Reviews - The Thread Collectors

181 reviews for:

The Thread Collectors

Shaunna J. Edwards, Alyson Richman

3.89 AVERAGE

booklvrkat's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A poignant, harsh look at the Civil War, and the beauty that did flourish behind the scenes.

cakt1991's review against another edition

4.0

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Alyson Richman is an author that’s been on my radar for a while, but I’ve never been compelled to pick up one of her books until I came across The Thread Collectors, a collaboration with debut author Shaunna J. Edwards. While I’m not into the Civil War, I’m a sucker for stories that center Black narratives of the time period, and this does that, while also focusing on the lives of Jewish people, with both Richman and Edwards using their family histories as inspiration for the characters’ experiences. I love how the authors conveyed the complexity of how one’s identity of being Black or Jewish could shape a person, and even be different for two people within the same family due to other factors, like colorism or gender.

I love how Edwards and Richman established a connection between their two main female protagonists, Stella and Lily, through their pursuit of sewing, and being “thread collectors,” as well as their common experiences as women whose husbands have gone off to war. While their backgrounds are different I love how those deep emotional things, like love for their husbands and not fully being accepted in one’s country, bring them together.

And while the men are supporting players, they also play roles on-page, exploring parallel/similar themes to those in their wives’ arcs. While Black soldiers did serve in the Union army, their rations and pay were inferior, and there’s also cases where Black soldiers were cannon fodder. Jews like Jacob (and Lily) were also subjected to antisemitism. What Jacob and William and soldiers like them experienced while fighting for a country that by-and-large hated them is harrowing, and I was touched reading about how they, like Lily and Stella, bonded over their shared experiences.

I really enjoyed this one, and I’d recommend it to fans of historical fiction about the Civil War and/or featuring Black/Jewish protagonists.

kbaj's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this story, especially because I learned a lot about the Civil War from the perspective of Black and Jewish soldiers and civilians. There are a lot more books about free and enslaved Black perspectives on the war than when I was younger, but this is the first book about Jewish experiences that I've come across. I found it very valuable for showing that the intersections of race, religion, color, and wealth (among many others) aren't fixed, but can change in their effects depending on the context.

While I appreciated the story, I didn't like the writing style so much. The book read like a thesaurus, which distracted me from what the characters were saying. At times, the authors' efforts to avoid common expressions or the word "said" felt extremely flowery, forced, or plain did not make sense. I also didn't like that the main characters had absolutely no flaws, and the background characters were written like caricatures of "good" and "bad" Southerners or Northerners. I found it difficult to get invested in the main characters as people because they never did anything wrong intentionally and were always perfect wives, husbands, lovers, sisters, etc. I understand that the authors based the story loosely on their own family histories, and you don't really want to make your ancestors (and your protagonists) seem like bad people. But the characters were so blameless that they didn't seem like people at all.

mm691984's review against another edition

5.0

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: No

bigskybooks's review against another edition

4.0

Title: The Thread Collectors
Authors: Shaunna J Edwards, Alyson Richman
Publisher: Graydon House
Genre: Historical Fiction

Type. Backspace. Type. Backspace. This must be how authors feel trying to get the very best words on the page for their readers. I absolutely loved The Thread Collectors by Shaunna J Edwards and Alyson Richman. It’s been a little over a week since I discussed this book with our book club the @bookfriendsbookclub and zoomed with the authors. I’m still not over this book, discussion and meeting; And I am having trouble articulating my thoughts.

To begin, this is a Civil War historical fiction novel, which isn’t a time period that I have read as much within this genre. The author’s formed a stunning assemble of characters that you can’t help but root for. They used their backgrounds and knowledge loosely from their ancestors to write an own voice story with a Jewish character from NYC and a Black character from New Orleans during 1863. Most people assume Shaunna wrote the Black main character chapters and Alyson wrote the White character chapters, but after zooming with these ladies I learnt it was a true collaboration and they wrote the entire story together.

The woman characters draw parallels in this story through sewing. An ingenious young Black woman named Stella makes intricate maps with scraps of fabric and thread to help enslaved me flee and join the Union Army. Meanwhile, a Jewish woman Lily forms a community sewing circle and stitches a quilt for her husband who has volunteered for the Union Army as a musician.

The synopsis would lead you to believe that this book is all about the woman; because after all woman like reading about strong woman. While this is true. I must point out how brilliant job the author’s did highlighting a friendship between Lily’s husband, Jacob a White Jewish man, and William a Black slave musical prodigy who is Stella’s lover. This male friendship between a Black man (and a slave, no less) and a White man, was superb.

“I didn’t think much of myself before. But as sis always tells me, being scared is a choice. And so is being brave.”

Rating: 4.5 stars. There is a lot to learn from this story filled with themes finding yourself, love and friendship. It will fill you with hope, but it is not without the ugly- death, bigotry, rape, slavery, lynching and prejudice. This is a slow burn story but stick with it and have those tabs handy! Highly recommend!