The Moses Quilt, by Kathi Macias

I loved learning about Harriet Tubman, a heroine to all women, through little stories of some of the quilt blocks in the Moses Quilt. Mazie and Edward’s story was not as easily understood.

The prologue’s impression that Mazie was unable to make a commitment to Edward because of racial prejudice didn’t make sense to me because Mazie indicated she truly loved Edward, and she couldn’t figure out herself what caused her hesitation to accept her marriage proposal.  I searched for clues in the flashbacks of her childhood time with Mimi, and re-read Mazie’s mother and great-grandmother’s conversations for hints of a family secret.   Finally I realized that Mimi knew the quilt would not reveal the secret but lead Mazie to it.

Mazie’s curse was not in having racial prejudice but in fear of the reverse racial prejudice and acknowledgement and acceptance of her ancestry to slave owners. The revelation at the end did resolve issues and make sense of Mazie’s struggles, finally liberating Edward to resolve some unrealized racial issues as well.

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