Review by nataliecoyne - Good Dirt

nataliecoyne 's review for:

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

3.5

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

3.5ish stars. I think I just went into this book expecting something different than what it turned out to be. To start with the good, I do think that this had a beautiful exploration of grief and how that grief, and major trauma, can impact a family for decades to come. I also feel that the more historical aspects of the novel were really well done, and I feel like I learned a lot about art history, especially art history in relation to enslaved Black artists, that I probably wouldn’t have learned otherwise (as art history isn’t necessarily a topic that I often seek out).

Where it lost me was mainly with the love triangle (or even, at times, the love quadrangle). Honestly, this doesn’t even end up really going anywhere, but took up a significant part of the beginning and middle of this book. Not only did it not really end up going anywhere, but it also wasn’t something I was expecting for going into this book, and much less hoping for. Additionally, I did go into the book hoping for some mystery elements, some sort of “who did it,” with the fact that Ebby’s brother’s murder was unsolved. But there really wasn’t much of that. And when it was finally revealed, I won’t say that it was necessarily unsatisfying, but it was quite anticlimactic.

Ultimately, though, this was a good book and it was one that kept my attention enough that I finished it in only two sittings, so I could see myself very likely recommending it to others. I just wish that I had understood more about what this book was really going to be before going in.

Content Warnings