Book Review: Fifth Born: A Novel
by Zelda Lockhart
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2002
List Price: $24.00
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
Classification: Fiction
ISBN13: 9780743412650
Imprint: Atria Books
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Parent Company: CBS Corporation
Read a Description of Fifth Born: A Novel
Book Reviewed by Thumper
My copy of Fifth Born, the debut novel by Zelda Lockhart, came by way of this
year’s Book Expo America convention (BEA). I met Ms. Lockhart and her son at The
Blackboard book reception. She seemed like a nice person and I promised to read
her book, wished her well, and moved on to the next table. I didn’t think about
Fifth Born until I got home and unpacked, separating my 40 pounds worth of books
into the "to read", "sounds interesting", and "humph" piles. I placed Fifth Born
in the "to read" pile. Little did I know that the slim volume, Lockhart
graciously inscribed for me, would be one of the best books I read this year!
Odessa narrates her life story, beginning at the age of three when her world
tumbles into a living hell after her beloved grandmama dies. In the next 10
years, Odessa is sexually abused by her father, physically abused by her mother,
and treated with contempt and disgust. Her world is nothing but pain,
soul-aching pain. Odessa’s need for loving attention or even a kind gesture
grows and she seeks some way to escape the years of hurt. This need will lead to
a path that might bring relief to Odessa’s pain.
The plot of Fifth Born is not an emotional walk in the park — it’s excruciating
and heart wrenching. But interestingly, the narrative and tone had the calming
soothing effect of sitting in the clear warm water of an outdoor spring. I was
entranced. Lockhart took me beyond the watching-an-accident-happening-in-
slow-motion phase, to the next level, where I felt the full impact of the
collision. I was whupped, done in, and out done, because Fifth Born is the type
of book where it took a while before I could let go of it.
The characters were wonderfully molded, deceptively complex and absolute. Odessa
is a superb depiction of the square block trying to adjust itself to fit into a
round hole. She’s one of a few female narrators that did not get on my nerves. I
ached for her and the nearly debilitating loneliness she endured. Lockhart’s
portrayal of Odessa’s mental and emotional well being reminded me of a person
suffering frostbite. Slowly, little by little Odessa is dying, going numb as her
soul shrinks and becomes hard as granite with cracks running throughout.
The sexual abuse in the family had the normalcy of snow in January or tornadoes
in the summer. For the first time did I see the truly destructive nature of
sexual abuse and how it isn’t just an injustice involving the victim and the
predator. Equally, as disgusting as the predator are the folks who allow it to
continue over and over again in their families. These people did not strike such
an accord to plan, and then democratically agree, and then act to systematically
destroy Odessa’s life on purpose. Unbeknownst to them, they did EXACTLY that,
making Odessa’s horror more insidious. Committing a damnable sin.
Fifth Born is a soothing, sweet, leisurely, Sunday drive through an emotional
minefield. Lockhart’s comforting, lyrical delivery did not dampen the
effectiveness of the terror that Odessa’s life became. I have no problem placing
her in the company of Alice Walker or J. California Cooper. She, too, has the
ability to take a story to the emotional core and accompany it with a lullaby.
Instead of sadness, I finished the book with a glimmer of hope for Odessa and
with a feeling of rapture because Zelda Lockhart has now arrived.