The Fall of Rome takes place at a private, all-boys boarding school in Connecticut. The story is told from a variety of voices and perspectives. At times, the characters Jerome and Jana narrate in the first person. But then there is another character, Rashid, whose sections are told from his perspective, but not in his voice. I have been very impressed by the way Southgate has been able to navigate between each of these narrations. I never need to be told if it’s Jerome or Jana speaking, because their voices are so distinct and unique. Jerome is stiff and proper; unapproachable. Jana is warm and accessible. Having the third person narrator for Rashid lends clarity to what would otherwise likely be jumbled, turbulent thoughts from Rashid, an adolescent male. It is, however, with this interweaving of thoughts and voices that Southgate achieves her greatest magic, because what I see from inside my head will be quite different from what you experience across the room. These differences of position — partly based on background and conditioning — provide a large portion of the conflict in The Fall of Rome.

I have been traveling in the Caribbean on school business this week, and there has been much excitement in Jamaica surrounding their national men’s soccer team. And I recently heard the BIG, BIG news that for the first time in 50 years, Haiti (my home nation) has qualified for the World Cup. With all this buzz, I find myself remembering a day when I was just 10 years old...

It was a typical hot summer and my mother and I headed down the hill from our house in her VW bug, windows down and enjoying the warm ocean breeze as we approached the central (and only) post office in Port-au-Prince. It was going to be a special day for me. I was headed to the telegraph office to send a telegram to West Germany! It was going to Emmanuel Sanon, the lead scorer of the Haitian national soccer team that was headed to the World Cup for the first time in Haitian history. I was sending him a telegram of hope! Haiti didn’t win a game that summer, but we did do the impossible and for a brief moment, took a shock lead over Italy. It was the first goal conceded by Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff in 1,142 minutes of football. That was victory enough for us!

Truth be told, I mostly remember the feeling of the moment, a special time with my mom (that didn’t involve my siblings), and her taking my wish so seriously. Looking back, I suspect she didn’t think the telegram would ever get to the team, let alone to Sanon. I remember I had to be so mindful of how many characters I used in the telegram — my budget was tight! Have you ever sent or received a telegram? I only have sent two in my life and I was living in Haiti at that time: one to Sanon and one to Pope Jean Paul II to thank him for touching Haitian soil and sharing his most memorable and brave words:  “Il faut que les choses changent.” (things must change). And I’m still waiting…