I enjoyed this book - although I think the comparison to "The Help" doesn't really work. Yes, they are both books set at the same time period and the same location, but they are very different. I loved some things about this book - like remembering, and the epilogue where everyone joins to remember those who have gone before. I didn't enjoy the character of Granada. I was often annoyed with the way she acted and was so clueless about the lives of the other slaves, and really her own situation. The information about midwifery during the time period was very interesting. I may have enjoyed the afterword more then parts of the book!! I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this novel. I thought of healing mostly in the physical sense. This really is a haunting tale of people enslaved so long they no longer know where they come from or what their destiny might have been. In the face of terrible hardship they quietly resist to have their souls completely held captive. Odell tells their story as if he to has lived among them; felt their sorry and pain. The strong women he gives a voice to are characters that one would aspire to be. Not many male authors can use a woman's voice to write their story. Brian Keith Jackson in A View From Here and Jim Harrison in Dalva did an excellent job of this. I can add Odell to this list. The tale is told in a poetic way and should hold it's place in Southern literature. A beautiful novel!
It was a bit hard to get into at first but once I got 1/5 th or so I really enjoyed the story.
—MaddieMerritt
Beautifully written. Loved this book
—Amaya913
amazing and powerful story
—Bballking23
Simply amazing.
—noah
