Books like A Tidewater Morning

I read a review of this book on here and thought that I would like the story of Shadrack, an old black man who had once been a slave and had returned to the plantation at the age of 99. The other two stories didn’t sound good, so I didn’t read them.Upon reading this story, I noticed how great of a writer Styron was, and I wanted to read more of his books until I learned that they were all very depressing, as one were about Styron’s own depression, and then there is one about a very dysfunctional family, probably autobiographical, and then there is Sophie’s Choice. What a disappointment. This story, too, was a disappointment, but I will have to give it five stars, because I know genius when I see it. I wanted more character development; I wanted to learn more about Shadrack. this is just the reason why I dislike short stories; you don’t learn much from them even though they have a point to make.Shadrack walked all the way from Alabama to Virginia in the 1930s in order to get back to the plantation where he once lived. If he got a ride part way, it was only from blacks who owned cars. And this is where tidbits of information about racism in America creep in. America, as I have recently learned, has become the most racist country in the world. It is little better now than it was back then. So, now, in this story, we have the police telling the descendant of the plantation that he can’t bury Shadrack in the plantation cemetery where other blacks had been buried. He has to go through one of the black churches and be buried on their church grounds. The man has no money, of course, in which to bury him.In the meantime the white family feeds Shadrack but never calls the doctor to see why he has a fever. But most of all, I am disappointed because for I wanted to know more about Shadrack. This short story just sucked. Still, Styron is a great writer. And if he had not been depressed, well, maybe his books would be read more. Yet, that is not his fault. But maybe, just because I love his writing style, I will try one of his other books or the other two stories in this one.