The Buffalo Soldier, by Chris Bohjalian
Guilt. Grief. Depression. Hope. Redemption. Promise. This story has all the human elements that make Chris Bohjalian’s novels such wonderful reads.
This is the story of Terry and Laura Sheldon, who lost their twin nine-year-old daughters in a flash flood that swept them off a local bridge. The depths of despair that this couple find themselves in are almost insurmountable. But in one last effort to reclaim some joy, they decide to welcome a foster child into their home. It is autumn, almost two years since the death of their girls, but Alfred isn’t exactly what they had in mind when they agreed to take in a child. He’s quiet, reserved, unhappy and a veteran of the state’s foster care program. In short, he isn’t like their girls at all.
Terry and Laura try to bond with the boy at first but it is the older gentleman across the road who reaches him first. Paul Hebert is a retired college professor and instinctively knows how to talk to Alfred, make him feel comfortable, and become his friend. It is Paul who teaches Alfred, an African American child, about the Buffalo Soldiers, America’s black calvary men. It is also Paul who enlists Alfred as his partner when he decides to buy a horse and the two spend mornings and afternoons together, riding, mucking out the stall, and grooming the horse.
It is a good thing for Alfred that he has someone like Paul in his life because Laura and Terry are finding their marriage unraveling. In a few short months, Terry has begun an affair, found out that his girlfriend is pregnant, and moved out of the house. With Terry away, Laura and Alfred’s relationship grows strong and soon they realize that they are meant to be mother and son…with or without Terry in the family.
The book ends with a few dramatic moments involving a second major flood and an interesting twist on the relationships. I thought it was particularly interesting that a flash flood in the fall caused the death of the girls and the resulting chaos in the Sheldon marriage — and then a torrential downpour and spring thaw puts everything in motion to set things right again. A full literary circle.
