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A review by beverleefernandez
Daughter by asha bandele
4.0
Part of me thinks I read this book at a bad time because I’m actually upset at the injustice Miriam has lived through. Without giving too much away, no one should lose every person they’ve loved. Daughter is Miriam’s story, one that contains love, heartache, and bitterness. Aya, Miriam’s daughter, is a teenager who gets in trouble by defending herself against a would be rapist. That act of rebellion is another spin of the same rebellion Miriam put her parents through and to a lesser extent her own parents. The resulting question is always “was it worth losing “?
There are many issues the author touches on that are relevant today. The most obvious, police brutality, highlights why BLM exists. A second lesser topic is classism in the Black community. On the surface, Miriam appears to have it all growing up-2 parents in the home fulfilling traditional roles, not lacking any material need, an exceptional student with a bright future. So what attracts her to Bird, a young Army veteran working as a janitor at her high school? The one missing thing was something that can be freely given, a simple relationship. To be treated as a person capable of thought and emotions, not as an object unable to think logically. Bird offers Miriam love, which doesn’t end in happily ever after. Bird did not grow up with his parents, was raised by his grandmother, enlisted in the Army to escape poverty which brought another set of problems (treatment of African American soldiers). A third issue is the mother-daughter dynamic. Aya and Miriam spend their year together at odds because of perceived failure. Because there’s no real communication, a chance to stop the cycle never happens, leading to the greatest heartache.
This novel is one that I hope other people find by chance as I did. I was not expecting Daughter to read as part suspense, part romance, mostly drama. It’s definitely got the makings of a great movie.
There are many issues the author touches on that are relevant today. The most obvious, police brutality, highlights why BLM exists. A second lesser topic is classism in the Black community. On the surface, Miriam appears to have it all growing up-2 parents in the home fulfilling traditional roles, not lacking any material need, an exceptional student with a bright future. So what attracts her to Bird, a young Army veteran working as a janitor at her high school? The one missing thing was something that can be freely given, a simple relationship. To be treated as a person capable of thought and emotions, not as an object unable to think logically. Bird offers Miriam love, which doesn’t end in happily ever after. Bird did not grow up with his parents, was raised by his grandmother, enlisted in the Army to escape poverty which brought another set of problems (treatment of African American soldiers). A third issue is the mother-daughter dynamic. Aya and Miriam spend their year together at odds because of perceived failure. Because there’s no real communication, a chance to stop the cycle never happens, leading to the greatest heartache.
This novel is one that I hope other people find by chance as I did. I was not expecting Daughter to read as part suspense, part romance, mostly drama. It’s definitely got the makings of a great movie.