Book Review
Jun. 6th, 2024 01:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariConjure Women
by Afia Atakora
This novel tinged with magical realism is set on a plantation just before, during, and after the Civil War and concerns May Belle and her daughter Rue, two enslaved women who are the mid-wives, healers, and folk magicians of their community. They must each navigate the dangers of both slavery and freedom; Rue must also contend with her tangled and complicated relationship with the master's daughter Varina and with Bruh Abel, a wandering preacher.
Conjure Women was really good. The story, rife with secrets and horrors, was compelling. The non-linear narrative structure served the various gradual reveals very well. Atakora portrays the brutality of slavery sensitively but without pulling punches. May Belle and Rue were fascinating characters, able to weather many sorrows and difficulties without being broken. I especially loved Rue and the ways she found to construct a life for herself and her community after the war. Varina was also very interesting and I admired the way Atakora crafts her and her part of the story to illustrate the painful contradictions of the plantation system. This book did a heartbreakingly beautiful job of illuminating a side of American history and life I think we (or maybe just I) need to hear more about.
by Afia Atakora
This novel tinged with magical realism is set on a plantation just before, during, and after the Civil War and concerns May Belle and her daughter Rue, two enslaved women who are the mid-wives, healers, and folk magicians of their community. They must each navigate the dangers of both slavery and freedom; Rue must also contend with her tangled and complicated relationship with the master's daughter Varina and with Bruh Abel, a wandering preacher.
Conjure Women was really good. The story, rife with secrets and horrors, was compelling. The non-linear narrative structure served the various gradual reveals very well. Atakora portrays the brutality of slavery sensitively but without pulling punches. May Belle and Rue were fascinating characters, able to weather many sorrows and difficulties without being broken. I especially loved Rue and the ways she found to construct a life for herself and her community after the war. Varina was also very interesting and I admired the way Atakora crafts her and her part of the story to illustrate the painful contradictions of the plantation system. This book did a heartbreakingly beautiful job of illuminating a side of American history and life I think we (or maybe just I) need to hear more about.
