An interesting memoir that looks at the relationships between black and white Southerners before and after the Civil War from different perspectives. Especially toward the start of the book, the tone is deceptively light describing plantation life and how slaves enjoyed pulling one over on their masters. But as the book continues, the tone shifts when the horrors of slavery and racism come more to the forefront (like the time a loving husband abandoned his wife to a slave catcher because she was actually 1/8 black).