Scan barcode
greenmachine31's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this book. I liked the idea of finding your healer within and the idea of Freedom.
sheridacon's review
5.0
One of the best books I've ever read. Beautiful writing and a wonderful story with spiritual meat to it. Some favorite quotes:
"Granada knew she was supposed to avert her eyes, but she couldn't help stealing glances as more white folks entered the room and then stood about with their company manners, all stiff and formal, performing half bows, with their stifled laughs that sounded like coughs.
More interesting than their words were the spaces they left between, the gaps of silence separating the speakers. They talked the way they danced at their fancy balls, holing each other at considerable distance. Nobody ever crowded in on top of another. They reminded Granada of cold pots in the fireplace. Not like Chester or Aunt Sylvie and Pomp when they got to carrying on in the kitchen. They came to full boil, sloshed over the sides, and didn't care who noticed."
"'Them folks are just like us. But they get treated like cattle is all. Only difference is we get treated like pet dogs. Don't make us any better. We just know more tricks.'"
"'You got eyes that can see what nobody else can see, if you would only look.'"
"'God always creating something,' Polly said, her voice carried away by a strengthening current. 'Always something trying to be born, Granada. That's what I whisper in they ears.'"
"'Granada, this here. . . ain't nothing but a tangle. It's the weave you got to remember, Granada.'"
"'Just remember,' Polly said carefully, 'these pretty words on this scrap of paper ain't going to make you free. The master can't give you your Freedom. The Yankees when they come can't. I can't If you think any somebody can, then you always going to be their slave.'"
I could go on and on. I loved every line of this book. So profound and, well, healing. A delight to read.
"Granada knew she was supposed to avert her eyes, but she couldn't help stealing glances as more white folks entered the room and then stood about with their company manners, all stiff and formal, performing half bows, with their stifled laughs that sounded like coughs.
More interesting than their words were the spaces they left between, the gaps of silence separating the speakers. They talked the way they danced at their fancy balls, holing each other at considerable distance. Nobody ever crowded in on top of another. They reminded Granada of cold pots in the fireplace. Not like Chester or Aunt Sylvie and Pomp when they got to carrying on in the kitchen. They came to full boil, sloshed over the sides, and didn't care who noticed."
"'Them folks are just like us. But they get treated like cattle is all. Only difference is we get treated like pet dogs. Don't make us any better. We just know more tricks.'"
"'You got eyes that can see what nobody else can see, if you would only look.'"
"'God always creating something,' Polly said, her voice carried away by a strengthening current. 'Always something trying to be born, Granada. That's what I whisper in they ears.'"
"'Granada, this here. . . ain't nothing but a tangle. It's the weave you got to remember, Granada.'"
"'Just remember,' Polly said carefully, 'these pretty words on this scrap of paper ain't going to make you free. The master can't give you your Freedom. The Yankees when they come can't. I can't If you think any somebody can, then you always going to be their slave.'"
I could go on and on. I loved every line of this book. So profound and, well, healing. A delight to read.
amberpatrice's review against another edition
4.0
At first I was skeptical about this book when I saw it was written by a white man. I’m not going to lie. I grew up reading historical fiction and it’s clear that Odell thoroughly did his research and treated this book with respect. Through the eyes of Granada and how SHE interpreted things like colorism, rape, religion, even FREEDOM vs. the world that is completely turned upside down when Polly Shine enters. I found myself highlighting passage after passage in this book that talked about things that still juxtaposed with the internal struggle of an African American today. How far we’ve come to only still basically be in turmoil about the same things... gives even more weight to the fact that (like Polly said)... we are all just the blood of our ancestors. Still confused. Still remembering. Still angry.
Overall this book was a solid 4 star read if you like/can handle essentially a book about slavery. Because there are scenes that get very intense.
Overall this book was a solid 4 star read if you like/can handle essentially a book about slavery. Because there are scenes that get very intense.
lizaroo71's review
2.0
I have wanted to read this book for a long time. And I wanted to like it more than I did.
I think the main issue that I have with this one is it feels repetitive. One of the main characters, Granada Satterfield, doesn't seem to grow as a character. I will allow her some leeway as she is young when the story sets out, but it seems like a lot of cryptic advice wrapped up in the guise of healing others and the self.
This fell short for me.
I think the main issue that I have with this one is it feels repetitive. One of the main characters, Granada Satterfield, doesn't seem to grow as a character. I will allow her some leeway as she is young when the story sets out, but it seems like a lot of cryptic advice wrapped up in the guise of healing others and the self.
This fell short for me.
emjay24's review against another edition
2.0
This was the October selection for my office book club. It’s historical fiction, and told from the perspective of a girl who is a slave in the south. She was taken from her mom as a baby and raised by the mistress of the plantation as a kind of pet, right alongside a monkey. As the main girl gets older, she gets paid less attention, and when her master buys a healing woman for his plantation, she is apprenticed to her, against her will. She wants to be in the big house. This book is about the girl, and the rest of the slaves, coming to terms with themselves as people rather than things. The whole thing is a story told by the girl when she’s old to another girl. I got about ¾ of the way through this book. It started out very interesting, and I wanted to read it, but somewhere along the way, listening to the healer’s teachings, I just got a little stuck. I got to that, ‘I’m kind of dreading reading this’ and then decided to give up. It’s a good book, I think by the end you just need a larger attention span to finish it through.
kathleenww's review
4.0
Excellent and different take on a plantation and a slave on the brink of freedom.
ddejong's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this novel. I thought the characters (Granada/Gran Gran and Polly Shine, in particular) were well-developed and the book kept my interest all the way through. Reading this book was also an educational experience for me. It goes back and forth between Gran Gran telling her story in the 1930s and Gran Gran as a girl "living" her story in the 1860s. It gave a pretty up-close look at what life was like for American slaves living on a plantation. All in all, probably not the next great American novel, but a very good book that I'm glad I read.
knitwgrace's review
4.0
Really good. Unique story and characters. His note to the reader at the end of the book may have pushed this book to a 5 star as I loved his reasons for writing the book.
ctiner7's review
5.0
Let me start off by saying that it is near impossible to compare this book with "The Help". The stories are so completely different, and really, the only thing in common in the setting. This book quickly became a favorite, and I have already got a list of people to lend it to. The author, Jonathan Odell, wrote the story more beautiful than any one else could have. I got so wrapped up in the story that I found myself sitting right there with Polly Shine and Granada. The characters were beautifully woven together, and the story was sad, but managed to leave you with a smile. Again, beautifully written, and honestly can't wait to read this one again!
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.