“Magic City was inspired by America’s classic racist trope that a white woman was sexually assaulted by an innocent Black man.”

We’ve all probably heard stories of the Tulsa Massacre. But I wasn’t aware of the depths of what really happened until now. Magic City is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre but Rhodes takes a different approach weaving together the fictional stories of Joe Samuels and Mary Keane. 

In 1921, a white woman and a Black man both enter an elevator. When Mary is heard screaming and Joe is seen fleeing this sparks the chase to capture and lynch him. Joe Samuels the son of a wealthy banker had a bright future ahead with dreams of becoming the next Houdini when he was accused of raping Mary. Even after Mary pleaded Joe’s innocence she was ignored and he was still a target. Maybe had she told the truth from the beginning someone would’ve believed her. Now Joe has to perform his greatest escape by eluding a bloodthirsty mob while Mary tries to find a way to clear his name and warn the Black citizens of Tulsa about what’s to come. 

Unlike most books that may have spoken of the massacre Rhodes was the first to take something so horrific and tragic and turn it into a fictional retelling from the perspective of the two main people involved. The city of Greenwood was burned to the ground, the National Guard bombed the town, and so many innocent people were murdered. Although there are mentions of this in the book readers will take note that the author gives us more fiction than history solely because in her words “fictional characters invoke empathy.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book because Rhodes wrote it in the context of what-if it happened this way. The story unfolds through the experiences of both characters and as she has mentioned before this is not a reference to the real people involved. The historical context combined with fiction paints the complex reality of a story that deserves to be told. Balancing historical events with high tension and nuanced characters this book will transport readers into a vivid portrayal of a dark time in history. If you want to read more books about the Tulsa Massacre check out The Filling Station by Vanessa Miller.