You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
It was like peeking into Windows of Hattie's house; I got brief glimpses of interesting characters but we never heard from them again. I am not sure that I liked or disliked the structure. I wish I knew more about every character, both origins and how they ended up.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a book composed of chapters that are about each of Hattie's children and their experiences throughout the years. Specifically, the majority of the book takes place during the Great Migration.
I don't want to give any spoilers away but I will say that this book will take you on an emotional roller coaster and leave you wanting to reach out to each and every character. I felt compelled to give everyone a hug :-).
It would have been 5 stars if it weren't for one confusing part in the book. I may need to re-read the book to catch the significance of it.
If you want a quick read that sucks you in, you may want to check this book out.
I checked it out as an ebook from my local library and I can't wait to get the physical copy to add to my library.
I will definitely will be revisiting this book again!!
I don't want to give any spoilers away but I will say that this book will take you on an emotional roller coaster and leave you wanting to reach out to each and every character. I felt compelled to give everyone a hug :-).
It would have been 5 stars if it weren't for one confusing part in the book. I may need to re-read the book to catch the significance of it.
If you want a quick read that sucks you in, you may want to check this book out.
I checked it out as an ebook from my local library and I can't wait to get the physical copy to add to my library.
I will definitely will be revisiting this book again!!
Read this just after Henrietta Lacks. These two books compliment each other well. Two sides of a strikingly similar family story.
(originally appeared at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com)
The basics: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is the life story of Hattie Shepherd. It spans from 1925 to 1980.When she fifteen, Hattie, her mother and sister moved from Georgia to Philadelphia. There she married soon after and gave birth to twins: the first of many, many children.
My thoughts: The first chapter of this novel is devastating and heart-wrenching and still somehow hopeful. Both of Hattie's twins are sick with pneumonia in the middle of the night. Mathis shifts from the current minutes to Hattie's memories beautifully. In the second chapter, however, the action shifts, both in time and narrator. Suddenly it's 1948, and Hattie's son Floyd is a musician traveling through the South. My understanding of this novel shifted, and I expected to read a chapter from the point of view of each of Hattie's children, thus coming to understand her as a mother and as a woman. In time, though, Mathis shifts back to Hattie.
One consequence of this narrative structure was it's disjointedness. I never truly got a feel for this novel as I was reading it, but upon further reflection, particularly of the stunning final chapter, I did. At times it felt like a collection of linked stories. While Hattie was a part of all of them, in each story the reader glimpsed into the life of one of her children, most of whom were only previously mentioned in passing. While Hattie weaved through all of the stories, her children did not.
While this novel is the story of Hattie's life, it's also a commentary on the Great Migration:
There's also an extreme sadness to this novel. As I read about more and more of Hattie's children, I couldn't help but think, "him too?" or "her too?" Can no one in this family catch a break in life? This darkness is crucial to Hattie and her views on life and religion:
Favorite passage: "It seemed to him that every time he made one choice in his life, he said no to another. All of those things he could not do or be were huddled inside of him; they might spring up at any moment, and he would be hobbled with regret."
The verdict: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a difficult novel in many ways. As a novel of the Great Migration, it is hinged on a hope we know will fail, and taking the journey of a generation's disappointment is depressing. Still, Mathis is a bold and lyrical writer. The first and last chapters will stay with me for quite some time.
The basics: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is the life story of Hattie Shepherd. It spans from 1925 to 1980.When she fifteen, Hattie, her mother and sister moved from Georgia to Philadelphia. There she married soon after and gave birth to twins: the first of many, many children.
My thoughts: The first chapter of this novel is devastating and heart-wrenching and still somehow hopeful. Both of Hattie's twins are sick with pneumonia in the middle of the night. Mathis shifts from the current minutes to Hattie's memories beautifully. In the second chapter, however, the action shifts, both in time and narrator. Suddenly it's 1948, and Hattie's son Floyd is a musician traveling through the South. My understanding of this novel shifted, and I expected to read a chapter from the point of view of each of Hattie's children, thus coming to understand her as a mother and as a woman. In time, though, Mathis shifts back to Hattie.
One consequence of this narrative structure was it's disjointedness. I never truly got a feel for this novel as I was reading it, but upon further reflection, particularly of the stunning final chapter, I did. At times it felt like a collection of linked stories. While Hattie was a part of all of them, in each story the reader glimpsed into the life of one of her children, most of whom were only previously mentioned in passing. While Hattie weaved through all of the stories, her children did not.
While this novel is the story of Hattie's life, it's also a commentary on the Great Migration:
"He thought of the South as a single undifferentiated mass of states where the people talked too slow, like August, and left because of the whites, only to spend the rest of their lives being nostalgic for the most banal and backwoods things: paper shell pecans, sweet gum trees, gigantic peaches."
There's also an extreme sadness to this novel. As I read about more and more of Hattie's children, I couldn't help but think, "him too?" or "her too?" Can no one in this family catch a break in life? This darkness is crucial to Hattie and her views on life and religion:
"Hattie believed in God's might, but she didn't believe in his interventions. At best, he was indifferent. God wasn't any of her business, and she wasn't any of his. In church on Sundays she looked around the sanctuary and wondered if anyone else felt the way she did, if anyone else was there because they believed in the ritual and the hymn singing and good preaching more than they believed in a responsive, sympathetic God."
Favorite passage: "It seemed to him that every time he made one choice in his life, he said no to another. All of those things he could not do or be were huddled inside of him; they might spring up at any moment, and he would be hobbled with regret."
The verdict: The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a difficult novel in many ways. As a novel of the Great Migration, it is hinged on a hope we know will fail, and taking the journey of a generation's disappointment is depressing. Still, Mathis is a bold and lyrical writer. The first and last chapters will stay with me for quite some time.
This book was great. A beautifully powerful story of a mother's trials and tribulations after The Great Migration. This book was beautifully written and almost painful to keep reading at times, experiencing the things this mother and her children went through. Great read.
Beautifully written and heartbreaking. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie shows you just how deep a mother’s love is and how trauma can be passed down to the next generation.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an amazingly emotionally written story. Well I don't really know if it can be fully considered a story. Each chapter was it's own story. It was more like a novel of short stories that were connected with each other by relation. Every chapter pertains to one of Hattie's children with the exception to the last one. The last chapter is about Hattie's granddaughter. Either way, it's a sweet read and I'm glad I got to read it. I fully recommend this book!
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie tells the story of a woman who flees Georgia in the Great Migration and lands in Philadelphia in 1923. The Twelve Tribes are her twelve children and the twelve chapters of the book, each following a different child while telling the story of Hattie's tremendously difficult life.
From the first chapter of her firstborn sickly twin babies to the last chapter of her granddaughter facing the difficulties of life with mother experiencing a psychotic disorder, we read the many tragic stories of Hattie paired with her tremendous bravery.
The stories move from the Great Migration to the North to Jim Crow Alabama to Vietnam and back. Starting in 1923 and ending in 1980, we experience the entirety of Hattie's life. She attempts to escape difficulty but never quite can. She takes with her a fierce love for her family despite their betrayals. Their hard times beget behaviors born from difficulty which bred even more difficulty.
I think the best word to describe the life of Hattie and this book would be devastating. Ayana Mathis portrays the heartbreak of the Great Migration beautifully from many different angles.
From the first chapter of her firstborn sickly twin babies to the last chapter of her granddaughter facing the difficulties of life with mother experiencing a psychotic disorder, we read the many tragic stories of Hattie paired with her tremendous bravery.
The stories move from the Great Migration to the North to Jim Crow Alabama to Vietnam and back. Starting in 1923 and ending in 1980, we experience the entirety of Hattie's life. She attempts to escape difficulty but never quite can. She takes with her a fierce love for her family despite their betrayals. Their hard times beget behaviors born from difficulty which bred even more difficulty.
I think the best word to describe the life of Hattie and this book would be devastating. Ayana Mathis portrays the heartbreak of the Great Migration beautifully from many different angles.