The Invention Of WingsΒ by Sue Monk KiddΒ β 373 pages
Book Blurb:
Hetty “Handfulβ Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimkeβs daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women. Kiddβs sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarahβs eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten-year-old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each otherβs destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love. As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and womenβs rights movements. Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handfulβs cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.
My Review: 4.5 stars
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I believe that some books need to be read at the right time for each reader. This is so true with The Invention of Wings. Two different times it came in for me at the library and for whatever reason, I just didnβt pick it up. I knew it got rave reviews and I loved her earlier books, but I just wasnβt ready to read a book about the atrocities of slavery coupled with everlasting friendship. After it was selected as a book club selection, however, I knew it was the right moment to dig in.
Yes, this book is hard to read at times. Slaves were treated unjustly, cruelly and no better than a carpet you walk on; yet this author did a magnificent job at giving us the parallel version of hope from the Grimke sisters, some of our main characters. The symbolism of the blackbird was very interesting as in most books itβs understood that black birds reflect death and doom. I learnedΒ that the slaves believed it was a sign of escape and freedom, as wasΒ the black triangle, which was all new new imagery for me.
Now, I love historical fiction, but even better is when I finish the book and find out that the majority of the main characters were real people and that many of the anecdotes, trials, pamphlets and meetings were based on real facts.
Learning from the authorβs wonderfully extensive notes in the back of the book that Sarah Grimke did, in fact, secretly teach her slave Hetty to read, was extremely paramount for me. If it werenβt for the art of reading and writing, this book wouldnβt be and her story would never have been told.
Quotes I liked:
To remain silent in the face of evil is itself a form of evil.β
–Β Β Β Β Β Β βThe sorry truth is you can walk your feet to blisters, walk till kingdom-com, and you never will outpace your grief.β
–Β Β Β Β Β Β βHow could I choose someone who would force me to give up my own small reach for meaning? I chose myself, and without consolation.β
–Β Β Β Β Β Β βAs mother says, Iβm proud, proud even of my pride.β