcement is unveiled. Through it all, Geneva maintains an air of grace and dignity, and it is not until Darren reveals Joe’s true killer that Geneva dissolves into grief. Geneva Sweet’s life is a testament to perseverance, and though she did not need Darren Mathews to save her, she is grateful he helped remove Wally Jefferson from her life and bring closure to the case so she can live in peace with her grandchildren.

RANDIE WINSTON

Randie Winston, the wife of the deceased Michael Wright, appears in Lark determined to uncover what happened to her husband. Although they were estranged, she cares for him deeply and needs closure for not just his death, but what drew him to the tiny town in the first place. Randie’s character is a stark contrast to the slow, Southern demure of the small town. She expects and demands a quick resolution to the crime, not understanding the politics of a community still held fast by the traditions and biases of another time. Randie’s clothes and demeanor make her stand out amongst the poverty of Lark, but she comes to be respected by Geneva Sweet and others as they learn pain and suffering are commonalities they share.

Randie serves as a foil and often a distraction to Darren Mathews. He at first helps her out of a sense of duty to Michael. Darren feels a connection between himself and the dead man. However, anxiety and alcohol often preclude Darren’s honest intentions and he finds himself physically and emotionally drawn to her. In the end, Darren keeps his desires at bay and realizes that what draws him to Randie is not love or sexual desire, but the shared experience of love lost. In watching Randie grieve the loss of Michael with so much left unsaid between them, Darren realizes what he stands to lose in his marriage. Darren and Randie part ways in the end with mutual respect, having not crossed a line that would compromise them emotionally.

WALLACE “WALLY” JEFFERSON III

Wally stands alone as the primary antagonist as he represents all that is broken in the town of Lark and the larger realm of society. Wally’s greatest evil is the subtle concealment of his acrimony and hatred for those he sees as below him. Wally’s worst character trait is his bitterness towards Geneva. Wally could be seen as a stereotypical white man, save for one surprising twist of fate. Wally was a spoiled boy, given everything he wanted. He fell in love with young Geneva, and for the first time in his life he was denied what he desired: “Wally and Keith’s lives revolved around the black folks they claimed to hate but couldn’t leave alone. It was […] and obsession that weakened them, that enraged and eventually enslaved them within their own hearts […]” (289). Wally’s pain over the loss of Geneva took root and grew acrimonious, then turned to hatred.

Though Wally is only directly at fault for one murder, Joe Sweet’s, he is indirectly related to all the other deaths. Had he been able to put aside the long shadow of his family’s history and grow into an emotionally healthy man, Geneva could have lived in peace with Joe. Wally could have become a positive influence in Lark, using his wealth and position to bring industry and education to the town. Instead, Wally abused his privilege to manipulate the law enforcement to willfully ignore racial intolerance. Wally’s malevolence spread through the town like a disease ending with the citizenry deeply divided and the senseless deaths of three people.

ISAAC SNOW

The meekest and most quiet character in the story is the murderer. Isaac, a barber who has an intellectual disability, begins the story as just another person in Geneva’s café. He exists as a reminder of her kindness as she lets him use a small portion of her café to run his business and keeps him well fed. As the story progresses, it is revealed that before he worked for Geneva, he was employed by the Jefferson family, drawing a line of connection between him and the powerful man who lives across the street. When shots ring out shattering Geneva’s door and the peace that resides behind it, Isaac disappears for many days. The regulars dismiss his absence saying he is a nervous man, but it is clear Isaac is harboring a past trauma reignited by the violent act.

When Darren discovers the quavering, terrified Isaac in Wally’s shed, a sinking feeling permeates the narrative, as Isaac has found himself tangled in a web of evil and horror that he does not fully comprehend. Isaac’s testimony of the murder of Michael and his role in the coverup of Joe Sweet’s death is difficult to digest. The notion of crime within the Black community is turned on its head. Isaac’s internal monologue reveals he is just another man desiring respect: “He knew folks called him slow, muttered bless his heart behind his back” (283). Unfortunately, he found it in Wally, leaving Isaac another victim in the wake of Wallace Jefferson’s vindictive rancor.

Bluebird, Bluebird Themes

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN INTERNAL LOCUS OF SELF-WORTH AND IDENTITY

Humans seek to define themselves in a variety of ways. Some seek self-worth through religious affiliation and some through a hobby or creative pursuit. Through time and testing, individuals realize that self-worth cannot be found solely in external forces. In Bluebird, Bluebird, protagonist Darren Mathews is portrayed as a person in search of his identity, learning that he cannot truly find meaning in life through external edification and the truest sense of his being can only be found in learning to love himself.

As Darren grew older, he only saw himself through the views of the identical twin uncles who raised him. They taught him the importance of being a good citizen who is knowledgeable about the law and justice. However, without a mother to provide him with maternal affection in other ways, Darren grows up knowing he was loved but lacking a crucial aspect of his identity. He only looks to the masculine part of his personality for fulfilment, and he marries that with his chosen career. Darren ignores learning how to communicate his feelings and instead leans into his masculinity as a boot-wearing Texas Ranger. His difficulties in relationships and his addiction reveal an unstable sense of self. His troubled mother-son connection and turbulent marriage

Any search for personal value outside the self can lead to misguided and even dangerous entanglements. Individuals can find themselves enmeshed in a religious cult or a militant hate group like the Aryan Brotherhood. Darren places far too much value on the badge itself and not enough on what it symbolizes inside him, lest his allegiance to it become dangerous. Darren must first define himself as a person who values truth and justice, not just as a Texas Ranger, the outward expression of the character trait. Darren is at his best as a human when he is not focused on his badge or title and when he is simply listening to people. To successfully solve the case and find personal peace, he must learn to accept himself as a flawed human and not try to mask his pain and personal failures in bravado and foolish pride.

THE LASTING EFFECTS OF TRAUMA AND SUFFERING

The endurance of hardships is a universal part of the human experience. The characters in Bluebird, Bluebird all experience trauma in some part of their life. Darren bears the pain of an absent mother who was addicted to alcohol. Randie Winston grieves the mysterious loss of her husband. Isaac shudders and runs in fear when shots ring out in the café, evidence of post-traumatic stress from the violence he has witnessed in the past. However, the theme finds its epicenter in Geneva Sweet. She is a Black woman who has endured the loss of the two most important people in her life and through the complicated relational entanglements of the narrative, finds death again at her doorstep, reawakening her pain. Through the characters of Geneva and Faith, the trauma inflicted on Black people and the generational suffering it instills in families and communities is explored.

Geneva carries the weight of not only her grief, but that of generations of racial trauma. This trauma can have long-lasting effects on its survivors, and Geneva’s tough exterior is a defense built as a survival instinct. She holds this weight even in her physical appearance as her body tenses, and “The muscles across her shoulders and back were taut with grief and the anxiety of trauma recounted” (264). Missy’s and Michael’s deaths retraumatize Geneva. Though Geneva’s personal story must be unearthed to solve the case, Darren must first recognize her wounds and proceed with care in her presence. Geneva’s entire family tree bears the marks of hatred and violence. By telling Geneva’s story, the novel is taken beyond just a mystery and bears witness to racial pain and the lasting effects it can have on an individual, a community, and a country.

COMMUNITY WITHIN SMALL TOWN LIFE

Bluebird, Bluebird is a noir novel set in the real east Texas town of Lark, located in the panhandle. Locke’s fictional town is bleak, lacking as much in character and charm as it does in industry and infrastructure. The town is so small it does not even have a police force, a detail that has not worked in its favor. Lark is also a place as deeply divided racially as it is cut through by the bayou. Just as Wendy peddles recycled junk to passersby, Lark recycles its same centuries-old grudges and discriminations from generation to generation. Texas Ranger Darren Mathews, although from a small town himself, learns quickly that Lark is a place suspicious of outsiders, and getting the answers he needs to solve the murder of Michael Wright will prove far more difficult in the tight-lipped community. Lark may be small in its geographic footprint, but it holds a deep history within the walls of its buildings and in the hearts of its residents.

What the town lacks in commerce, it well makes up for in its citizenry. The people of Lark, particularly those who gather at Geneva Sweet’s Sweets, are an eclectic blend of working-class folks all with unique perspectives on the unfolding events in the town. Geneva’s café serves as a beehive in the town, a place that is as lively as the decorations on the wall, and it is the centerpiece of the novel. Through the small-town dynamics of chatter and gossip, key pieces of information are revealed in the two murder cases. The town’s other gathering place, the icehouse, is less hospitable but no less enlightening to the town’s true character. Just as in any small town, Lark is reluctant to give up its dark secrets, but as Darren probes deeper into the history of the town, it is through its people he learns the truth of the injustice and tragedy buried beneath its drab, dusty exterior. Darren learns that his view of the state is narrow, and the people of Lark teach him there is more than one way to be a Texan. He blazes into town prideful in his ability to resolve the problem with brains and a badge, yet Lark humbles him, teaching him a lesson about the power of community and human connection unique to small town existence.

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