Bluebird, Bluebird

Geneva is a Black woman, who despite having been deeply wounded by her community, continues to serve it with grace and delicious food. Geneva is introduced first, alone and visiting the grave of her husband and son. Later portraits of Geneva paint her as closed off and evasive. Her café Geneva Sweet’s Sweets sits along the highway and is a welcomed stop for weary travelers and hungry locals. The atmosphere is gentile, with Christmas lights up 12 months out of the year. Though Geneva’s food is hearty and filling, behind her counter and her stalwart exterior, she hides deep pain. The loss of her husband and only son has left a hole in her heart and after the incarceration of Mary, who murdered Geneva’s son Joe, she was left to raise her granddaughter, Faith. Keeping a business up and running and raising a teenager has left her little time to process and grieve her losses and she must regularly deal with the lurking intimidation of Wally. Missy Dale and Michael Wright’s deaths set the town on edge, but none more so than Geneva. She is forced to open her wounded heart to Darren Mathews to help solve the case.

Darren is drawn to Geneva’s café for clues, but he stays for the delectable food and Geneva’s powerful presence. Geneva’s presence fulfills a motherly influence that Darren is unable to feel with his mother, as he thinks, “The apron, the scent of the food surrounding Geneva, the discerning gaze, it was a tableau of maternal warmth that tickled a hunger in Darren that he sometimes forgot was there” (124). Geneva stands as a pillar of her community but soon becomes the center of the investigation as Missy Dale spent part of her last night with her son’s grandmother. Pathos is created by showing Geneva bouncing her grandson on her knee. She is now not just a grieving widow and mother, but a compassionate grandmother offering help and comfort to Missy. Ignoring the portending presence of Wally, a man she is tied to in ways she cannot ignore, Geneva goes about her life humbly serving others. When Geneva is arrested and jailed for potential involvement in Missy’s murder, the full scale of the corruption of Van Horn and local law enforcement is unveiled. Through it all, Geneva maintains an air of grace and dignity, and it is not until Darren reveals Joe’s true killer that Geneva dissolves into grief. Geneva Sweet’s life is a testament to perseverance, and though she did not need Darren Mathews to save her, she is grateful he helped remove Wally Jefferson from her life and bring closure to the case so she can live in peace with her grandchildren.

Randie Winston, the wife of the deceased Michael Wright, appears in Lark determined to uncover what happened to her husband. Although they were estranged, she cares for him deeply and needs closure for not just his death, but what drew him to the tiny town in the first place. Randie’s character is a stark contrast to the slow, Southern demure of the small town. She expects and demands a quick resolution to the crime, not understanding the politics of a community still held fast by the traditions and biases of another time. Randie’s clothes and demeanor make her stand out amongst the poverty of Lark, but she comes to be respected by Geneva Sweet and others as they learn pain and suffering are commonalities they share.

Randie serves as a foil and often a distraction to Darren Mathews. He at first helps her out of a sense of duty to Michael. Darren feels a connection between himself and the dead man. However, anxiety and alcohol often preclude Darren’s honest intentions and he finds himself physically and emotionally drawn to her. In the end, Darren keeps his desires at bay and realizes that what draws him to Randie is not love or sexual desire, but the shared experience of love lost. In watching Randie grieve the loss of Michael with so much left unsaid between them, Darren realizes what he stands to lose in his marriage. Darren and Randie part ways in the end with mutual respect, having not crossed a line that would compromise them emotionally.

Wally stands alone as the primary antagonist as he represents all that is broken in the town of Lark and the larger realm of society. Wally’s greatest evil is the subtle concealment of his acrimony and hatred for those he sees as below him. Wally’s worst character trait is his bitterness towards Geneva. Wally could be seen as a stereotypical white man, save for one surprising twist of fate. Wally was a spoiled boy, given everything he wanted. He fell in love with young Geneva, and for the first time in his life he was denied what he desired: “Wally and Keith’s lives revolved around the black folks they claimed to hate but couldn’t leave alone. It was […] and obsession that weakened them, that enraged and eventually enslaved them within their own hearts […]” (289). Wally’s pain over the loss of Geneva took root and grew acrimonious, then turned to hatred.

Though Wally is only directly at fault for one murder, Joe Sweet’s, he is indirectly related to all the other deaths. Had he been able to put aside the long shadow of his family’s history and grow into an emotionally healthy man, Geneva could have lived in peace with Joe. Wally could have become a positive influence in Lark, using his wealth and position to bring industry and education to the town. Instead, Wally abused his privilege to manipulate the law enforcement to willfully ignore racial intolerance. Wally’s malevolence spread through the town like a disease ending with the citizenry deeply divided and the senseless deaths of three people.