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A review by lmurray74
The Black Rose by Tananarive Due
4.0
I love Tananarive Due's horror and related fiction, and I would have loved some supernatural spirit here! Due is certainly a gifted storyteller and I knew very little about Madam C.J. Walker before reading this. It's a fictionalized account and I think that is how it had to be told. Due continued a project started by Alex Haley, and she has done the story justice, from my reading. There is little criticism of Sarah Breedlove, Madam C.J. Walker, and that grated at times. There was little mention of Annie Malone, someone Madam Walker may have stolen the recipe for her wonderful hair grower formula from.
What I found most interesting was the historical context of the story. Sarah really did go from rags to riches and her incessant hard work led to an early death at 51. She also set many black families up with the financial means to pursue higher education and to broaden their life goals, through their own hard work. She was involved in the politics of the day and did what she could to advance rights and opportunities for African American people.
This was a solid introduction for me to Madam C.J. Walker's life and the tenderness Due has for her comes across well. I might have wanted a more analytical tone at times, but this isn't a straight biography and I don't think her life has been romanticized.
What I found most interesting was the historical context of the story. Sarah really did go from rags to riches and her incessant hard work led to an early death at 51. She also set many black families up with the financial means to pursue higher education and to broaden their life goals, through their own hard work. She was involved in the politics of the day and did what she could to advance rights and opportunities for African American people.
This was a solid introduction for me to Madam C.J. Walker's life and the tenderness Due has for her comes across well. I might have wanted a more analytical tone at times, but this isn't a straight biography and I don't think her life has been romanticized.