Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
5 stars! This book was truly heart breaking. I will make you cry every chapter! Our main character Dolly is such a strong woman.
I got about 20% of the way through this book that I was extremely excited about! I love historical retelling especially of women being badass. But this book would be great for a mature YA or middle school reader, as the writing from
moment to moment in scenes is just too simple to justify me reading 500+ pages of it. A great read for a younger reader who can handle not super graphic TW of sexual assault and all the other things that realistically go hand in hand with slavery.
moment to moment in scenes is just too simple to justify me reading 500+ pages of it. A great read for a younger reader who can handle not super graphic TW of sexual assault and all the other things that realistically go hand in hand with slavery.
I really wanted to like this, but a certain point, it started to feel like homework. The narrative is really stilted, I wish I had more to say. DNF
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
This is an epic work of historical fiction that imagines the life story of real-life historical figure Dorothy ("Dolly" or "Doll") Kirwan Thomas - a former slave who works hard and makes the right alliances and eventually buys her own way and her family's way out of slavery, going on to become one of the wealthiest women in the Caribbean.
Let's start with the main strength of this book: Doll herself. Doll is an incredible character - a strong woman who makes plenty of mistakes over her remarkably long lifetime, but who has the wisdom to learn from them. A woman who won't let her rights be trampled on. A dedicated mother who kept on fighting for her (ten!) children, even after she was in the grip of postpartum depression after most of their births. She makes for fantastic, empowering reading and the depths of her emotional connections with her family and lovers is where this author truly excelled.
That being said, Riley chose to focus the vast majority of this nearly 600 page novel on the relationships that Doll had - whether that be familial, friendly, or romantic. As I said, the skill with which those relationships are written is indeed the highlight of the book, but, especially since Doll Kirwan Thomas was such a force to be reckoned with the in the business world and that savvy is what earned her the all-important fortune that would eventually make her powerful, it's puzzling that more time in the book wasn't spent talking about her businesses. Instead, much time is spent showing Doll hopping from one man to another - often because of interesting, realistic reasons including fear of being hurt again - but I found the book ultimately in need of more variety by the end.
And the ending is another sticking point for me. It's very abrupt. All of a sudden the two main points of conflict are resolved and that's that. When we start the book, there are two different timelines - one starting with Doll's early life (we follow her from the age of 5) and another shows us Doll as an elderly woman, paying a visit to a boarding school that she financially supports and which her granddaughter attends. I expected - as the main storyline moved forward in time toward the second - that we'd have an interesting moment of convergence, but that never materialized. I now wonder what the point of that secondary storyline was.
But in short, the things this book does well, it does well. I was so attached to these characters and hated saying goodbye to them when the book was over. But I do think more attention needed to be paid to the back half of the book, which sadly lost steam and needed more variety to keep the reader's attention through a 600-page marathon.
Let's start with the main strength of this book: Doll herself. Doll is an incredible character - a strong woman who makes plenty of mistakes over her remarkably long lifetime, but who has the wisdom to learn from them. A woman who won't let her rights be trampled on. A dedicated mother who kept on fighting for her (ten!) children, even after she was in the grip of postpartum depression after most of their births. She makes for fantastic, empowering reading and the depths of her emotional connections with her family and lovers is where this author truly excelled.
That being said, Riley chose to focus the vast majority of this nearly 600 page novel on the relationships that Doll had - whether that be familial, friendly, or romantic. As I said, the skill with which those relationships are written is indeed the highlight of the book, but, especially since Doll Kirwan Thomas was such a force to be reckoned with the in the business world and that savvy is what earned her the all-important fortune that would eventually make her powerful, it's puzzling that more time in the book wasn't spent talking about her businesses. Instead, much time is spent showing Doll hopping from one man to another - often because of interesting, realistic reasons including fear of being hurt again - but I found the book ultimately in need of more variety by the end.
And the ending is another sticking point for me. It's very abrupt. All of a sudden the two main points of conflict are resolved and that's that. When we start the book, there are two different timelines - one starting with Doll's early life (we follow her from the age of 5) and another shows us Doll as an elderly woman, paying a visit to a boarding school that she financially supports and which her granddaughter attends. I expected - as the main storyline moved forward in time toward the second - that we'd have an interesting moment of convergence, but that never materialized. I now wonder what the point of that secondary storyline was.
But in short, the things this book does well, it does well. I was so attached to these characters and hated saying goodbye to them when the book was over. But I do think more attention needed to be paid to the back half of the book, which sadly lost steam and needed more variety to keep the reader's attention through a 600-page marathon.
I was up most of the night reading this magnificent book. I was brought back to the 1700's with Dottie Kirwan and her life as a black woman living in The Caribbean.
I knew going into this after reading the epilogue that I was in for an emotional rollercoaster. Dottie went from being this innocent five year old who wanted her pa to stay home and didn’t understand the world around her, to a slave girl who was determined to buy her families freedom, then a free woman with a family that she financially supported as she continued to build her self made wealth.
Slavery on the Islands did exist. I didn't know to what extent as I haven't read many books which discussed this.I also had never heard of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas and I think this is a part of Black History that we all should know. There was so much untold history in the book that I truly appreciated.
This was a great story a long book but it spans from 1761 to 1824 during Dolly’s prime so the additional pages were necessary to truly capture Dorothy Kirwan Thomas’ story.
I knew going into this after reading the epilogue that I was in for an emotional rollercoaster. Dottie went from being this innocent five year old who wanted her pa to stay home and didn’t understand the world around her, to a slave girl who was determined to buy her families freedom, then a free woman with a family that she financially supported as she continued to build her self made wealth.
Slavery on the Islands did exist. I didn't know to what extent as I haven't read many books which discussed this.I also had never heard of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas and I think this is a part of Black History that we all should know. There was so much untold history in the book that I truly appreciated.
This was a great story a long book but it spans from 1761 to 1824 during Dolly’s prime so the additional pages were necessary to truly capture Dorothy Kirwan Thomas’ story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Colonisation
What. a. BOOK. Five stars. Blew me away. It's brutal & beautiful. Really impressed with Vanessa Riley's work. Will absolutely be back for more of her work.