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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Caveat: I listened to this as a book on tape, and I have a feeling it might have been just 4 stars without the auditory interpretation. Either way, this is a gripping portrait of many of the ways it must have been/still is to be black in America. The opening narrative of sick babies is heart-wrenching, and I was worried it would be too much for me, but it calmed down a bit and I loved seeing Hattie through each of her children's eyes. Glad o read it and will recommend.
The one star is my personal rating, having not read the whole thing. I tried it because it was an Oprah book, knowing that some of her books are great and many are too gritty for me. I made it through maybe two chapters in this before it was really too much and stopped. Can a girl get a good story without reading about the dark underbelly of humankind?
It was a quick read but very disjointed and no closure. I am wondering if more books will come.
Gorgeous writing, but the story is so unrelentingly bleak as to feel almost sadistic.
I was a bit apprehensive going into this one. Truthfully, the Oprah Book Club books often leave something for me to desire. I wish I liked them more, but typically it’s hit or miss.
This was a hit! Within this book we watch Hattie grow throughout her adult life and give birth to 11 children! Vignettes into the lives of those children (and a grandchild) shed light on the life of Hattie. As a young Black woman escaping the Jim Crow South, Hattie does her best to make a good life for herself in Philadelphia. Life’s hardships and the reality of 1920s-1960s America are palpable throughout the novel. The reader can feel every ounce of emotion Hattie feels and tries to hide. Likewise, we are also afforded that unique insight into the children.
Their stories are told at various stages in their lives. Some stories of childhood, others are of adulthood. Regardless of their age or time in which the story takes place, the reader feels immediately connected with them all.
It is a provocative and straight-shooting novel. Harsh realities are not spared from the reader and are presented with honesty and grit. I truly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting and poignant perspective on living and raising children in a world dictated solely on race and ancestry.
This was a hit! Within this book we watch Hattie grow throughout her adult life and give birth to 11 children! Vignettes into the lives of those children (and a grandchild) shed light on the life of Hattie. As a young Black woman escaping the Jim Crow South, Hattie does her best to make a good life for herself in Philadelphia. Life’s hardships and the reality of 1920s-1960s America are palpable throughout the novel. The reader can feel every ounce of emotion Hattie feels and tries to hide. Likewise, we are also afforded that unique insight into the children.
Their stories are told at various stages in their lives. Some stories of childhood, others are of adulthood. Regardless of their age or time in which the story takes place, the reader feels immediately connected with them all.
It is a provocative and straight-shooting novel. Harsh realities are not spared from the reader and are presented with honesty and grit. I truly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting and poignant perspective on living and raising children in a world dictated solely on race and ancestry.
It's taken me a few days to really think about what I wanted to say on this book. I have to agree with a lot of the other people that have reviewed this. Yes, Ayana Mathis is a good writer. Yes, she writes some pretty powerful stuff here. But did I like this book? Well, no, not really. Each chapter felt so incomplete, and such a sliver of the story. Sometimes names pop up again, and sometimes they don't. It's like peeking into someone's house that you don't really know, listening to a conversation, and then closing the door again and going on about your life.
When starting each chapter, I felt relatively confused on what was going on, only knowing that the main character was a child of Hattie. Or assuming for the most part until that was pinned down. Then you spend the rest of the chapter hoping that Mathis at least ties things up for this character, which ultimately doesn't happen.
I like the idea of what Mathis was trying to do here. But I think to give the reader some closure for each character besides Hattie, she would have had to write an entire book for each child. One question I wondered was: how did she have so many children with mental illnesses or other faults? Because really, it seemed like many of her children were unsuccessful at life, save for maybe Floyd and Billups (maybe, but again, not enough detail). Is that biological, or a result of their upbringing? Nature vs. nurture?
In the end, you do realize that Hattie is a strong woman. Possibly even compassionate in her own way. But strong enough to get through her troubles and the hurdles that life presents to her; and you realize that she will continue on that way.
When starting each chapter, I felt relatively confused on what was going on, only knowing that the main character was a child of Hattie. Or assuming for the most part until that was pinned down. Then you spend the rest of the chapter hoping that Mathis at least ties things up for this character, which ultimately doesn't happen.
I like the idea of what Mathis was trying to do here. But I think to give the reader some closure for each character besides Hattie, she would have had to write an entire book for each child. One question I wondered was: how did she have so many children with mental illnesses or other faults? Because really, it seemed like many of her children were unsuccessful at life, save for maybe Floyd and Billups (maybe, but again, not enough detail). Is that biological, or a result of their upbringing? Nature vs. nurture?
In the end, you do realize that Hattie is a strong woman. Possibly even compassionate in her own way. But strong enough to get through her troubles and the hurdles that life presents to her; and you realize that she will continue on that way.
This is more like interconnected stories than a novel, and in that way it's very uneven. A couple of chapters are excellent and could exist as standalone short stories. Unfortunately a few of them are very weak, and the last two are downright boring, although in the final chapter you do get a little insight into Hattie's character and that was nicely done. Kind of a mixed bag overall but I'd be interested to see what she does next.
Hard book to rate or write a review for. The book itself is about the children of Hattie and their struggles as individuals and as a family. Some parts of the book were really good and other parts were just okay, sometimes leading more to the strange side. Overall pretty decent first novel!
Such amazing writing, but I didn't love the structure of the book. It was a little off putting that each chapter was devoted to one (or sometimes two) characters that you never heard from again. It seemed more like a complication of short stories about the life of Hattie. I did enjoy it, but I also wish it had more climatic elements to it.
Beautiful and sad. Unpopular opinion, I loved the structure, but I felt unsatisfied by the overall idea that every one of these people was miserable and messed up. Too depressing for me to enjoy. Beautifully written and powerful characters, though.