loquaciousblonde 's review for:

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

1.0

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I was very disappointed by this book. I have always enjoyed books set in this time period, but this one was difficult to get through. I would rather the author have left some of the more salacious details to the imagination. But there were two things that bothered me above all else. The first was the ending. I kept hoping that there would be, if not a happy, but at least a hopeful ending. It was a huge letdown to learn that after so many people had tried to help her gain her freedom, Lizzie chose to remain. I felt that despite trying to ensure that her children had an education and a chance at a life she never had, she set a poor example for them by not pursuing freedom herself when she had the opportunity. In addition to that, I was bothered by what I read in the author's note at the end. I was disappointed to find out that she had apparently taken liberties in creating the world of Tawawa Resort. Yes, it existed, but I was sad when she admitted there were so few details recorded about it, and that the presence of slave concubines is only part of "oral history". The part of the story where the slave women dress up in fancy dresses and go to dinner with their masters "like white women" gave me hope that the experience would intensify the determination of Lizzie to run away to freedom. But in the end, it didn't. And the fact that the author may have completely made up such a scenario was doubly disappointing. I didn't expect this to be a happy book, but the lack of hope rendered it impossible for me to give it more than 1 star.