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alexisgarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Miscarriage, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pregnancy, Slavery, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
tigger89's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm not going to sugarcoat it: this is a book about slavery, and it doesn't pull its punches. The setting is dark enough on its own, before we even get to the particular events this story centers around. But while these women were forced to suffer indignity, cruelty, and violation, they turned to each other for support and found ways to create connection and joy. Ultimately, I found this to be a story about community, resilience, and defiance. While this still doesn't add up to a particularly uplifting book, those themes shine like a light in the darkness, illuminating a story unlike any fictionalized slave narrative I've come across before.
One of the things I thought was very interesting was how the many different traditions of the women came together when they held their spiritual meetings. It would have been very easy to write them as all-of-a-kind, but the author was determined to depict the variety of women who were enslaved during this time period. In this regard I believe she succeeded in four out of six cases; unfortunately, I found two of the women to be very under-developed, to the point where I knew little of their personalities or desires, aside from a brief sketch of their origins and a quirk or two. She knocked it out of the park for Serah, Patience, Nan, and Junie, though.
Another thing I think she executed very well was the shifting narrative perspective. Occasionally, the novel is narrated in first person plural: we knew this, we did this, we saw that. I noticed many reviewers were confused about this, asking who the first person narrator was. My interpretation is that it was the women narrating collectively before coming to the forefront one-by-one for the traditional third-person narration sections. In addition to the primary women, several other characters get to take turns narrating, showing the reader the perspectives of other enslaved people and shedding some light on why the Lucys might choose the actions they did. None of their actions were excused, but I appreciated being shown the reasons.
As a side note, the Texas Troubles of 1860 was an actual historical event that I'd never heard of before in my life. I don't know if my education failed me or if it's just one of those things that doesn't really get taught outside of Texas. If you're also not familiar, I'd suggest waiting to google it until after you've read the book. Just know that the final part of the book is grounded in real history.
One of the things I thought was very interesting was how the many different traditions of the women came together when they held their spiritual meetings. It would have been very easy to write them as all-of-a-kind, but the author was determined to depict the variety of women who were enslaved during this time period. In this regard I believe she succeeded in four out of six cases; unfortunately, I found two of the women to be very under-developed, to the point where I knew little of their personalities or desires, aside from a brief sketch of their origins and a quirk or two. She knocked it out of the park for Serah, Patience, Nan, and Junie, though.
Another thing I think she executed very well was the shifting narrative perspective. Occasionally, the novel is narrated in first person plural: we knew this, we did this, we saw that. I noticed many reviewers were confused about this, asking who the first person narrator was. My interpretation is that it was the women narrating collectively before coming to the forefront one-by-one for the traditional third-person narration sections. In addition to the primary women, several other characters get to take turns narrating, showing the reader the perspectives of other enslaved people and shedding some light on why the Lucys might choose the actions they did. None of their actions were excused, but I appreciated being shown the reasons.
As a side note, the Texas Troubles of 1860 was an actual historical event that I'd never heard of before in my life. I don't know if my education failed me or if it's just one of those things that doesn't really get taught outside of Texas. If you're also not familiar, I'd suggest waiting to google it until after you've read the book. Just know that the final part of the book is grounded in real history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Death, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Infertility
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