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slibourel 's review for:
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
by Ayana Mathis
I can't say that I didn't like this book and it's characters, but I also can't say I enjoyed the read. The twelve tribes refer to the children (11 plus 1 grandchild) of the main character, Hattie Shepherd. She left Georgia with her mother and sister )during the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North), married at age 16, gave birth to her first children at age 17, buried them within the year, and continued to raise children under the most brutal and discouraging circumstances. Hattie and her children suffer trials and tribulations (molestation, conflicts of sexual identity, mental illness, philandering father/husband, and Hattie's own affair), while Hattie herself is powerless to support (financially and emotionally), encourage, and ground her children. Each story (they range over a period of nearly 60 years) is unrelentingly desperate and sorrowful. Hattie herself is a bitter, heart-hardened woman.
As a story of the Great Migration, the author makes some critical points. Although the wages of the factories of the North are much higher than poverty of the South, many African-Americans who moved North weren't able to make a better life for themselves and their families. They still faced poverty, discrimination, and the difficulties of life in a cold climate.
As a story of the Great Migration, the author makes some critical points. Although the wages of the factories of the North are much higher than poverty of the South, many African-Americans who moved North weren't able to make a better life for themselves and their families. They still faced poverty, discrimination, and the difficulties of life in a cold climate.