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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Well written, heavy on family dysfunction- but depressing.
I didn't enjoy reading a book about people in total misery. It was well-written but utterly bleak, and there was not a character about whom I cared.
This book doesn't have a plot but is rather a series of vignettes featuring a moment in time in the lives of Hattie's children. The vignettes give the reader a look at what has become of Hattie's children while painting a picture of who their parents, Hattie and August, were.
Some chapters were difficult to get through while others I just couldn't get enough of. The author builds characters well but this format of a book always kept me wanting to know more about each person. The children are often not mentioned but in passing in the other chapters so your time with them is brief.
I enjoyed the author's overall style of writing and would read something of hers again. However, I didn't completely love this book. The format was sometimes jarring and frustrating when chapters seem to end abruptly. Some chapters were boring mostly because I just didn't care much about that character.
Some chapters were difficult to get through while others I just couldn't get enough of. The author builds characters well but this format of a book always kept me wanting to know more about each person. The children are often not mentioned but in passing in the other chapters so your time with them is brief.
I enjoyed the author's overall style of writing and would read something of hers again. However, I didn't completely love this book. The format was sometimes jarring and frustrating when chapters seem to end abruptly. Some chapters were boring mostly because I just didn't care much about that character.
Excruciatingly beautiful. A very powerful story of family and individual strength. I can't remember the last time I openly wept at the end of a chapter...
If I were to get nit-picky, I'd give this more of a 3.5/5.
This book pulls you through many disturbing realities that are most often left unspoken and ends on one of the most thought provoking notes I can ever remember reading. I would love to hear what other thoughts are on this book. It's one of those books you really want to talk about. It ends way too soon and is so well written that you would never need to see the movie because you feel as if you already did.
I was off to a roaring start on this yesterday, welcoming its change of pace with short story chapters for some historical context on Hattie's hard life and her children's experiences in Philadelphia. A LA Times review that ran in the Denver Post this morning tainted the rest of the book for me. I should have known better that to read someone else's take on this book (and noted shortcomings) before I finished.
I liked the story, I liked most of the characters, but felt I needed more for some of them. And what happened to Ella?!
Dark and twisty. Can't say I liked any of the characters. Consistent and intriguing themes throughout so ultimately a well written and excellent novel by this author.
Ill be wary to read future books if they're just as depressing. But hey if 'art mimics life' then this is a realistic portrayal although I'm no historian to this era and of the Great Migration.
Ill be wary to read future books if they're just as depressing. But hey if 'art mimics life' then this is a realistic portrayal although I'm no historian to this era and of the Great Migration.
This debut work shows great promise. The story was wrenching and often painful to read. Each chapter told the story of one of Hattie's children. I didn't mind that as a literary tool but it was a bit disjointed and hindered the character development.