Let me just begin by saying this, if I ever decide to write a book, I want to be able to express my thoughts the way this author can. Reading this book is akin to watching a movie or looking at a painting, except Mathis uses words to paint her pictures. I could literally hear, feel, smell and taste things together with the characters. What an amazing writer! Sometimes descriptions can get tedious in novels, you just want to skip over them and get to the "good part." Not in this book. Her descriptions pull you in. Rather than simply following the narrative, the reader literally gets transported into the scene and starts experiencing the events, reliving them along with the characters. I highly recommend this book. Even if you do not like the storyline, it is quite an experience just to read Ayana Mathis' prose.
The plot itself is centered on the life of one woman (Hattie) and her twelve children (sort of like twelve tribes of Israel, but instead of the male head of the clan, we have a female). Hattie herself moves from Georgia to Philadelphia in search of a better life (or a "promised land") in the North. When we first meet her, she is 17 and has just given birth to twins. All subsequent chapters focus on one of her children, their life stories, struggles and joys, and on their relationship with their mother. Hattie is a strong woman, a survivor; she might not be outwardly very warm or loving towards her children, but all of her actions are motivated by her great love for them. She is just too busy keeping them fed and clothed to worry about hugging them or paying attention to what might be on their minds. Her husband does not really deserve a mention in this review since she raises this family almost despite of his wayward and selfish lifestyle.
I think this is definitely an author to watch. This book is also widely publicized by Oprah who selected it for her Book Club 2.0, and it is a great selection!
The plot itself is centered on the life of one woman (Hattie) and her twelve children (sort of like twelve tribes of Israel, but instead of the male head of the clan, we have a female). Hattie herself moves from Georgia to Philadelphia in search of a better life (or a "promised land") in the North. When we first meet her, she is 17 and has just given birth to twins. All subsequent chapters focus on one of her children, their life stories, struggles and joys, and on their relationship with their mother. Hattie is a strong woman, a survivor; she might not be outwardly very warm or loving towards her children, but all of her actions are motivated by her great love for them. She is just too busy keeping them fed and clothed to worry about hugging them or paying attention to what might be on their minds. Her husband does not really deserve a mention in this review since she raises this family almost despite of his wayward and selfish lifestyle.
I think this is definitely an author to watch. This book is also widely publicized by Oprah who selected it for her Book Club 2.0, and it is a great selection!
No comments:
Post a Comment