Scan barcode
amyvl93's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Sometimes when a historical fiction novel doesn't quite hit as much as I wanted it to, I wish the author had written a non-fiction piece instead - and that is the case with River Sing Me Home. The novel follows Rachel who flees the plantation she has been enslaved on after the Emancipation Act to try and find her five children who have all been taken from her. This journey takes her across Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and exposes her to the different lives that black people are attempting to find in this new context.
Shearer's close focus into the time of the 1834 Emancipation Act was very interesting to me - I didn't know about how many plantation owners, and other white business owners, essentially kept their slaves in place using loopholes which meant they could still be considered 'runaways'. Whilst I knew bits about the slave rebellions, much of the detail that was shared in this novel was new to me, and I also appreciated how Shearer also touched on the experience of those who were indigenous to the islands - who were there before colonisers arrived.
What didn't quite work as well for me was the characterisation of Rachel and others in the novel. Despite the often moving and heart-breaking content of this novel, I felt very distanced from Rachel and I felt that we were told rather than shown her emotions. She also didn't always incredibly rooted. The writing that I found the most moving was where we had characters telling their own stories, rooted in the first person, and perhaps there was a missed opportunity to truly tell Rachel's story. I also wasn't sure how I felt about a slightly unprobable romance that was thrown into the story as well.
River Sing Me Home highlights an important period of history, but wasn't a total hit for me.
Shearer's close focus into the time of the 1834 Emancipation Act was very interesting to me - I didn't know about how many plantation owners, and other white business owners, essentially kept their slaves in place using loopholes which meant they could still be considered 'runaways'. Whilst I knew bits about the slave rebellions, much of the detail that was shared in this novel was new to me, and I also appreciated how Shearer also touched on the experience of those who were indigenous to the islands - who were there before colonisers arrived.
What didn't quite work as well for me was the characterisation of Rachel and others in the novel. Despite the often moving and heart-breaking content of this novel, I felt very distanced from Rachel and I felt that we were told rather than shown her emotions. She also didn't always incredibly rooted. The writing that I found the most moving was where we had characters telling their own stories, rooted in the first person, and perhaps there was a missed opportunity to truly tell Rachel's story. I also wasn't sure how I felt about a slightly unprobable romance that was thrown into the story as well.
River Sing Me Home highlights an important period of history, but wasn't a total hit for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, and Grief
jennipea382's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Child death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Racism
Moderate: Misogyny, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Blood, Violence, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
torturedreadersdept's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Trafficking, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, Body horror, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Colonisation, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
brewdy_reader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
ππͺπ΄π΅π°π³πͺπ€π’π ππͺπ€π΅πͺπ°π― β’ ππͺπ΅ππͺπ€ β’ ππ’π€π¦ β£
ππΆπ£ππͺπ΄π©π¦π₯ 31 ππ’π―πΆπ’π³πΊ 2023β£
There is no force on Earth more powerful than a mother's love. It is as big as the sky and as deep as the ocean.
Itβs unimaginable to put myself into the shoes of a woman whose 5 babies were stolen & resold into slavery as children. My mama bear heart couldn't survive it.
Emancipation β or the "what came after" slavery is the subject of this book. After being declared βfreeβ, Mama Rachel goes on the run in order to discover the fates of her 5 adult children, to reunite her family.
Although a bit far-fetched at times, because this is fiction it worked. I appreciated the unique arcs of each of her children. I teared up several times and I wanted them to all have a happy homecoming, even though I knew that was unlikely/unrealistic. This book was both heartbreaking and also full of love, hope, courage, and determination.
It highlights the injustices of slavery, but also how post-emancipation life was not all that different than indentured servitude. How many black people were still killed by whites without repercussions.
I would highly recommend the audio format in order to get the best reading of the accents and speech used throughout the book.
ππΆπ£ππͺπ΄π©π¦π₯ 31 ππ’π―πΆπ’π³πΊ 2023β£
There is no force on Earth more powerful than a mother's love. It is as big as the sky and as deep as the ocean.
Itβs unimaginable to put myself into the shoes of a woman whose 5 babies were stolen & resold into slavery as children. My mama bear heart couldn't survive it.
Emancipation β or the "what came after" slavery is the subject of this book. After being declared βfreeβ, Mama Rachel goes on the run in order to discover the fates of her 5 adult children, to reunite her family.
Although a bit far-fetched at times, because this is fiction it worked. I appreciated the unique arcs of each of her children. I teared up several times and I wanted them to all have a happy homecoming, even though I knew that was unlikely/unrealistic. This book was both heartbreaking and also full of love, hope, courage, and determination.
It highlights the injustices of slavery, but also how post-emancipation life was not all that different than indentured servitude. How many black people were still killed by whites without repercussions.
I would highly recommend the audio format in order to get the best reading of the accents and speech used throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
laheath's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was interesting, yet heartbreaking, to read about the supposed end of slavery in the Caribbean and how plantation owners used apprenticeships to get around it. With any prior knowledge of the treatment of slaves, the reader won't find anything new here. Though the main character, Rachel, is technically freed by England, she has to run away from the plantation owner and overseer who refuse to comply with the law. She courageously sets out to find her surviving children who were taken away/sold. The plot was predictable with simplistic writing but managed to give examples of different scenarios when searching for lost family, though each was portrayed as quite a simple process.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Slavery
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Death, and Grief
Minor: Colonisation, Child death, Racism, and Sexual assault
susie_bee's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Racial slurs, Murder, Slavery, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death, Rape, and Grief
Minor: Miscarriage
armstam3's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
greatlibraryofalexandra's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I valued this story a lot. The books about slavery I read are usually focused on the US, so it was good to expand my horizons here and read about the Caribbean. The writing was truly beautiful, quiet and painful. It reminded me of "Homegoing" (Gyasi) and "Roots" (Haley), though I will say I enjoyed both of those books more. I loved Rachel's determination, her journey, and her reflections on suffering one chooses and how it emboldens you, versus the suffering one is subjected to and how it wears you down. I also really valued the examination of what "freedom" really means, in both a legal sense and a larger, more ideological sense. I think we're still examining this question every day.
It feels very wrong to call a book this full of trauma and suffering "serendipitous," but to me it was at least a bit too serendipitous in that Rachel was able to either find out find out what happened to all of her children, despite hopping between islands of thousands of people. It relied a little too much on convenience and while I don't think it was necessarily a happy story or a happy ending, it was a farfetched to me that she was able to have so much closure - even if it was also a peaceful thing to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Classism, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Vomit
bringmybooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was an astoundingly beautiful debut novel and I can't recommend it highly enough.
β¨ ππ₯ππ‘π β¨ BΜ·OΜ·RΜ·RΜ·OΜ·WΜ· BΜ·YΜ·PΜ·AΜ·SΜ·SΜ·
While not shying away from any of the realities of the history (with the content warnings to match - it's beautiful, but hard to read at times), this novel still manages to uplift your soul with the way it allows you to be a part of Rachel's journey. I'm not a mother myself, but I commend Eleanor Shearer on her ability to make you feel so connected to things that you have never had to experience. Rachel's love for her children, the way she remembers them, the way she yearns for them, the way she feels guilt and love and frustration and joy and deepest heartache; you are intimately involved in these feelings with her and it made the book very strong.
The history of slavery (&especially the Emancipation Act of 1834 and how that affected those enslaved in the Caribbean) was completely unknown to me, and I thought Shearer did a really good job adding a lot of factual information in a way that felt woven throughout the story as opposed to info-dumping it.
I was especially moved with the way water and the rivers played an integral role in the story, and the complicated nature of how Rachel and those around her felt about them.
This was an emotionally resounding novel that will definitely be one I find myself recommending.
β¨ ππ₯ππ‘π β¨ BΜ·OΜ·RΜ·RΜ·OΜ·WΜ· BΜ·YΜ·PΜ·AΜ·SΜ·SΜ·
While not shying away from any of the realities of the history (with the content warnings to match - it's beautiful, but hard to read at times), this novel still manages to uplift your soul with the way it allows you to be a part of Rachel's journey. I'm not a mother myself, but I commend Eleanor Shearer on her ability to make you feel so connected to things that you have never had to experience. Rachel's love for her children, the way she remembers them, the way she yearns for them, the way she feels guilt and love and frustration and joy and deepest heartache; you are intimately involved in these feelings with her and it made the book very strong.
The history of slavery (&especially the Emancipation Act of 1834 and how that affected those enslaved in the Caribbean) was completely unknown to me, and I thought Shearer did a really good job adding a lot of factual information in a way that felt woven throughout the story as opposed to info-dumping it.
I was especially moved with the way water and the rivers played an integral role in the story, and the complicated nature of how Rachel and those around her felt about them.
This was an emotionally resounding novel that will definitely be one I find myself recommending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
mboard's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I felt the story was very powerful and meaningful, about a woman trying to undue the wrongs done for generations to her people. I felt her physical journey to find all her children seemed to convenient and a bit under-developed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault