Scan barcode
blackbiracialandbookish's review against another edition
5.0
Set during a slave rebellion in 1830s New Orleans, Valerie Martin’s
hashtag_alison's review
2.0
This is the story of a southern belle in antebellum times whose life hasn’t turned out how she thought it would, and her tangled relationship to the slave her husband takes as a mistress. A short book that’s almost more of a vignette into the live of two women bitter about life and the man who ruined them both.
I bought this while I was on a historical novel kick, and it delivers on the sort of slice-of-life every day historical details that one typically reads a historical novel for. It wasn’t what I was expecting but not necessarily in a bad way. I don’t know that I liked the book, per se, but I have nothing bad to say about it storywise or voicewise. It was kind of meh, I guess. I probably won’t pick it up again, and I wasn’t raving about it to my friends when I finished it so I probably wouldn’t recommend it to someone out of the blue. But I wouldn’t discourage someone who was already thinking about reading it. very middle of the road type of book.
I bought this while I was on a historical novel kick, and it delivers on the sort of slice-of-life every day historical details that one typically reads a historical novel for. It wasn’t what I was expecting but not necessarily in a bad way. I don’t know that I liked the book, per se, but I have nothing bad to say about it storywise or voicewise. It was kind of meh, I guess. I probably won’t pick it up again, and I wasn’t raving about it to my friends when I finished it so I probably wouldn’t recommend it to someone out of the blue. But I wouldn’t discourage someone who was already thinking about reading it. very middle of the road type of book.
applehawk's review
3.0
Read this in English. Interesting but not my favourite. Helped me to understand the female POV when I saw 12 Years a Slave the following year.
heybethpdx's review
4.0
Whoa what a story. Nobody’s likeable, but it’s concise and pulled me right through.
bravelass85's review
4.0
Wow. What a hard-hitting book about the cost of slavery not just for slaves themselves but for their owners and wider-society as well. This book explores how slavery brings out the worst in everyone, and it does it in a way that reveals itself to the reader naturally rather than a sense of sermonizing. Engaging from first to last page.
anywiebs's review against another edition
4.0
This was a surprising read, since I had just picked it up on a whim without ever having heard of it. However, the stories of those two different women and their lives is fascinating. Also the writing and how you see everything through the eyes of the horrible narrator and yet get a clear understanding of what life is like is amazing.
I was truly sucked into the book and flew through it.
I was truly sucked into the book and flew through it.
frustratedlibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jessicafacchinigould's review
5.0
I had to read Property for my Perspectives on Politics course and it was shockingly good. It's the kind of novel that stays with you and makes you think about how times really were back when slavery was so common.
Manon Gaudet is married to a sexually sadistic sugar plantation owner who rapes his slaves. One of his slaves, Sarah, had his baby shortly before he married Manon. From the beginning, the marriage was full of tension and animosity. Manon quite frankly hates her husband and was never attracted to him to begin with. Manon's animosity is so intense to the point where her husband was never actually named in the novel. Manon is the narrator, so the whole novel has a very selfish, careless point of view. Manon barely cares about her slaves and knows nothing about them. Delphine, another indoor slave, barely is known about throughout the novel, she just appeared. Although Manon is self-centered and spoiled, you really have to feel for her struggles. She has to live every day seeing a child in her home which was the product of rape due to her husband.
Property is a fast-paced, beautifully written novel. It may be set in a different period of time, but it certainly isn't a dry read.
Manon Gaudet is married to a sexually sadistic sugar plantation owner who rapes his slaves. One of his slaves, Sarah, had his baby shortly before he married Manon. From the beginning, the marriage was full of tension and animosity. Manon quite frankly hates her husband and was never attracted to him to begin with. Manon's animosity is so intense to the point where her husband was never actually named in the novel. Manon is the narrator, so the whole novel has a very selfish, careless point of view. Manon barely cares about her slaves and knows nothing about them. Delphine, another indoor slave, barely is known about throughout the novel, she just appeared. Although Manon is self-centered and spoiled, you really have to feel for her struggles. She has to live every day seeing a child in her home which was the product of rape due to her husband.
Property is a fast-paced, beautifully written novel. It may be set in a different period of time, but it certainly isn't a dry read.
100onbooks's review
3.0
nI don't know much about the South so I can't judge its merits on those grounds.
However. Fast read (I was done in 3 days) and with the implausibility of the story (things are too neat) a redeeming ending.
I loved Sarah.
However. Fast read (I was done in 3 days) and with the implausibility of the story (things are too neat) a redeeming ending.
I loved Sarah.