The Alchemy of Noise by Lorraine Devon Wilke (Review)

This book. Stop what you are doing. And read this book. It’s heartbreaking, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s daring in the most important way.

Sidonie and Chris are falling for each other in what promises to be the great love story of their lives. They adore each other, make each other laugh, and think, and smile. The magnetism was instant and that’s all that matters right? Sadly, no.

Because Sidonie is white, and Chris is black. So sadly, love is definitely not enough in this urban Chicago tale of a mixed-race couple who go through not only an emotional, but psychological rollercoaster that is the very definition of trauma.

This book haunts me – but it’s a good thing. I cannot stop thinking about it. I feel as if Sidonie and Chris are real people, and in a way, they are – as the gut-wrenching brutality, tension, and racism is entirely plausible in this day in age.

The conflict is a character in itself – and it’s an incredible, and though-provoking love story, a legal drama, and examination of culture in the truest sense.

I loved every minute of this this story, and I often wonder how Sidonie and Chris are doing after the last page was read. I will think of them often, and their story will resonate with me forever.

You can grab this haunting love story here.

 

• File Size: 1991 KB
• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: She Writes Press (April 9, 2019)
• Publication Date: April 9, 2019
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

 

Thank you so much to She Writes Press, Lorraine Devon Wilke and BookSparks #partner for the free book to review as part of the Spring Books Dates campaign: #SwipeRightonReading

About the book:

In a world so full of lonely people and broken hearts, Chris Hawkins, a black sound engineer from Chicago’s south side, and Sidonie Frame—white, suburban-raised, the head manager of one of the city’s most elite venues—meet by work-related happenstance and fall quickly in love, convinced that by that act alone they can inspire peace, joy, and happiness in the world around them. The world, however, has other ideas.

Their meeting is serendipitous. Chris, who owns and runs his company, largely spends his time surrounded by members of his own community; Sidonie, conversely, is rarely outside the environs of work and its predominantly white staff and clientele. But when the club’s sound manager goes AWOL on the night of a big event and Chris is hired to come in as a last-minute replacement, their destinies collide.

Immediately drawn to each other, they fall quickly into an unexpected and thrilling relationship, inspiring myriad reactions amongst family and friends on both sides of the racial divide. But even as their love story evolves, day-to-day tensions, police disruptions, and the microaggressions Chris constantly encounters as a black man in the gritty environs of Chicago become a cultural flashpoint, challenging Sidonie’s privileged worldview and Chris’s ability to translate the unfolding events. After a random and gut-wrenching series of police encounters shakes their resilience, it’s the shattering circumstance of a violent arrest—one in which Chris is identified as a serial vandal and potential rapist—that sends their world into free fall.

He claims his innocence; she believes him. But the forces pushing against them are many and oppressive. With a looming trial, the dissipating loyalties of key allies, and unforeseen twists triggering doubt and suspicion, Sidonie and Chris are driven to question what they really know of each other and just whom to trust, leading to a powerful and emotional conclusion.

Lorraine Devon Wilke’s third novel, The Alchemy of Noise, ventures beyond the humor and pathos of family drama explored so cleverly in her first two novels to dig deep into the politics of contemporary culture. At its heart a love story, it explores the complexity of race in a suspenseful drama driven by issues of privilege, prejudice, police profiling and legal entanglements, and the disparities in how those provocative themes impact the various and diverse characters involved.

 

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About the author:

Lorraine Devon Wilke is an accomplished writer in several genres, a Chicago native, and third of eleven children. In 2010 she launched her “arts & politics” blog, Rock+Paper+Music, and since 2011 she has been a popular contributor at HuffPost and other news and media sites. Known for her “sass and sensibility,” her work has been reprinted and excerpted in academic tomes, nonfiction books, and literary journals; a catalogue of select articles can be found at Contently.com. Both her award-wining novels, After The Sucker Punch and Hysterical Love, are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. After leaving Illinois with a rock band heading west, Devon Wilke landed in Los Angeles, where she still lives with her husband, attorney/writer/producer, Pete Wilke. She’s working on a fourth novel, a rock-and-roll dramedy titled A Minor Rebellion, while continuing her endeavors as a photographer, singer/songwriter, and actress. To learn more, visit http://www.lorrainedevonwilke.com.