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A review by seeceeread
Jubilee by Margaret Walker
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
"I ain't gwine get tired a well-doin, cuz I'm gwine to shout, 'Glory!' one of these mornins when the wicked world is on fire."
Phenomenal historical fiction!
Walker crisscrossed the United States, reviewing court holdings, university archives and library records to develop a sickeningly realistic narrative. Robin Miles beautifully performs the diverse voices and personalities Walker created to depict the cloying violence of 19th century Alabama and Georgia. We hear slavers' justifications of their sadistic enforcement of white supremacy. And poor whites' jealous disdain for Africans who they imagine are usurping their economic chances. Free Blacks navigate heavy annual taxes, outright exile and family separation. Wives lament their soldier husbands' early, gruesome deaths. Spies avoid eye contact with acquaintances. Ku Klux Klan members scheme to validate theft with formal paperwork . . . Walker integrates the lyrics of spirituals throughout to uplift Vyry's faith, stoicism, practicality and nurturance. In her grandmother's character, readers are ushered towards resilience in this realm and deliverance in the next.
Phenomenal historical fiction!
Walker crisscrossed the United States, reviewing court holdings, university archives and library records to develop a sickeningly realistic narrative. Robin Miles beautifully performs the diverse voices and personalities Walker created to depict the cloying violence of 19th century Alabama and Georgia. We hear slavers' justifications of their sadistic enforcement of white supremacy. And poor whites' jealous disdain for Africans who they imagine are usurping their economic chances. Free Blacks navigate heavy annual taxes, outright exile and family separation. Wives lament their soldier husbands' early, gruesome deaths. Spies avoid eye contact with acquaintances. Ku Klux Klan members scheme to validate theft with formal paperwork . . . Walker integrates the lyrics of spirituals throughout to uplift Vyry's faith, stoicism, practicality and nurturance. In her grandmother's character, readers are ushered towards resilience in this realm and deliverance in the next.