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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I had really high expectations for this one seeing as it was chosen for Oprah's book club and it received rave reviews. I liked it enough but did feel a little let down.
THINGS I LIKED:
- The very first chapter. Hattie's perspective is what drew me into the book and really got me hooked, but from then on nothing really compared to that first chapter.
- The POV of each child
- The healing ("juju") techniques of the time were interesting to read about
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- The novel just didn't have that "wow" factor for me
- The ending didn't satisfy me enough after having kind of a dull middle.
It's crazy how far medicine has come since the 20's. At the end of the novel (in 1990) Hattie thinks to herself that all her children needed to survive the Pneumonia was some Penicillin! It was as easy as that and unfortunately medicine wasn't that advanced at the time.
Spoiler
In 1920, Hattie Shepard moves from Georgia to Philadelphia with her husband August in the hopes of starting a new beginning in the North. She gives birth to twins and names them Philadelphia and Jubilee as a symbol of this new beginning and hope for a better future. Her babies are not even a year old when they succumb to Pneumonia. At the time Hattie was using "juju" medicine to try to cure her children (eucalyptus leaves, and mustard poultices), unfortunately the twins both died soon after they became ill. After the death of her first born children, Hattie was never the same. She fell into a sort of depression and after giving birth to 9 more children she never could really show them the love or tenderness that she could of had she not experienced this tragedy so early on (she was only 17 at the time). Each chapter is in the POV of one of her children and it is interesting to see their perspectives throughout the story. Most of the children end up having some serious issues which was probably the result of not having much of a loving mother.THINGS I LIKED:
- The very first chapter. Hattie's perspective is what drew me into the book and really got me hooked, but from then on nothing really compared to that first chapter.
- The POV of each child
- The healing ("juju") techniques of the time were interesting to read about
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- The novel just didn't have that "wow" factor for me
- The ending didn't satisfy me enough after having kind of a dull middle.
It's crazy how far medicine has come since the 20's. At the end of the novel (in 1990) Hattie thinks to herself that all her children needed to survive the Pneumonia was some Penicillin! It was as easy as that and unfortunately medicine wasn't that advanced at the time.
Well written but the structure of the story stopped it gaining momentum. Felt like something was missing. A bleak story about slavery and race and poverty and all of life's trials in all its forms and love. I should have known better than to pick up a book Oprah said she loved.
The story of a woman named Hattie and all of her children. Each chapter deals with one, maybe two children, so the reader is never granted the full story, only glimpses. Feels somehow incomplete. 3.5 stars.
Beautifully written but I felt more depressed than hopeful at the end, not really sure why.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A powerful family history
This book was a beautiful edict, swathed in pain and generational curses, but also in strength and joy and the fight for more than sorrow. Hattie and her children are a tale of an immovable family tree, a testament to anger but also love, and the ability to paint love as something hard and flirty, not a soft, sweet gesture but a wall against your back, holding you up when you feel you might fall. It's been a long time since I sat and read a book in an afternoon. But the words took hold and wouldn't let me be. What a journey. Good job.
This book was a beautiful edict, swathed in pain and generational curses, but also in strength and joy and the fight for more than sorrow. Hattie and her children are a tale of an immovable family tree, a testament to anger but also love, and the ability to paint love as something hard and flirty, not a soft, sweet gesture but a wall against your back, holding you up when you feel you might fall. It's been a long time since I sat and read a book in an afternoon. But the words took hold and wouldn't let me be. What a journey. Good job.
I think my lack of connection to this book comes from the stories being disconnected from each other. I never could see how the family was all together. Even a family tree at the beginning would have helped.
This is one of those books that I only finished because I had nothing else to read.
This is one of those books that I only finished because I had nothing else to read.
Heartbreaking! Not sure how it would work for a book club? It's more like a collection of short stories.
I very much like Ayana Mathis's writing style.
I very much like Ayana Mathis's writing style.
I wish I could give half stars. This book would be a 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it. it was interesting, but also really depressing. I was a bit frustrated in the end because it seems liek there is a deeper meaning to it I didn't quite get.
Quite an interesting way to write about a character - by writing from the POV of her children. Hattie seems cold and harsh yet feels so deeply at the same time. I can't say I feel the same way about most of her children, but Hattie is certainly a fascinating character.