Slave And Sister by Sabra Waldfogel– 367 pages
Book Blurb:
Adelaide Mannheim and her slave Rachel have grown up with a shameful secret. Adelaide’s father is Rachel’s father, too. Their secret shadows their girlhood together and follows them into Adelaide’s marriage. As the Civil War breaks out, Adelaide’s husband falls in love with Rachel, and the lives of mistress and slave are torn apart.
Slavery made them kin. Can the Civil War make them sisters?
My Review: 4.5 stars
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Slave and Sister is not to be missed if you like historical fiction and an excellent storyline. I saw a play last year called The Whipping Man, which was my first introduction to Jewish land and slave owners in the South. It peaked my interest quite a bit so when I learned of this debut book by Sabra Waldfogel, I was lucky enough to be sent a copy for an honest review.
The relationship between Adelaide and Rachel is loving, honest and oh so very complicated. The author does a fantastic job delving into their lives and their bond with one another. The slave/owner relationship is tested in so many ways with so many characters that this book never gets dull. There is romance, mistrust, guilt, survival, deception, forgiveness, kindness and of course, the politics of the Union vs. the Confederacy.
There is another double-edged storyline woven through the book regarding the Jewish people that were once slaves in Egypt. How does one celebrate Passover, the commemoration of the Jewish peoples’ escape from bondage, while these characters are slave owners themselves?
This book was a though provoking work of historical fiction and although there were a few editing issues in this self-published book, I could ignore them as the storyline trumped everything else.
Quotes I liked:
No planter’s daughter could have the life she wished for—a life of reading books and writing until her fingers were stained with ink.”
“Charlie’s kiss was like seeing the first ray of sunrise through the darkness.”
“Adelaide knew all of the books in the house, and she knew the worth of a book the way her father knew the value of a slave.”
“But we’re sisters. Sisters love each other and hate each other. Doesn’t matter. Together, never to be divided.”
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