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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Written in short snippets of action or inner thought or perceptions, this story brings the reader into the interior life of August as she grows up in a tumultuous and confusing time. She longs for her mother and believes she will return to them, even when other evidence can provide an alternate explanation. She loves her friends and they are tight with one another, navigating the neighborhood streets (Brooklyn is actually described so vividly that it felt like a character in this novel), growing up and away from each other eventually, though they are still connected in that vital way that happens when you share developmental chapters of life with people. August discovers who she is and who she can be and this book stays with the reader for a long, long time.
This story is a haunting look at the lives of four young women in New York City in the 70's. The lyric writing style is beautiful but at times very confusing. I know this book has many glowing reviews, but for me the writing style with short choppy thoughts and sentences and rapid switching from different time periods made it hard to follow. I wanted to know more of what August,the main character, was thinking and feeling. The author left so many thoughts incomplete, as a reader I was confused and had so many questions.
Four black girls journey from childhood to adulthood on the edge of poverty in Brooklyn, NY. They experience both hardship and opportunity. Gorgeous writing!
I am just handing out the five-star ratings right and left. Call it the holiday spirit. Woodson's novel is not for the reader who wants 500 pages of detailed exposition. Her prose reads like poetry: images, a sense of place, just enough detail to start the story in your head. August goes home to bury her father and reflects on her childhood and her friendship with three other girls in 1970s Brooklyn. She raises the question of whether and how we escape the destiny spelled out in our childhood, but the reader is left to write the answer herself.
The prose is poetic and gorgeous, and I loved it. While the book is small, and I wanted to keep reading it, I did not feel it was incomplete. After some of the wordy tomes I waded through, this book is so refreshing in it’s beauty and skill.
This book starts after the main character's father dies. It spends a short time there before flitting from memory to memory. Most of it chronologically spent growing up in Brooklyn. Some of it went back further to when she lived in the south as a younger child.
The Brooklyn scenes resonate with 1970s vibe. She captures the neighborhood in transition (white flight). The author exposes its poverty and dichotomies. The underbelly of the city is exposed, and glimpses of its ugliness appear almost as poetry. Woodson did an excellent job of revealing and retreating.
This is primarily a story about a girl who found herself mainly through her friends, and had to figure out what it meant to be a woman with the constraints of her time and place.
While I was enamored with the words, I wish there had been more of them. I feel like I never got to understand any character enough, including the main character. The brother was so important to her. But during her years of strong friendship with the girls, I couldn't figure out where he fit in. The parts about what happened to her mother were confusing and never seemed to have a resolution. I especially didn't understand what had happened to the main character as an adult. And what had her relationship been with her father after she left home. Even the scenes with the girls were just glimpses. Maybe it was intentional on Woodson's part. The main character cut herself off from Brooklyn, and that included leaving her family behind. Though she never seemed to run TO anything. The memories were given as fragments, and so were the people. I was left appreciating the language and intent but wanting more.
The Brooklyn scenes resonate with 1970s vibe. She captures the neighborhood in transition (white flight). The author exposes its poverty and dichotomies. The underbelly of the city is exposed, and glimpses of its ugliness appear almost as poetry. Woodson did an excellent job of revealing and retreating.
This is primarily a story about a girl who found herself mainly through her friends, and had to figure out what it meant to be a woman with the constraints of her time and place.
While I was enamored with the words, I wish there had been more of them. I feel like I never got to understand any character enough, including the main character. The brother was so important to her. But during her years of strong friendship with the girls, I couldn't figure out where he fit in. The parts about what happened to her mother were confusing and never seemed to have a resolution. I especially didn't understand what had happened to the main character as an adult. And what had her relationship been with her father after she left home. Even the scenes with the girls were just glimpses. Maybe it was intentional on Woodson's part. The main character cut herself off from Brooklyn, and that included leaving her family behind. Though she never seemed to run TO anything. The memories were given as fragments, and so were the people. I was left appreciating the language and intent but wanting more.
Dreamy and cutting and glorious. A whole novel made of poetry.
Honestly, I had no clue what I was about to read. All I knew is that the story was set in the 70's with a girl named August. With that being said. I did like the story. I must admit parts were hard for me to read. A beautiful gripping story of 4 young girls living in Brooklyn who lived through some trying times.
This story was from the perspective of August. A beautiful black woman whom at times seemed naive, as she recounted her memories of her childhood with her brother and her 3 best friends. I enjoyed Woodsons beautiful words and descriptions. I am almost certain August will stick with me for a while. Give this story a try if you enjoy beautiful writing, and story woven with 4 girls turned teenagers, who navigate through their coming of age times together.
This story was from the perspective of August. A beautiful black woman whom at times seemed naive, as she recounted her memories of her childhood with her brother and her 3 best friends. I enjoyed Woodsons beautiful words and descriptions. I am almost certain August will stick with me for a while. Give this story a try if you enjoy beautiful writing, and story woven with 4 girls turned teenagers, who navigate through their coming of age times together.