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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Really liked the book just wanted more from the ending.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I promise I'm not one of those people who scoffs at any book that gets good publicity. I loved the last National Book Award winner, and from a practical standpoint I think that all fiction writers win when a novel does well (because publishers become that much more likely to sign more of us). But this novel is just not ready for prime time. To give credit where due, it has an ambitious conceit and it sets the bar high with a few strong chapters early (in particular, Floyd and Six). Unfortunately it falls apart in a hurry, and we get chapter after chapter of emotional manipulation presented without any subtlety, and employing just about every African-American archetype without ever delving deeper to really get to know an individual character. Hattie herself, the putative protagonist of the book, is a total cipher whose only character trait seems to be that she's angry over an ancient trauma. There is no sustained narrative, no nuance in the narratives we get, and no greater point to it all except that African-Americans have gotten a very raw deal. It's probably worth it, from time to time, to remind people like me of this raw deal, and it might even be worth it to do so repeatedly; but this novel doesn't lend any new insight into that deal, or into the legacy of racism that is our country's great human rights failure.
Mathis's prose is smooth, and she deserves points for her willingness to try a big, difficult undertaking. But this book needed substantial revision for it to achieve its true potential.
Mathis's prose is smooth, and she deserves points for her willingness to try a big, difficult undertaking. But this book needed substantial revision for it to achieve its true potential.
I'd say this was one angry woman who wrote this book. Out of 11 children, maybe one grew up happy. But - it was an interesting way to write a book; one chapter per child (or two) and moving more or less forward in time with each one. Despite not being happy, some of the characters were quite likable. The author did a good job developing each in a short chapter. I also liked getting glimpses of them whenever they made "cameo" appearances in each other's chapters.
Wow. Det var coolt att läsa om familjens historia från alla barnens perspektiv. Både handlingen och karaktärerna hade lite trubbiga kanter, dock.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was written in a unique voice. The book begins with the main character, Hattie being 15 years old and the story ends with her being in her 70s. The cool part about this book is that we grow up with the character through the eyes of her children. I would recommend this book.
3.5*
This book (sort of) follows the life of Hattie Shepherd. We start with Hattie as a 17 year old mother living in Philadelphia as her twins are suffering with pneumonia. The book moves through Hattie's life into 1980 with each chapter focusing on one of her 11 children, with Hattie and her influence on the children always being an underlying theme in the background. The book seemed a tad bit disjointed to me as it skipped through the years but reading about each character and their struggles or successes kept me engaged throughout the story.
This book (sort of) follows the life of Hattie Shepherd. We start with Hattie as a 17 year old mother living in Philadelphia as her twins are suffering with pneumonia. The book moves through Hattie's life into 1980 with each chapter focusing on one of her 11 children, with Hattie and her influence on the children always being an underlying theme in the background. The book seemed a tad bit disjointed to me as it skipped through the years but reading about each character and their struggles or successes kept me engaged throughout the story.
This is the heartbreaking story of Hattie, who at 15 left the South during the Great Migration, to settle with her husband in Philadelphia. We get to know Hattie through the eyes of her many children, each introduced in a separate chapter, and the story spans many decades. I absolutely loved Mathis’s powerful writing style and definitely was engaged in this family’s story, which was so powerful and moving, but also sometimes unsatisfying, offering little resolution to any of the individual stories it told. If anything, I would have liked for the book to be longer and the chapters to be more interconnected. Still, I’d definitely recommend you read it.
To me the title suggested triumph possibly out of adversity. I didn't get that. I think this was one of the most depressing books that I've read. Was glad when it finally ended.