The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate

The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate is set on the campus of Chelsea, an elite, all male, Connecticut boarding school.  The story is told from the perspectives of three different characters:  Jerome Washington, a Latin teacher and the only black member of the faculty; Jana Hansen, a white literature teacher, new to the school; and Rashid Bryson, one of a handful of African American financial aid student who is struggling to adjust to the rigorous academic culture of the school (for which his inner city school has not prepared him) and life among a wealthy student population. Rashid decides to attend Chelsea the wake to his older brother’s tragic death.  His parents, once supportive of his education, are now so traumatized by the grief of losing a son that they are emotionally absent from Rashid.  Rashid sees Chelsea as a way to escape the pain of his home life and at the same time pay tribute to his brother.

An overarching theme of the book is race and class diversity, and the character’s different perspectives on these issues play into the events that move the plot of the story. The fact that Chelsea has only one black faculty member and that he is a scholar of classical Roman antiquity speaks volumes about the school’s issues with diversity.  That Jerome so strongly identifies with the historical roots of European culture also symbolizes the disconnect he feels with his own roots and culture.  Jerome feels that he achieved his position in life as a result of his own hard work and feels that other African Americans from lower class backgrounds must rise above their condition in the same way he did. Jana, on the other hand, is more liberal in her ideas and is determined to provide the help Rashid needs to adjust to the rigors of the exclusive private education he signed up for. 

The book is fast paced and held my interest throughout. The characters are complex, and while Southgage illuminates the conflicts between them, she never fully resolves them.  I think this is the mark of a great writer.  Her novel doesn’t neatly solve Rashid’s (or Chelsea’s) problems, but we see significant growth and change, and even some hope.  The book is a commentary on the state or race in our culture today, particularly in elite private academies.  This is a very good book and a must read for students in a school like ours.