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m_joy's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
shoekins's review
4.0
I would give this book 4.5 stars if I could. A fascinating insight in the history of the first Black newspapers and their importance for the Civil Rights movement, built around a very well-written and well-developed protagonist, who is a queer woman of colour, and equally compelling supporting characters.
em_reads_books's review
5.0
This book asks a lot of the reader. It's not always clear or linear, making you read carefully between the lines at times. It feels longer than its actual page count because every sentence is doing work; no word is superfluous or just there to move the action along. You've got a big family of characters to keep track of, and the perspective shifts from person to person without warning. And it asks you to read in plainspoken terms about horrific acts of violence, sometimes throwing them in casually as if to underscore how easily white people can use their power for cruelty.
Not to mention, it spends many chapters thwarting its heroine's dreams, frustrating her and threatening her dignity and livelihood. Often historical fiction will deliver you right to the heart of the story, opening doors that might not have realistically been there to get a character to an interesting job or meeting with someone important. In this case, the years of menial labor and race/gender-based rejection from newspaper jobs are as much a part of the story as anything else.
All of this is absolutely worth it - seeing Ivoe grow into who she is meant to be requires a long journey to be as satisfying as it is. The purpose and joy she finds in the last chapters feels well earned.
Not to mention, it spends many chapters thwarting its heroine's dreams, frustrating her and threatening her dignity and livelihood. Often historical fiction will deliver you right to the heart of the story, opening doors that might not have realistically been there to get a character to an interesting job or meeting with someone important. In this case, the years of menial labor and race/gender-based rejection from newspaper jobs are as much a part of the story as anything else.
All of this is absolutely worth it - seeing Ivoe grow into who she is meant to be requires a long journey to be as satisfying as it is. The purpose and joy she finds in the last chapters feels well earned.
ksparks's review
3.0
This is a straightforwardly told story about an African-American lesbian couple who start a newspaper in the Jim Crow South. I liked the sensuality of the narrator's voice, I liked the characters...but I think the book could have used more editing. Too often it reads more like a history textbook than a novel.
audrarussellwrites's review
5.0
A beautiful, sweeping, and emotional saga of one family's plight up from slavery and their overwhelming struggle for civil and equal rights through the beginning of the 20th century. This book is Black America's "Little Women". I hate comparing one book to something else, but the way the literary community raves about Little Women, is the way they should rave about Jam on the Vine.
Yes, it's that good!
I love books that teach me about history without being preachy. I love books that have such beautiful prose I get stuck on the pages rereading certain paragraphs. I love books with characters that make me feel all the emotions. This book was all of that for me.
I bought this book two years ago and it sat on my bookshelf. Now I'm wishing I hadn't waited so long to read it. If I was a professor of literature, I would make an entire class out of this book. It is SO rich with so many themes that are, sadly, still as relevant today as they were in the beginning of the 20th century.
Yes, it's that good!
I love books that teach me about history without being preachy. I love books that have such beautiful prose I get stuck on the pages rereading certain paragraphs. I love books with characters that make me feel all the emotions. This book was all of that for me.
I bought this book two years ago and it sat on my bookshelf. Now I'm wishing I hadn't waited so long to read it. If I was a professor of literature, I would make an entire class out of this book. It is SO rich with so many themes that are, sadly, still as relevant today as they were in the beginning of the 20th century.
arisbookcorner's review
3.0
"Surely by now I have racked up enough lessons in degradation for the dean of life to confer upon me a degree in bitterness." Ivoe, pg. 179
The making of a "race woman" (who seems a lot like Ida B. Wells) set during the nadir is a unique premise in and of itself. Made even more so by the cast of characters and not-Chicago Midwestern setting (well small town Texas first and then Kansas City). Each surrounding character is strongly developed and while the story jumps from inner monologue to inner monologue to me it's always clear whose speaking. The only exception would be Ivoe's sister Irabelle whose character growth seems stunted after a horrific incident (although there is another racist incident earlier on in the book that she is too young to understand the magnitude of and never revisits). The author manages to weave together so many interesting historical tidbits, whether it's the presence of Muslims in the post Reconstruction South or the multiple LGBT characters. Even the focus on Ivoe in college, there aren't many novels that discuss the curriculum of Black women's colleges or what their social lives would have been like so I enjoyed that glimpse into this underrepresented part of history as well as the surrounding activism. I'm also not trying to give to much away but Ivoe's parents have the most gut-wrenching love story and it takes the most unexpected turn and I just gobbled it up. It often seems like in Black historical novels we don't get much of a focus on passionate Black love so that was a nice touch. But with those touching moments come stomach churning ones, the author spares few details when it comes to describing lynchings, sexual assaults and revolting prison conditions. It's tough to get through but important and well worth it to see the parallels to today.
A tribute to Black newspapers, a reminder of their storied history and vital importance to the community throughout the 19th and 20th century. I only wish we had spent more time on journalistic endeavors and less on her childhood, the story drags through most of the first chunk. The love 'triangle' keeps the reader somewhat engaged but overall I think most of the 'precocious child' and even job hunting parts could have been shortened considerably. Even now although Black newspapers may be dwindling, magazines and websites seem to be chugging along or thriving and providing much needed representation while serving as a safe space. It is not a coincidence for example that Essence magazine has led the way in coverage of the missing Black girls in DC and across the country, a story that is slowly now being picked up by the "mainstream" media. I think if this book had been a bit shorter and not plodded along so much in the beginning I would have liked it a lot more but it is clear that the author is excited by her material and loves her characters, she tries to pack in as much as she can. It almost might have been better as a series or at least with a sequel to give the reader more space to breathe and savor. I look forward to her next novel (which will be more historical fiction according to an interview I read).
The making of a "race woman" (who seems a lot like Ida B. Wells) set during the nadir is a unique premise in and of itself. Made even more so by the cast of characters and not-Chicago Midwestern setting (well small town Texas first and then Kansas City). Each surrounding character is strongly developed and while the story jumps from inner monologue to inner monologue to me it's always clear whose speaking. The only exception would be Ivoe's sister Irabelle whose character growth seems stunted after a horrific incident (although there is another racist incident earlier on in the book that she is too young to understand the magnitude of and never revisits). The author manages to weave together so many interesting historical tidbits, whether it's the presence of Muslims in the post Reconstruction South or the multiple LGBT characters. Even the focus on Ivoe in college, there aren't many novels that discuss the curriculum of Black women's colleges or what their social lives would have been like so I enjoyed that glimpse into this underrepresented part of history as well as the surrounding activism. I'm also not trying to give to much away but Ivoe's parents have the most gut-wrenching love story and it takes the most unexpected turn and I just gobbled it up. It often seems like in Black historical novels we don't get much of a focus on passionate Black love so that was a nice touch. But with those touching moments come stomach churning ones, the author spares few details when it comes to describing lynchings, sexual assaults and revolting prison conditions. It's tough to get through but important and well worth it to see the parallels to today.
A tribute to Black newspapers, a reminder of their storied history and vital importance to the community throughout the 19th and 20th century. I only wish we had spent more time on journalistic endeavors and less on her childhood, the story drags through most of the first chunk. The love 'triangle' keeps the reader somewhat engaged but overall I think most of the 'precocious child' and even job hunting parts could have been shortened considerably. Even now although Black newspapers may be dwindling, magazines and websites seem to be chugging along or thriving and providing much needed representation while serving as a safe space. It is not a coincidence for example that Essence magazine has led the way in coverage of the missing Black girls in DC and across the country, a story that is slowly now being picked up by the "mainstream" media. I think if this book had been a bit shorter and not plodded along so much in the beginning I would have liked it a lot more but it is clear that the author is excited by her material and loves her characters, she tries to pack in as much as she can. It almost might have been better as a series or at least with a sequel to give the reader more space to breathe and savor. I look forward to her next novel (which will be more historical fiction according to an interview I read).
zoepomegranate's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Slavery
justabean_reads's review
3.0
Extra star for lesbians, probably. I'm not sure what the point of this book was besides horrible things happened under Jim Crow, and blacks organised and worked very hard to put a stop to them. It was a book that I couldn't seem to get a hold on, one way or another. The characters were all vividly drawn, especially the main character's mother, and the prose itself was excellent, and it at all short on happenings, but it did seem quite short on plot.
It struck me as similar to [b:The Book of Negroes|23316548|The Book of Negroes|Lawrence Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417983381s/23316548.jpg|860779] in that it was a guided tour of a period of history, as told by a moderately bland heroine. Though at least this heroine was gay? I never really felt engaged with her, or worried about her though, as she was obviously going to be fine, and the writing seemed a little distanced from her.
Well researched and interesting, in any case.
It struck me as similar to [b:The Book of Negroes|23316548|The Book of Negroes|Lawrence Hill|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417983381s/23316548.jpg|860779] in that it was a guided tour of a period of history, as told by a moderately bland heroine. Though at least this heroine was gay? I never really felt engaged with her, or worried about her though, as she was obviously going to be fine, and the writing seemed a little distanced from her.
Well researched and interesting, in any case.
firstiteration's review
5.0
For me, Jam on the Vine is the best kind of historical fiction.
From its first pages, I found Jam on the Vine to be very engaging. The voices of Ivoe and the other characters are strong and easy to slip in to, and I quickly became invested in their world and lives. Barnett's writing and characterization are both strong, and pave the way for this novel to do great things.
I will admit that as a white Canadian, I knew extraordinarily little about late 19th and early 20th century America. Barnett does a great job of giving you details about that time period in the southern US while still maintaining a narrative and strong characters. The characters grow and change as their world around them changes, and the interplay between those two things is one of the strongest parts of the novel.
I think Jam on the Vine is the best kind of historical fiction because it's so alive. The injustices faced by the black characters in the novel aren't just in the past - they're alive in our present. And while I enjoyed reading this novel as a piece of fiction, it also allowed me to grow my own understanding of how anti-black racism has functioned as an institution for hundreds of years, and how that history stacks up and shapes the present I live in. I'm also thankful that Barnett included her notes about research in the back of the book, opening up opportunity for readers to pursue their own research and to drive the point home that although this is fiction, it's very strongly based in real events.
An excellent novel. I hope Barnett writes more soon.
From its first pages, I found Jam on the Vine to be very engaging. The voices of Ivoe and the other characters are strong and easy to slip in to, and I quickly became invested in their world and lives. Barnett's writing and characterization are both strong, and pave the way for this novel to do great things.
I will admit that as a white Canadian, I knew extraordinarily little about late 19th and early 20th century America. Barnett does a great job of giving you details about that time period in the southern US while still maintaining a narrative and strong characters. The characters grow and change as their world around them changes, and the interplay between those two things is one of the strongest parts of the novel.
I think Jam on the Vine is the best kind of historical fiction because it's so alive. The injustices faced by the black characters in the novel aren't just in the past - they're alive in our present. And while I enjoyed reading this novel as a piece of fiction, it also allowed me to grow my own understanding of how anti-black racism has functioned as an institution for hundreds of years, and how that history stacks up and shapes the present I live in. I'm also thankful that Barnett included her notes about research in the back of the book, opening up opportunity for readers to pursue their own research and to drive the point home that although this is fiction, it's very strongly based in real events.
An excellent novel. I hope Barnett writes more soon.