The Invention Of Wings
The Invention Of Wings is the third Sue Monk Kidd novel I have read following The Mermaid Chair and the highly regarded The Secret Life Of Bees.
The novel works as a dual narrative, switching between daughter of wealthy plantation owners Sarah Grimke and her slave girl Handful whom she is "given" as a gift on her 11th Birthday to literally be her personal slave.
Where this story alters from standard slave/mistress or slave/master stories is that Sarah despite her background and upbringing is vehemently pro-abolition daring and incurring the wrath and disapproval of the society she finds herself in. She refuses the gift when Handful is presented to her only to be punished and to have the honour forced upon her in the coming days.
Both Sarah and Handful are beautifully drawn as the novel follows them from childhood right through to their early 40s. Sarah is a unique and fairly admirable character, repeatedly flying in the face of what would be the easiest and most comfortable for her and her own life to stand up for her rights as a woman and the rights of all women.
I was really glad to read this novel, for too often, stories like this are told in a pardon-the-pun black and white way. We rarely if ever hear the voice of the minority white in the slavery era, who thought slavery was abominable and strove to change it. It also stays honest, at times we see Sarah Grimke, though a heroine, her heart in the right place, act in the racist way that has been indoctrinated in her.
I thought it was unique and clever and then wondered : But is this realistic, would a person with the background of Sarah Grimke ever have been able to do this? Ever acted in such a way in the face of such huge censure, at one point unable to return to her family home for fear of being lynched?
Imagine my delight therefore to discover upon closing an Authors Note that revealed Sarah Grimke was in fact a very real person, who did many if not all of the things ascribed to her. I had never heard of her before and this seems a real pity as she truly was a heroine of her time. The novel also made me question, question if I had been born Sarah
Grimke or someone like her, would I have been brave enough to stand up
the way she did or would I have conformed? I really hope I would have
been brave.
Whether Handful ever existed or certainly the Handful that is portrayed is unlikely and unknown which seems a shame - and a little like a betrayal of all the real Handfuls who did. The story begins with Sarah's refusal of her, a real event, and so in some ways it would have been a further betrayal of those women to have the girl who was offered and rejected be silent in the novel, but her story cannot be considered authentic in the way that Sarah's is.
I would love to see this made into a Hollywood film mainly because Sarah Grimke deserves to be more widely known, and the story of the women who were part of the abolition movement more widely honoured.
Verdict 10/10
Showing posts with label Slavery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Slavery. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Monday, 13 August 2012
Book #70 Philida by Andre Brink
Philida
Philida, by Andre Brink is another nominee on the longlist for this years Booker Prize. A tale of slavery in old South Africa the novel begins with the eponymous character, a slave on a farm, journeying by foot to complain at the governing body for slave masters that she has been mistreated by Frans Brink, a son of the family who owns her by whom she has borne four children.
What makes this novel all the more remarkable and special then is that it was written by Andre Brink, a descendant of said slave owners and that despite taking dramatic licence with the actual events that occur, many of the characters in the novel were in fact once real people, the authors own ancestors. Philida was a genuine slave owned by them who genuinely did go and complain about Frans Brink. A faction then, a blend of the events that Andre Brink was able to verify alongside his imagination and the knowledge of the history of the period.
The novel pitches a variety of narratives, occasionally told in the third person, the novel is also told in first person narratives from the viewpoints of Frans, Philida, Cornelius, and Petronella, a mash up which actually works and flows well.
As always I find it important that stories such as these are told so that people continue to acknowledge the indignities and abuses suffered and continue to learn from the warnings of history.
Whilst it is undeniable that this book is very accomplished and well written, for me the plot faltered slightly when Philida moves to Worcester and becomes friends with coffin making Muslim Labyn, one section of the novel feeling like an extended RE Lesson. The relationships between Frans and Philida and Cornelius and Petronella are striking enough in their own right to warrant being the sole focus of the narrative.
As a reader, however I was left with certain ethical qualms about this novel. The Brink family once owned Philida as though she was cattle. Would Philida have enjoyed having this novel written about her? Would she have agreed with its contents and are they fair? Or has Andre Brink further exploited a women already once exploited by his family (albeit consigned to history) for creative and commercial gain?
8/10
Philida, by Andre Brink is another nominee on the longlist for this years Booker Prize. A tale of slavery in old South Africa the novel begins with the eponymous character, a slave on a farm, journeying by foot to complain at the governing body for slave masters that she has been mistreated by Frans Brink, a son of the family who owns her by whom she has borne four children.
What makes this novel all the more remarkable and special then is that it was written by Andre Brink, a descendant of said slave owners and that despite taking dramatic licence with the actual events that occur, many of the characters in the novel were in fact once real people, the authors own ancestors. Philida was a genuine slave owned by them who genuinely did go and complain about Frans Brink. A faction then, a blend of the events that Andre Brink was able to verify alongside his imagination and the knowledge of the history of the period.
The novel pitches a variety of narratives, occasionally told in the third person, the novel is also told in first person narratives from the viewpoints of Frans, Philida, Cornelius, and Petronella, a mash up which actually works and flows well.
As always I find it important that stories such as these are told so that people continue to acknowledge the indignities and abuses suffered and continue to learn from the warnings of history.
Whilst it is undeniable that this book is very accomplished and well written, for me the plot faltered slightly when Philida moves to Worcester and becomes friends with coffin making Muslim Labyn, one section of the novel feeling like an extended RE Lesson. The relationships between Frans and Philida and Cornelius and Petronella are striking enough in their own right to warrant being the sole focus of the narrative.
As a reader, however I was left with certain ethical qualms about this novel. The Brink family once owned Philida as though she was cattle. Would Philida have enjoyed having this novel written about her? Would she have agreed with its contents and are they fair? Or has Andre Brink further exploited a women already once exploited by his family (albeit consigned to history) for creative and commercial gain?
8/10
Friday, 22 July 2011
Book #66 The Long Song by Andrea Levy
The Long Song
The Long Song is Andrea Levy's fifth novel following Every Light In The Whole House Burnin', Never Far From Nowhere, Fruit Of The Lemon and the critically acclaimed Small Island. It won the 2011 Walter Scott prize and was along with other titles on the blog shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize. It is the first Andrea Levy novel that I have read.
The Long Song concerns the uprising of slaves in colonial Jamaica in 1831, which was known as the Baptist War, or rather it provides the backdrop to our tale, as our narrator was not caught up in it but her story, or the bulk of it, occurs at the time of this upheaval.
It is constructed in a very unusual way, using a strange form of double direct address, we are first addressed by Thomas Kinsman, a printer frustrated at his mothers attempts to tell him stories who encourages her to write them down to be printed. When the narrative changes hands she too, outright addresses her potential, unseen readership. To further complicate the narration, in her writing about her past Thomas Kinsman's mother July refers to herself in the third person, but in the "present day" part of the story she refers to herself in the first. So there is a double authorship at work here, Andrea Levy is our author of a fictional story, and her character July is the author of her own true story.
To compound the complicated narrative, July is an unreliable narrator, not just through a lack of remembering over time but, as a willful deceit, wanting the reader to think better of her, or wanting to forget the worst of moments. At these points, the present day will interrupt the story as Thomas reads her latest pages and challenges her on their veracity. But Thomas is not fully aware of his own mothers history, that's part of the point, so there's always a chance that some of what July tells us may not be what actually happened. Despite the tricksy narrative web Levy has weaved, it still works and proves easy to navigate.
Slavery is one of those issues like with The Great War and The Holocaust, that's so important that it continues to be written about "Lest We Forget". The United States may now have its first Black President but the big White House he lives in was built by the blood and sweat of slaves.
These are Jamaican colonial slaves working on sugar cane plantations and we begin by meeting Caroline Mortimer who has travelled to America to live on her brothers estate. As her brother John Howarth gives her the grand tour they come across Kitty and her daughter July. The manner in which Howarth speaks of Kitty as if she were mere livestock, boasting of her leg muscles brings home the inhumanity and barbarism of the era. Caroline is then allowed to just take July from Kitty as her pet as if she were a kitten, and change her name to one which she prefers. And so July grows up in service to the white folks.
Despite it being called The Long Song it is not particularly long, coming in at just over 300 pages. The voice is authentic, but though the story is an accurate portrayal of the time, it is the kind of story that has been told many times, so even with its probable historical accuracy it can feel slightly like cliche. In terms of the 2010 Man Booker Prize I am beginning to feel that Room was the most affecting but it loses points for being exploitative in a way that The Long Song isn't. The only book I have not yet read is C by Tom McCarthy, once I have read that I can say for sure, but so far I think The Long Song may be the best book of the six. Ultimately, I liked it, it made me think of Jamaican Rum Chocolate and that's never a bad thing. I have had Small Island by Andrea Levy floating around my house for some time, and on the strength of this book will definitely give it a look 8/10
The Long Song is Andrea Levy's fifth novel following Every Light In The Whole House Burnin', Never Far From Nowhere, Fruit Of The Lemon and the critically acclaimed Small Island. It won the 2011 Walter Scott prize and was along with other titles on the blog shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize. It is the first Andrea Levy novel that I have read.
The Long Song concerns the uprising of slaves in colonial Jamaica in 1831, which was known as the Baptist War, or rather it provides the backdrop to our tale, as our narrator was not caught up in it but her story, or the bulk of it, occurs at the time of this upheaval.
It is constructed in a very unusual way, using a strange form of double direct address, we are first addressed by Thomas Kinsman, a printer frustrated at his mothers attempts to tell him stories who encourages her to write them down to be printed. When the narrative changes hands she too, outright addresses her potential, unseen readership. To further complicate the narration, in her writing about her past Thomas Kinsman's mother July refers to herself in the third person, but in the "present day" part of the story she refers to herself in the first. So there is a double authorship at work here, Andrea Levy is our author of a fictional story, and her character July is the author of her own true story.
To compound the complicated narrative, July is an unreliable narrator, not just through a lack of remembering over time but, as a willful deceit, wanting the reader to think better of her, or wanting to forget the worst of moments. At these points, the present day will interrupt the story as Thomas reads her latest pages and challenges her on their veracity. But Thomas is not fully aware of his own mothers history, that's part of the point, so there's always a chance that some of what July tells us may not be what actually happened. Despite the tricksy narrative web Levy has weaved, it still works and proves easy to navigate.
Slavery is one of those issues like with The Great War and The Holocaust, that's so important that it continues to be written about "Lest We Forget". The United States may now have its first Black President but the big White House he lives in was built by the blood and sweat of slaves.
These are Jamaican colonial slaves working on sugar cane plantations and we begin by meeting Caroline Mortimer who has travelled to America to live on her brothers estate. As her brother John Howarth gives her the grand tour they come across Kitty and her daughter July. The manner in which Howarth speaks of Kitty as if she were mere livestock, boasting of her leg muscles brings home the inhumanity and barbarism of the era. Caroline is then allowed to just take July from Kitty as her pet as if she were a kitten, and change her name to one which she prefers. And so July grows up in service to the white folks.
Despite it being called The Long Song it is not particularly long, coming in at just over 300 pages. The voice is authentic, but though the story is an accurate portrayal of the time, it is the kind of story that has been told many times, so even with its probable historical accuracy it can feel slightly like cliche. In terms of the 2010 Man Booker Prize I am beginning to feel that Room was the most affecting but it loses points for being exploitative in a way that The Long Song isn't. The only book I have not yet read is C by Tom McCarthy, once I have read that I can say for sure, but so far I think The Long Song may be the best book of the six. Ultimately, I liked it, it made me think of Jamaican Rum Chocolate and that's never a bad thing. I have had Small Island by Andrea Levy floating around my house for some time, and on the strength of this book will definitely give it a look 8/10
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