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lacy30twin1's review against another edition
I was not a fan of this book. I was expecting historical telling of the lives of ordinary black women. I wouldn't have minded if some of the stories were embellished. This was not what I was expecting.
First off, the writing style was very poetic with extremely long sentences. Nothing needs to be that descriptive. One chapter was her definitions of a word or term I don't even remember now. Whatever it was, it was a waste of space in a book advertised as the historical telling of wayward women. Second, most of this "historical" story telling is just assumptions made up by the author about small pieces of historical documents she came across. She made up whole back stories based off of a picture in one chapter. Third, this whole book was all over the place. A chapter early on was like 70 pages and jumped around between two nameless women/girls. I didn't realise it was two different people she was talking about until half way through, which at least help me realize why the two tales were so disjointed.
Then she included a chapter about what she thinks W.E.B Dubois was thinking while studying black life in the ghettos. Ma'am, his views are well documented. Why is there even a chapter on what you think this man was thinking in a book about the lives of black women?
I did not make it far in this book. I didn't enjoy any parts that I read and often said to myself 'I can't believe a black woman wrote this!' While I am absolutely not a fan of Victorian type, lyrical writing, this book was awful for me because of the content more so than the writing style.
First off, the writing style was very poetic with extremely long sentences. Nothing needs to be that descriptive. One chapter was her definitions of a word or term I don't even remember now. Whatever it was, it was a waste of space in a book advertised as the historical telling of wayward women. Second, most of this "historical" story telling is just assumptions made up by the author about small pieces of historical documents she came across. She made up whole back stories based off of a picture in one chapter. Third, this whole book was all over the place. A chapter early on was like 70 pages and jumped around between two nameless women/girls. I didn't realise it was two different people she was talking about until half way through, which at least help me realize why the two tales were so disjointed.
Then she included a chapter about what she thinks W.E.B Dubois was thinking while studying black life in the ghettos. Ma'am, his views are well documented. Why is there even a chapter on what you think this man was thinking in a book about the lives of black women?
I did not make it far in this book. I didn't enjoy any parts that I read and often said to myself 'I can't believe a black woman wrote this!' While I am absolutely not a fan of Victorian type, lyrical writing, this book was awful for me because of the content more so than the writing style.
especiallysarah's review
5.0
This was such a fascinating book, the photographs and the facts surrounded by the stories of the women. I'm going to be coming back to it.
grahamcifelli's review against another edition
5.0
One of my new favorite booksdefinite top 3 it's beautiful, redefining all the good words
guinness74's review against another edition
It’s a good book, but it’s not holding my interest and I just think it might be more academic than I’m in the mood for. I think it would be a great read for anyone whose course of study led them to it, but as just a general read, it’s a tough row to how.
em_harring's review against another edition
5.0
There's so much I need to think about and grapple with concerning this book, but right now, what I can say, is that I'm so incredibly grateful to be able to read Hartman's work. She's one of the best academics out there right now, and I feel so lucky that I get to engage with it and read it.
This is a hard book to read, but it's such a beautiful book to read. I'll be thinking about it for days.
This is a hard book to read, but it's such a beautiful book to read. I'll be thinking about it for days.
pattytims's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
make sure you read the endnotes! I didn't know they existed til it was too late and I wish I had known about them from the beginning.
theviolettides's review against another edition
4.0
I cried a couple times reading this beautiful book. Hartman’s execution of conveying the historical narrative and these women’s lives is incredibly powerful. Specifically for me, as a black feminine bodied person, this book spoke to me, and made me think of my great grandmother, aunts and those beyond that have experienced the atrocities (or the effects) of those outlined in this book.
This book is not for the faint hearted. But if you want insight on black history, specifically on the condition of black women, not the kind lauded by mainstream African American historical sources, then this is the book for you.
This book is not for the faint hearted. But if you want insight on black history, specifically on the condition of black women, not the kind lauded by mainstream African American historical sources, then this is the book for you.