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4.6 AVERAGE
4.6 AVERAGE
Phew! 30 hours on audiobook but every minute enjoyable. Highly recommended!
An amazing book….and writer. Of all the books I have read this summer. This one will stand out above the others.
The book has an epic reach but I got bogged down a few times. Wondered why I kept following strong women characters who got involved with sexist or assholey men. I liked how it ended and I think some characters and scenes will stick with me.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
informative
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
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started this book with very high expectations and wanted to love it, but it fell flat in so many ways.
From 5-star reviews I've read, many people appreciate this book for the content, and I would never want to downplay the importance of sharing these stories. That said, I've read several books on the same topics that I thought were much better. This may be personal taste, but I thought this book tried to cover too many themes (some of them presented somewhat unoriginally), muddling a lot of what was done very well. There were chapters that I loved- where the parallelism was clear and the characters were real- but they were lost among far too many chapters on an unlikable and one-dimensional protagonist whose development was not as clear.
There were other features of the writing that I did not love: the brief moments of mysticism were sparse enough that they seemed out of place (I really liked the idea being presented with these moments, but like I said, that idea was somewhat outshined). I also thought the only emotional connection the book attempted to give the reader to the main character was sympathy for all of the horrors of her life. I can appreciate horrible life circumstances if they are purposefully written (as was done in Lydia's section), but Ailey flat for me and her scenes started to seem unnecessarily graphic. I also did not find the dialogue very compelling.
That probably sounds pretty harsh, but there were great things about this book. The sections on Lydia, Ailey's mom, and Aggie's family were excellent. But overall I didn't love this one.
From 5-star reviews I've read, many people appreciate this book for the content, and I would never want to downplay the importance of sharing these stories. That said, I've read several books on the same topics that I thought were much better. This may be personal taste, but I thought this book tried to cover too many themes (some of them presented somewhat unoriginally), muddling a lot of what was done very well. There were chapters that I loved- where the parallelism was clear and the characters were real- but they were lost among far too many chapters on an unlikable and one-dimensional protagonist whose development was not as clear.
There were other features of the writing that I did not love: the brief moments of mysticism were sparse enough that they seemed out of place (I really liked the idea being presented with these moments, but like I said, that idea was somewhat outshined). I also thought the only emotional connection the book attempted to give the reader to the main character was sympathy for all of the horrors of her life. I can appreciate horrible life circumstances if they are purposefully written (as was done in Lydia's section), but Ailey flat for me and her scenes started to seem unnecessarily graphic. I also did not find the dialogue very compelling.
That probably sounds pretty harsh, but there were great things about this book. The sections on Lydia, Ailey's mom, and Aggie's family were excellent. But overall I didn't love this one.
A wonderful multi-layered family saga that taught me a great deal about Black Americans and took me off on many tangents to learn more about a number of matters including W E B Du Bois, the American education system, the treatment of Native Americans and the culture of the American Southern States. A big read that rewarded the investment.
This is a highly ambitious novel spanning hundreds of years. It’s a saga of the American South and the complicated and often very traumatic history of an African American family.
I respect Honorée Fannone Jeffers’ writing and appreciate her prose.
Important things to know about this book before reading—
It’s not a feel good story, at all.
There is a lot of sexual assault, molestation, and pedophilia that occurs throughout the book.
The exploitation of females is a central theme in this book, along with the cruelty and dehumanizing effects of slavery.
While the characters are fictional, it seems that Jeffers was trying to shed a light on a particularly insidious component of the time of slavery. I was disgusted and certain parts were hard to read. But I do believe these sections served a purpose. While many people may be aware that women and children were sexually abused in the antebellum south, it seems to be often mentioned as an aside. A minor blip. Jeffers makes sure the reader comes to terms with the realization that this wasn’t an occasional or accidental thing. She makes sure you come to grips with the reality of a system designed to fill white man’s needs, and often evil desires. And those desires sure as heck were not just about cotton. It made me think.
I respect Honorée Fannone Jeffers’ writing and appreciate her prose.
Important things to know about this book before reading—
It’s not a feel good story, at all.
There is a lot of sexual assault, molestation, and pedophilia that occurs throughout the book.
The exploitation of females is a central theme in this book, along with the cruelty and dehumanizing effects of slavery.
While the characters are fictional, it seems that Jeffers was trying to shed a light on a particularly insidious component of the time of slavery. I was disgusted and certain parts were hard to read. But I do believe these sections served a purpose. While many people may be aware that women and children were sexually abused in the antebellum south, it seems to be often mentioned as an aside. A minor blip. Jeffers makes sure the reader comes to terms with the realization that this wasn’t an occasional or accidental thing. She makes sure you come to grips with the reality of a system designed to fill white man’s needs, and often evil desires. And those desires sure as heck were not just about cotton. It made me think.