Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

This book was perfect. Simply incredibly perfect. I’ve seen people in the book-osphere that have mentioned wanting to be able to read a book again for the first time, and this is one of those books. I already know that this epic novel is one of my top reads of all time. Yes, I’ve already called it.

So many themes were explored in the centuries covered in this storyline: slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, the displacement and genocide of Indigenous people, sexual assault/incest, casual racism and racial terror, colorism (including passing), distrust, family secrets, drug addiction, segregation, life at an HBCU vs. PWI, the journey through academia as a black person…so many more. Another throughline explored beautifully was the Black American’s relationship to food, and how it could be both soothing and harmful. And of course, Du Bois!! His pen is razor-sharp and I absolutely love how the quotes at the beginning of each Song were so superbly chosen for that portion of the book. Ultimately, the strong family bonds wrapped me up like a warm, cozy blanket, even when the family dealt with strife and pain.

Now, there are SEVERAL triggers in this book, and several themes mentioned above are explored in rather explicit detail. If you haven't yet started on the path to healing for those triggers (mainly sexual assault and abuse), some parts of this story may be too heavy for you. I finished some chapters and had to close my eyes and decompress.

Jeffers' writing style is exquisite. I particularly enjoyed the historical anchors (beyond simple dates) included throughout the novel that oriented me to time and place. It's easy to tell that she's a poet by the phrasing and descriptions used throughout. Her world-building was so expansive and wonderfully done that I blinked and devoured 50-100 pages at a time. I actually read all except the very first chapter in 8 days - I didn't mind reading all 800 pages quickly!

Simply put, read this book. And if you’ve already read this and are equally as enamored with this type of story as I am, I strongly recommend Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza.

Content Warnings

carmenvillaman's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

jessgreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Title: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

Author: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Chicasetta, GA / Harlem, NYC

Month Read: February, 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2021

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 816

TRIGGER WARNING-

There are too many to name, but some big ones include:

Racism / Genocide / Rape / Incest / Pedophilia / Suicide / Murder / Slavery

"We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees,"

No Spoiler Summary:

The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois is a tour-de-force novel following a family from the slave trade to the civil war to modern day America, with many stops in-between. It ties in different works of W.E.B. Du Bois as you weave your way through time, and takes you on an incredible journey through centuries of Georgia.

Review:

I'm blown away by how incredible this novel is, and had no idea how many twists and turns I would be taken on while I read this. I wept, I cheered, I felt loss, sorrow, happiness, regret. It's an absolute must read novel for me, but I know the people who need to read this book most never will.

I loved the split timelines, and I think the characters were all so perfectly placed where they needed to be in this book. I loved getting to follow the same plot of land through so much time, and when I started piecing together that these were all descendants of the original Native Americans living in that space, it was beautiful.

There are a LOT of tough subjects in this book, and the hardest part for me is the chapters and chapters and chapters of slave child rape. If you're sensitive to this at all, I just want to make sure people really know this going in. It's very tragic, as everything about slavery is, but nothing is spared in detailing these horrific crimes against fellow humans.

There is also some tough chapters about drug abuse, and it was just so sad seeing one of my favorite characters fall really hard due to drug use. It really brought things into perspective that it doesn't matter who you are, your family support system, your dreams--- it can all be taken away so, so fast.

There's so much more to talk about- the writings or 'songs' of W.E.B. Du Bois prefacing each chapter, the ties of family, the beautiful prose that exists in this book- but I really just implore everyone to read it. I tried to take this book with one section at a time, especially because after some I felt like I really needed to sit and think about what I had just read. It's a big book, I won't shy away from that- but it's an incredibly worthwhile read. I'm grateful to Oprah and Obama for putting this on my radar. and I'm just very happy to have read it.

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"These are the incongruities of memory. It is hard to hold on to the entirety of something, but pieces may be held up to light."

Content Warnings

trippalli's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A challenging but important read in the history of the black experience in the United States in this historic fiction. The violence in women and overt violence and abuse of humans. Numerous rapes, child sexual abuse murders, racism of course, slavery.. It's all very difficult to listen to on an audio book or read in this 600+ pages tome.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

- There's no way I can cover everything THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DuBOIS encompasses in a measly Instagram caption, so the main takeaway here is that if you are up for it, this book is a must.
- Ailey and her family are both specific and universal (and in many ways, that universality is deeply tragic). At times this book feels like it could be nonfiction, until you get to a particularly stunning turn of phrase (honestly, more poets should write literary fiction, it's always incredible).
- Don't let the 800 pages deter you. LOVE SONGS is completely engulfing, intense and heartfelt. Do take the content warnings seriously though, and proceed with caution if needed.

Content Warnings

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