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_askthebookbug 's review for:
Yellow Wife
by Sadeqa Johnson
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
• r e c o m m e n d a t i o n •
TW : Rape, death, violence, lynching, graphic description of slavery.
This book reminded me of the movie Twelve Years a Slave but was even more difficult to read because at the centre of it all was a woman. This historical fiction is based on the life of Mary Lumpkin who was the wife/mistress of the infamous jailer Robert Lumpkin. Although much isn't known about her, Sadeqa built a character by keeping her in mind. The novel is set in 1850, back when slavery was very much present. Black people were treated inhumanely so much so that they weren't even considered better than animals and I had to pause very often while reading it because certain descriptions were too heartbreaking. Yellow Wife is an underrated book, a tale of a biracial woman who had to live with a white man out of fear.
It's 1850 and Pheby Delores Brown, daughter of a black enslaved woman and a white master lives a relatively safe life under their protection. But things fall apart before her 18th birthday and she is sent off to an auction. There, she meets Rubin Lapier, owner of a slave jail also known as 'Devil's Half Acre'. This prison holds auctions and also serves as a torture camp for runaways. Lapier who is the devil himself has countless black people tortured under his steely gaze. It is here that Pheby lives much against her will in order to survive. She births children with Lapier and brings them up amidst all that horror. But Pheby was smart and tried helping other slaves in her own way. Although much of the story is fictional, it does pay a tribute to Mary who lived a terrible life. Yellow Wife is written beautifully, with narration that keeps the readers engaged till the very end.
This is an extraordinary novel that celebrates women at it's core. Although it wasn't an easy read, it must be read for it carries such a significant part of American History.
4.9/5.
TW : Rape, death, violence, lynching, graphic description of slavery.
This book reminded me of the movie Twelve Years a Slave but was even more difficult to read because at the centre of it all was a woman. This historical fiction is based on the life of Mary Lumpkin who was the wife/mistress of the infamous jailer Robert Lumpkin. Although much isn't known about her, Sadeqa built a character by keeping her in mind. The novel is set in 1850, back when slavery was very much present. Black people were treated inhumanely so much so that they weren't even considered better than animals and I had to pause very often while reading it because certain descriptions were too heartbreaking. Yellow Wife is an underrated book, a tale of a biracial woman who had to live with a white man out of fear.
It's 1850 and Pheby Delores Brown, daughter of a black enslaved woman and a white master lives a relatively safe life under their protection. But things fall apart before her 18th birthday and she is sent off to an auction. There, she meets Rubin Lapier, owner of a slave jail also known as 'Devil's Half Acre'. This prison holds auctions and also serves as a torture camp for runaways. Lapier who is the devil himself has countless black people tortured under his steely gaze. It is here that Pheby lives much against her will in order to survive. She births children with Lapier and brings them up amidst all that horror. But Pheby was smart and tried helping other slaves in her own way. Although much of the story is fictional, it does pay a tribute to Mary who lived a terrible life. Yellow Wife is written beautifully, with narration that keeps the readers engaged till the very end.
This is an extraordinary novel that celebrates women at it's core. Although it wasn't an easy read, it must be read for it carries such a significant part of American History.
4.9/5.