Thursday, January 8, 2015

The Invention of Wings





Synopsis (from Amazon): From the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees, a magnificent novel about two unforgettable American women

 Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now the newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection.

Hetty “Handful” 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 Grimke’s 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.

Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s 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 other’s 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 women’s 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 Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.

This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.



One (or more) Sentence Summary: I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I listened to The Invention of Wings from Audible.com and couldn't get enough.  What an amazing story. I am still in shock when I read a book based on slavery and what they endured. The Invention of Wings is a MUST read. You will not be disappointed

Favorite Character(s):  Sarah and Handful. Two amazing women with an uncharacteristic vision given the time period.  They are both heroines in my mind.  I have to mention Charlotte (Handful's mother), what a STRONG women.  I am just in awe over the characters and Sue's ability to make them so real to me.  Fabulous story and beautifully written.


Setting:  Charleston, South Carolina. 

Fast read/slow read:  I could not wait to get back to my audible book - listen to it all the time.  Was hooked right away and didn't want it to end.  The audio was fantastic.

Cover:  I would not have guessed what the story was about based on the cover.  I think it could have been better. I found this cover and like it much better.

Would I Read Other Books by the Author: Yes, I would love to read The Secret Life of Bees.


Sue Monk Kidd's first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, spent more than one hundred weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has sold nearly six million copies, and was chosen as the 2004 BookSense Paperback Book of the Year and Good Morning America's "Read This!" Book Club pick. It was adapted into an award-winning movie in 2008. Her second novel, The Mermaid Chair, a #1 New York Times bestseller, won the 2005 Quill Book Award for Best General Fiction and was adapted into a television movie. Her novels have been published in more than thirty countries. She is also the author of several acclaimed memoirs and the recipient of many awards, including a Poets & Writers Award. She lives near Charleston, South Carolina.

1 comment:

  1. I've heard so much about this book. I've really got to add it to my list!

    ReplyDelete

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