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A review by sollyreads
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really struggle to read books about black trauma, particularly the traumas of slavery. I blame it on the required reading of some
of my English courses between high school and college that over-relied on the readings of space narratives. Yellow Wife is an interesting novel that dives into so many aspects of the life of a woman in the antebellum South. Pheby Delores Brown is a protagonist that you will both love and hate at moments in her development. Born a mulatto house girl, she is taught to read, write and many other privileged skills due to the mercy of her first owner. She is many ways protected from the horrors of plantation life until she isn’t. The novel dives into the horrors that the proximity to whiteness bring to a woman, while also finding ways to remind the audience throughout just how privileged Pheby was in her life. I appreciate Johnson’s ability to find the balance of describing the horrors of life on the plantation, in the marches, and at the hands of slave owners while still managing to avoid romanticizing the life of house slaves. This book hit on so many dangers of the lives of enslaved persons, that it will likely anger you or at the minimum leave you quite unsettled. I found myself quite frustrated at the relationship that existed between Pheby and Sissy, there was tension built and a valid, though very complicated, relationship that existed between the two that I felt could have been treated differently. Do we really believe Sissy would have had such mercy for Pheby and her children after Pheby refused to help her? I don’t think so. And I wondered why this dynamic wasn’t explored further in the text. I did appreciate that Johnson never romanticized the Jailer, even in the moments where one may of thought he was doing well by Pheby, he was never desirable and always a repulsive presence in the text. Overall, this was a good read and I learned a bit from it. However, I don’t think I could read it again. The horrors of slavery and the trauma endured by people who were enslaved can be very triggering and upsetting to make the choice to indulge in the work again, doesn’t make much sense to me.
of my English courses between high school and college that over-relied on the readings of space narratives. Yellow Wife is an interesting novel that dives into so many aspects of the life of a woman in the antebellum South. Pheby Delores Brown is a protagonist that you will both love and hate at moments in her development. Born a mulatto house girl, she is taught to read, write and many other privileged skills due to the mercy of her first owner. She is many ways protected from the horrors of plantation life until she isn’t. The novel dives into the horrors that the proximity to whiteness bring to a woman, while also finding ways to remind the audience throughout just how privileged Pheby was in her life. I appreciate Johnson’s ability to find the balance of describing the horrors of life on the plantation, in the marches, and at the hands of slave owners while still managing to avoid romanticizing the life of house slaves. This book hit on so many dangers of the lives of enslaved persons, that it will likely anger you or at the minimum leave you quite unsettled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault and Child death