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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
maybe more enjoyable as a printed book- i found the audiobook difficult to follow in places and most of the stories not that interesting.
It was very well written, just too tragic for me. It all felt too real, no matter how you grew up.
Fantastic points of view. An emotional tale of a woman that did the best she could. A story of how parents can only do their best by their children.
Everyone is broken. Every one. This was 243 pages, some of them containing a beautiful passage or two, but the pain was simply unrelenting. It was torture to stay with this book to the end. As it must have been for Hattie and everyone around her.
Knowing nothing about this book, I enjoyed the short story-like quality. Each story was well written and developed the characters but the overall storyline was essentially missing
This book reads like something that Zora Neale Hurston or Toni Morrison might have written. This is the story of Hattie and her husband, August. She moves to Philadelphia during the great migration and gives birth to a pair of twins who don't survive long enough to celebrate their first birthday. Afterwards, Hattie gives birth to ten more children, who grow up to become a variety of colorful figures. Each chapter is told from the POV of one of her children (and one grandchild) and relates their experiences, but in the background of each story, you learn a little more about Hattie and August, so the book is really about the family. Some reviewers have said that they never heard anything more about certain characters after their chapter, but I don't think that they were paying attention, as other family members relate what happened to their siblings, in their own chapters. It's really the story of family and it is a really interesting read. Also a pick for Oprah's book club, if you're into that.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book is really well written and the characters are shown as human and extremely flawed. However the book is a collection of this people worst moments, everything is sad and miserable all the time.
oof. this is such a tough, sad state of affairs. this family is broken, each person within it deeply wounded, struggling with demons. mathis' writing is terrific, but i feel disappointed in the structure. this novel is more like a collection of short stories - each chapter a vignette of the life of one (or two, in some cases) of hattie's children. i thought many of them were good, and perhaps this was to add to the 'fractured whole' of it all, but i found it just didn't work well for me. it often felt too abrupt and incomplete.
(aside: as i was reading, i was also wondering about MFA programs, feeling mathis must have attended one. she did. iowa!! i don't know what this means in the context of my review but i find this interesting. sometimes i feel odd when i can gauge an author's writing background based on style, i am conflicted about whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but i worry that MFA fiction programs are allowing their students to lose what may be unique about their style, and asking or pushing them to conform to something else. anyway...)
mathis' characters are very interesting, but i felt some voices blended in with others, while some were much more distinct. if you are a sensitive, empathetic reader, this book will probably leave you feeling very melancholy. there is not a lot of hope in this book. i was left feeling this family will never escape all of their varied anguish, and the cycle will perpetuate. the twelve tribes of hattie - her 12 children - were given a heavy load in life. the parents, august and hattie, begin the book so young (hattie's 16 with newborn twins). one prolonged tragic moment sets the tone for the rest of their lives. hope and light have been sucked out of this family. i am glad i read this book, but my heart and brain are going to need a couple of days to recover.
(aside: as i was reading, i was also wondering about MFA programs, feeling mathis must have attended one. she did. iowa!! i don't know what this means in the context of my review but i find this interesting. sometimes i feel odd when i can gauge an author's writing background based on style, i am conflicted about whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but i worry that MFA fiction programs are allowing their students to lose what may be unique about their style, and asking or pushing them to conform to something else. anyway...)
mathis' characters are very interesting, but i felt some voices blended in with others, while some were much more distinct. if you are a sensitive, empathetic reader, this book will probably leave you feeling very melancholy. there is not a lot of hope in this book. i was left feeling this family will never escape all of their varied anguish, and the cycle will perpetuate. the twelve tribes of hattie - her 12 children - were given a heavy load in life. the parents, august and hattie, begin the book so young (hattie's 16 with newborn twins). one prolonged tragic moment sets the tone for the rest of their lives. hope and light have been sucked out of this family. i am glad i read this book, but my heart and brain are going to need a couple of days to recover.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes