Reviews with content warning for Violence - Night Wherever We Go

The summary misled me but I’m not upset because I still enjoyed the book. A “rebellion” in my mind is an in your face stand against slavers but what these women did were smaller “wins” that allowed them to assert some authority over their own lives. I really appreciated how they were given different backgrounds and beliefs. So often, stories from this era treat all enslaved peoples as if they originated from the same place. My main criticism is that there’s no build up to the ending.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Night Wherever We Go is the story of a small group of enslaved women living on a small, struggling plantation, something we don’t often read about, and the many different ways they find to rebel against the white slaveholders and gain some agency in their own lives, particularly when it came to enforced breeding. I first remember reading about enforced breeding in The Prophets, although that book considered it from the male perspective.

I loved the way the women, especially Nan, Sarah, Patience and Junie were fully realised unique individuals with a different backgrounds, beliefs, personalities, life experiences, hopes and dreams. They were also depicted as a community, sometimes supporting each other, other times holding each other to account. Some sections were narrated from the first person plural perspective, which emphasised this communal aspect of their lives. I think the author also did a good job in her depiction of Lizzie, the plantation owner’s wife, highlighting the incongruity of her railing against the impact of constant childbearing on her own life, while being actively complicit in trying to force it on enslaved women, for her own benefit. The plot of this novel encompassed the 1860 Texas Troubles, a group panic among slaveholders about an alleged coordinated rebellion by the enslaved, something for which actual evidence has never been found. I had not heard of this before and I always love it when I learn something new via my fiction reading. What some will consider magical realism and what others will see as traditional power and spirituality, plays a key role in the some parts of the plot. This won’t be to every reader’s taste.

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andlivloves's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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tigger89's review against another edition

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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.

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introvertsbookclub's review

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

This is a really heavy subject but the writer’s perspective and style prevent it from feeling like a ‘trauma dump’. The enslaved women’s voices and stories were each distinct, and their desires and priorities remained unique despite shared experiences and fears.

One of the best parts of this novel, was that the white women were not just portrayed as complicit bystanders, instead they were explicitly and actively involved in the business of slavery and the mistreatment of enslaved people. The author did an incredible job creating a white woman who could critique sexism’s impact on her life (specifically the expectation that she keep birthing children), and yet did not carry her critiques through to her treatment of enslaved women, instead perpetuating the same sexism with the addition of racism in all her interactions with the women.

As much as the novel focused on the abuse of enslaved people as ‘breeders’, in contrast with motherhood, the women were not reduced to this storyline alone. Their belief systems and inherited cultures were a really interesting part of the story, as was the shifting relationships between them.

This novel was honest about the reality of slavery, but it was purposeful and carefully told.

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annreadsabook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.75

I really loved and appreciated Tracey Rose Peyton’s NIGHT WHEREVER WE GO, which is a powerful debut that considers the humanity and dehumanization of enslaved Black women in the antebellum South. From the first person plural perspective, Peyton depicts a group of enslaved Black women who find themselves at a crossroads when their enslaver brings a “breeder” onto the farm—the women can either subject themselves to even further loss of their bodily autonomy for the financial gain of their enslaver, or they can discreetly protect themselves at great peril.

Something I thought Peyton did very well was how she depicted the ways in which white women enslavers positioned themselves as victims of white patriarchy while simultaneously degrading, dehumanizing, and terrorizing Black people, specifically Black women. And, Peyton skillfully demonstrates the ways in which white enslavers attempted to convince themselves of their own benevolence (eg, lulling themselves into the belief that they are “friends” with enslaved people who work in the house). So much food for thought in these pages.

This is a great piece of historical fiction that is accessible, engaging, and so important. This is a great fiction companion read, I think, to Dorothy Roberts’ KILLING THE BLACK BODY, if you’re interested in further exploration of Black reproductive justice.

Definitely go check this book out!!

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