This week's book:
The Invention of Wings
By Sue Monk Kidd
This book has been on my TBR pile for a while now. It's one of those books people are talking about, and so I thought maybe I'd give it a whirl.
I have read two other books by Sue Monk Kidd: The Secret Life of Bees and The Book of Longing. I enjoyed the other books I have read by her, so I was assuming I would like this novel as well.
I didn't know much about what the book was about before I started. Her books normally have very strong female friendships or sisterhoods. This book is about a set of sisters, which I am embarrassed to say I didn't know were real people until I read the author's note. The sisters were female abolitionists and feminists. They spoke out against slavery and for black people to have rights. The book is told from two points of view, going back and forth between Sarah (one of the sisters) and Handful, a female slave that was given to Sarah as a child.
There are so many heartbreaking moments in this book, and I always learn a new horror that was used against people of color in books like this. Why are people so horrible to each other?
I don't think this was my favorite novel from this author, but I'm still glad I read it. As a quilter it was so interesting to hear the African American woman talk and use quilting as an escape from the horrors of being a slave.
I would probably recommend this book, with a strong warning that some of the slavery history is so heartwrenching.
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