By Sue Monk Kidd
Viking Adult, 2014. 384 pgs.
The narration of this book switches between two equally fascinating and unique characters through their lives as owner and slave. Sarah is given Handful for her 11th birthday and for 35 years after, their stories are told. Each story is in its own way exciting and meaningful, but the stories combined show a great friendship and hope in the abolition of the slaves and even an uprising from Handful's perspective. Their stories are separate much of the time, but come together in their desire to fight for themselves and women's rights.
This story is based on the historical Sarah Grimke, and the author does a great job of creating a very detailed account of her life and other historical figures, as well as created characters for the story. The audio book was excellent as there were two narrators for both characters. It was a fast paced story for being over 30 years of growth in the two women.
EW
1 comment:
This may be my favorite book so far this year. Kidd's writing is beautiful and engaging throughout the novel, and she has clearly conducted thorough research on Sarah Grimke's life. Grimke's life has oddly been ignored in most high school and university history classes, in spite of the fact that she and her sister Nina were two of the most significant abolitionists and first women's rights activists in the nineteenth century. Kidd does a great job of bringing Sarah's story to life, but I was also fascinated by the character of Hetty/Handful. Though an imagined character, Handful sparkles with life throughout The Invention of Wings, and her personality and experiences help to deepen Sarah's.
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