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Books: Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
Feb. 8th, 2022 09:27 pmStarted: 2/6/22
Finished: 2/6/22
Pages: 288
Goodreads Shelves: fiction - historical; poc-author
I usually have rage with books like Yellow Wife. I don't read them often as a result. Revisiting my historical trauma isn't my jam these days, but it has gotten so many rave reviews I decided to give it a go. Oddly, I had no rage. Oddly, I didn't feel much of anything. The events of the story were as horrific as expected, but there was something in the delivery that I found disconnected. It might have been the amount of time covered in the book. For the timespan, the book is rather short. Johnson is a capable and engaging author, but I didn't experience the same emotion that comes for me with these stories. The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill was the last similar historical fiction that I attempted and I gave the book away after maybe three chapters in. It triggered alot.
Yellow Wife is worth reading. It has an interesting nuance and perspective into the complexity inherent in the lived trauma of some enslaved women. The idea of consent is addressed in a way that I haven't seen before and that makes it worth the read. What do you do for survival? What do you do for the survival of your children when options are limited? The characters feel a little flat with a few exceptions, so that may be where I'm feeling the disconnect.
I can't say that it was especially good or bad, but definitely, for me, did not live up to the hype.
Finished: 2/6/22
Pages: 288
Goodreads Shelves: fiction - historical; poc-author
I usually have rage with books like Yellow Wife. I don't read them often as a result. Revisiting my historical trauma isn't my jam these days, but it has gotten so many rave reviews I decided to give it a go. Oddly, I had no rage. Oddly, I didn't feel much of anything. The events of the story were as horrific as expected, but there was something in the delivery that I found disconnected. It might have been the amount of time covered in the book. For the timespan, the book is rather short. Johnson is a capable and engaging author, but I didn't experience the same emotion that comes for me with these stories. The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill was the last similar historical fiction that I attempted and I gave the book away after maybe three chapters in. It triggered alot.
Yellow Wife is worth reading. It has an interesting nuance and perspective into the complexity inherent in the lived trauma of some enslaved women. The idea of consent is addressed in a way that I haven't seen before and that makes it worth the read. What do you do for survival? What do you do for the survival of your children when options are limited? The characters feel a little flat with a few exceptions, so that may be where I'm feeling the disconnect.
I can't say that it was especially good or bad, but definitely, for me, did not live up to the hype.
