The Invention of Wings in WACKY READING CHALLENGES

May 31, 2014 Book Concierge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, social-commentary, concierge, strong-women, women-writers, southern-lit, audio, racism, relationships, 19th-century

Book on CD performed by Jenna Lamia and Adepero Oduye.

From the Amazon.com description
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.

My reactions
Kidd has crafted an excellent work of historical fiction inspire Book on CD performed by Jenna Lamia and Adepero Oduye.

From the Amazon.com description
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.

My reactions
Kidd has crafted an excellent work of historical fiction inspired by the true story of the Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, who were famous (and infamous) abolitionists and early pioneers in seeking equal rights for women. She balances Sarah’s story by imagining the life of one of her family’s slaves – a lady’s maid and seamstress named Handful. When the novel opens Sarah is turning eleven and for her birthday her parents give her a young slave girl about her same age. But Sarah is never comfortable with the thought of owning another person, and promises Handful’s mother, Charlotte, that she will find a way to free the young slave.

The book is told in alternating chapters, one narrated by Sarah, the next by Handful. This is a very effective method of telling these interwoven stories of women enslaved either figuratively by the limited expectations of society (Sarah), or literally by the laws and institutions of society (Handful). Sarah’s early promise and clear intelligence are quickly quashed by the expectations of her parents that she be a “refined lady” and make a good marriage. Having any other personal ambitions will simply not be tolerated. Handful, of course, has even fewer options, but she has a character and inner strength that will not be broken.

Slavery was an ugly institution and Kidd does little to soften the view. Yes, she is dealing with urban slaves, so they are not subject to the brutality of long hours working in the fields, but their lives are not easy. They are subject to lashings, to being “one-legged,” or even worse to a session with the treadmill in the Workhouse. All these punishments, and more, are depicted in the book, and it made me cringe, as I would hope anyone would on reading about such cruelty.

Kidd did considerable research in writing the novel, and she populates it with various real people from the time period. In addition to the Grimke sisters, she includes other famous abolitionists: Theodore Weld, John Greenleaf Whittier and Lucretia Mott, as well as free Blacks Sarah Mapps Douglas (who founded a school for African children in Philadelphia) and Denmark Vesey (who used his lottery winnings to buy his freedom and a small house in Charleston where he opened a carpentry shop).

The characters I liked most, however, were the fictitious slaves – Handful, Charlotte, Sky, Goodis, Aunt-Sister, Tomfry, etc. Kidd gave them dignity and grace, courage and faith, resourcefulness and love. These men and women cared for one another and while they were imprisoned in body, they were not imprisoned in mind.

Jenna Lamia and Adepero Oduye take turns performing the audio book, the former voicing Sarah’s chapters, the latter, Handful’s. They did a marvelous job bringing these characters to life and showing their individuality, strengths and weaknesses.

NOTE - I actually have a hardcover first edition MINUS the Oprah logo. But that cover isn't shown on goodreads, so I'm using this edition of the book. ...more

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Aug 02, 2014 Olivermagnus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2017, 2020

The Invention of Wings is engaging historical fiction based on the real life story of Sarah Grimke, the daughter of a Southern judge and plantation owner. She attends her eleventh birthday party and is appalled when she is presented with her own slave, ten year old Handful aka Hetty. Sarah refuses the gift and doesn't believe that one person can own another. She tries to free Handful but her parents refuse to allow it. Sarah and Handful become friends, even though Sarah lives in luxury and Handf The Invention of Wings is engaging historical fiction based on the real life story of Sarah Grimke, the daughter of a Southern judge and plantation owner. She attends her eleventh birthday party and is appalled when she is presented with her own slave, ten year old Handful aka Hetty. Sarah refuses the gift and doesn't believe that one person can own another. She tries to free Handful but her parents refuse to allow it. Sarah and Handful become friends, even though Sarah lives in luxury and Handful in misery.

Alternating chapters between Sarah and Handful over the next thirty five years reveal the secrets of their everyday lives in the pre-Civil War South. Both Sarah and Handful want freedom. Sarah wants to become a lawyer which is unheard of for women of her era. Handful wants to buy her freedom and not be owned by anyone. Handful's mother, Charlotte, teaches her about her African culture and and how to become a seamstress. Sarah, in order to find something useful when her own academic plans are denied, teaches Handful how to read, which turns out to be disastrous for both of them. Each woman repeatedly challenges the restrictions placed upon them and each setback serves to motivate them further.

Sarah is based on a real life figure, as is her sister Angelina. They were early advocates for abolition of slavery and eventually for equal rights for women. In their day, the Grimkes were infamously outspoken abolitionists who believed not only in doing away with slavery, but in the equality of women. They have even been credited with starting the suffragist movement. Handful is fictional but that doesn't make her story less real.

The author does a wonderful job of portraying the harsh realities of that time, especially the terrible treatment of slaves. The book flows from Sarah to Hetty alternately narrating through the years. This is wonderful story of struggle and pain, family and friendship. You will admire Handful and empathize with Sarah and her journey to change society's rules. Make sure you read the author's note at the end to learn what is fact and what is fiction.

This was such a compelling read. It will be a long time before I forget Handful and Sarah. ...more

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Feb 22, 2019 Sue Lauzon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Excellent book. I am not one that usually likes to read historical books (fiction or non-fiction) but this one was an exception. It really gave a good picture of what it was like as not only a slave in the early 1800's but also a slave owner. For her eleventh birthday Sarah Grimke receives ownership of Hetty (Handful). The book follows the two girls/women for the next thirty five years as they grow and try to find their place in the world. The ending was really really good. Don't want to say muc ...more

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Feb 25, 2014 Kathryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: overdrive-libby, library, historical-fiction, read-in-2014

I really liked this book a lot. I liked it a lot better than The Secret of Bees. I waivered between giving it 4 or 5 stars. I loved the alternating of Sarah's story and Hattie's story. The only thing I disliked was how many times I had to check the dictionary for the meaning of words; thank goodness the Kindle has a dictionary in it. ...more

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