THE TRAVELERS

by Regina Porter

In The Travelers, Regina Porter offers an epic tale of two families, one Black and one White, over several generations.  With a cast of characters so elaborate that she includes a reference at the book’s beginning, the stories of the Vincents and the Christies overlap and intersect at strategic points.  Although there are quite a few characters to keep track of, Porter does an amazing job of making each of them come alive.  

There is the gut-wrenching story of teenaged Agnes who is stopped and violated by White police officers in Georgia when she’s on a date, followed by her move to the Bronx and abrupt marriage to Eddie Christie.  There’s Eddie’s Vietnam tour on an aircraft carrier, where he survives by reading and rereading Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.  Porter includes future generations of Christies and Vincents who intermarry and otherwise reject their parents’ expectations.  The Travelers has so much story and so many important issues to untangle, the book will leave you ruminating long after you’ve finished reading. 

Porter’s debut novel includes vivid scenes and realistic dialogue, as well as lifelike characters.  I found The Travelerschallenging and rewarding.  I would recommend it as a book club read – so you’ll have friends with whom you can discuss it.(Liz)