You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I really wanted to like this book.
It just felt so disjointed. I do not feel as if I got one clear story. I know the various stories should have built the characters of Hattie and August, but it wasn't thoroughly fleshed out enough for me.
It just felt so disjointed. I do not feel as if I got one clear story. I know the various stories should have built the characters of Hattie and August, but it wasn't thoroughly fleshed out enough for me.
.... Or Why Birth Control is a Good Thing.
Dark, interesting stories with very strong voice. Overall depressing though
Dark, interesting stories with very strong voice. Overall depressing though
Gorgeous and heartbreaking. That sums up the experience this book was. The twelve narratives grab you and you want to scream at Hattie for what her actions do to her children and scream at the adults those children become for letting that affect them -- which is just something the book focuses on -- children pay the price, always. Yet you understand them, care about them, want to hug every last one of them because you feel the pain there. I loved that Mathis didn't shy away from subjects like sexuality, mental illness, abuse, suicide but she didn't beat you over the head with them in her narrative: they were simply a part of life. Highly recommend this.
A moving look at the life of one woman through the lives of her children. Hattie's children both destroy her and complete her. They keep her from living the life that she wants to live, yet give her pretty much the only happiness she has in life. The first chapter almost killed me. I wanted to hold Hattie in my arms and weep with her.
I know some didn't enjoy the way this book was written; a chapter per child; but I loved it. You learn a bit about Hattie through the lives of each of children and their stories. Rather than a flat chronological storyline, you get a rich narrative over different times and experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved this book. Loved in a way I haven't loved a book in a long, long time. Each chapter focuses on a different child of Hattie, while still telling bits and pieces of the main story. Each chapter takes place at different times along Hattie's life with each of her children. Basically, each chapter is like a short story with small details linking them all together. I thought the story telling was superb and the writing spectacular. I want Mathis to write a hundred more books because she has captured my heart with her debut novel and has left me wanting more.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well written. Many flawed characters. In places, very sad.
The thought that kept running through my mind was how many generations is it going to take for Hattie and her family to be free? She escapes the bonds of Jim Crow by moving from Georgia to Philadelphia, but in Philadelphia, she finds new bonds, bonds of poverty and despair. Her children we find have found their own bonds which create challenges for each one's life. I read each chapter with sadness and desperately looking for hope with each new chapter. The racial and socio-economic dysfunction is high with this one.