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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Painfully beautiful. Amazing how you can see pieces of this mother go with each of her children.
It is a collection of short stories about Hattie and her children. It is one tragic story after another. These characters lived hard lives and became hard people. It was well-written, but I'm not sure I would recommend it. If I do recommend it, I will forewarn them of its darkness. I'm sure it makes for a hard read for many people that pick itup.
I enjoyed this book but at times it felt so disconnected and such a small glimpse of of the characters, it almost felt incomplete. Hattie indeed connects them all but I was left feeling a bit miffed that each chapter felt like starting a new story that had no ending. The writing was beautiful and Ayana Mathis has a way of gorgeously illustrating sights, sounds, and feelings. I just wish there had been a bit more connection between the children and some glimpse as to how things turned out for each of them.
Loved this book, I'm surprised at the negative reviews. It is emotional and depressing but I fell in love with the raw and honest characters. I found myself truly caring about Hattie and her family and feeling her pain and regret but admiring her strength. It's not a light, pick you up, cheerful book but I found the brutal honesty and real life consequences of our decisions moving and relatable. It made me want to wake my teenage kids up to remind them how much they are loved! Poor Hattie thought her children knew but it's an incredible example of how we all show and accept love and happiness in different ways and the sacrifices we make for those we love.
I just put down The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis and I am so overwhelmed with emotion.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is an amazing fictionalized memoir of the Shepard family, with Hattie as the matriarch. It also happens to be the newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 pick, and it’s outstanding.
Hattie is a woman with many children and a not-so-wonderful husband, August. Each chapter is told by one of Hattie’s children. Through their individual stories, the reader learns about Hattie and August, the individual child (as he/she grows into adulthood, etc), and how everything fits together as a whole.
For the full review, visit Love at First Book
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is an amazing fictionalized memoir of the Shepard family, with Hattie as the matriarch. It also happens to be the newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 pick, and it’s outstanding.
Hattie is a woman with many children and a not-so-wonderful husband, August. Each chapter is told by one of Hattie’s children. Through their individual stories, the reader learns about Hattie and August, the individual child (as he/she grows into adulthood, etc), and how everything fits together as a whole.
For the full review, visit Love at First Book
I don't know how to summarize this book because I haven't figured out yet if I liked or disliked it . Fragmented writing.
Reading this was enjoyable but mildly frustrating. I liked the writing style well enough; there were some moments of introspection that thankfully never got too overly wishy-washy and colorful observations with just the right amount of detail. The characters, while not all that relatable to me, were still very interesting. Alice was the exception to this, as she was supremely annoying and not at all a pleasure to read about.
My problem was that, because the book focuses on the many children of Hattie, none of which get more than a chapter's focus, by the time I became involved and invested in each one's story their chapter was over and they were rarely revisited again. Even though the ending was somewhat sad, but good, I was left wishing for more about the fates of most of them.
(I don't actually know what could be feasibly changed to make it better; it's just an observation.)
My problem was that, because the book focuses on the many children of Hattie, none of which get more than a chapter's focus, by the time I became involved and invested in each one's story their chapter was over and they were rarely revisited again. Even though the ending was somewhat sad, but good, I was left wishing for more about the fates of most of them.
(I don't actually know what could be feasibly changed to make it better; it's just an observation.)
I'd heard good things about this book, but I just don't like it. It's not a family saga/epic as advertised. It's a collection of nearly disconnected short stories. The writing is OK, but the characters are 2-dimensional. The whole thing feel unfinished. I can't recommend it.
Really struggled with this rating. The writing was good. Almost more a series of vignettes than a novel. But it felt so hopeless. Maybe some of it is timing and if I read it during another stage in life, that wouldn’t bother me as much.
I didn't like the jumpy feeling but some of the stories were interesting.