Read Women discussion

Our May Fiction selection is The Blueprint, a debut novel by Rae Giana Rashad. BGC (Brown Girl Collective) describes it as,

"In the vein of Octavia E. Butler and Margaret Atwood, a harrowing novel set in an alternate United States—a world of injustice and bondage in which a young Black woman becomes the concubine of a powerful white government official and must face the dangerous consequences.

Solenne Bonet lives in Texas where choice no longer exists. An algorithm determines a Black woman’s occupation, spouse, and residence. Solenne finds solace in penning the biography of Henriette, an ancestor who’d been an enslaved concubine to a wealthy planter in 1800s Louisiana. But history repeats itself when Solenne, lonely and naïve, finds herself entangled with Bastien Martin, a high-ranking government official. Solenne finds the psychological bond unbearable, so she considers alternatives. With Henriette as her guide, she must decide whether and how to leave behind all she knows.

Inspired by the lives of enslaved concubines to U.S. politicians and planters, The Blueprint unfolds over dual timelines to explore bodily autonomy, hypocrisy, and power imbalances through the lens of the nation’s most unprotected: a Black girl."

Rae Giana Rashad

Rae Giana Rashad was born and raised in Texas but has roots in Lousiana. She holds an M.Ed in Curriculum and lives in Dallas with her husband and 3 kids. Her author website: https://raegianarashad.com/

YouTube: an hour long interview by BGC of Rashad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYmXs...

Rose will be our moderator. Please note that her nonfiction nomination also won so I'm sure she'd appreciate any assistance from members in driving both discussion threads.

Who's planning to join this discussion?

I’m looking forward to this one! I just bought a Kindle copy since the line at my library is long (1.99 just now for any Amazon users). Planning on starting this weekend.

I will also be joining this discussion once i finished the book I am currently reading.

I started this yesterday and have now read to the end of Part 1. I am intrigued to see what will happen next. I’m a bit confused about how the society (country?) works after Civil War II. I hope to get clarification on that as well as more details about what caused the second civil war.

It is difficult for me not to think of The Handmaid’s Tale while reading this one. It’s one of my favourite books, so I’m trying not to compare them too much.

Susan wrote: "I started this yesterday and have now read to the end of Part 1. I am intrigued to see what will happen next. I’m a bit confused about how the society (country?) works after Civil War II. I hope to..."

I felt that similarity so strongly in part 1! I do think it tones down a little as the story progresses and focuses on catching us up to Solenne’s present. I also really enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale, but know enough people are tired of the trope. Again, the comparisons fade as this story progresses.

As far as the world building, it’s a little slower to come. She seems to only mention a few sentences here and there on why things are the way they are, and I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll vaguely say that this is coming off as an alternate history timeline that splits around the 1950’s.

I haven’t read much yet about Henrietta other than the brief bit in the beginning, and am hoping that we will get to read her story since she is referred to often by Solenne and her mother.

Guys, so sorry to be AWOL! I've been consumed with college visits/college selections for my senior, and we're in escrow on a house purchase, and between those and the rest of life, I haven't checked in here in a minute, so just now realized that my nominations were selected so I'd better get in here and discuss them!

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So, The Blueprint: several of you have mentioned the link between this one and The Handmaid's Tale. I think that link is clear. The blurbs mention Octavia Butler as well. Does anyone see the links to any particular Butler novel or series? I'm thinking of the Xenogenesis, and the way that the Oankali treat the humans that they "rescue" - it's always felt to me like an odd kind of concubinage, with consent not even entirely possible. I wonder if Solenne's relationship with Bastien is initially a little bit like this. Love and resentment. Is it possible to fully love someone when you don't have the power to walk away from them?

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Procedural question - do you guys usually wait till many/most have finished before talking about the end, to avoid spoilers? I'm trying to stick to the early sections until I know for sure . . . . Thanks!

(Also, I've never done this before, so sorry if I do it wrong! I'm going to throw a few questions out that interest me, and we can pursue any that folks find interesting)

Rose wrote: "Procedural question - do you guys usually wait till many/most have finished before talking about the end, to avoid spoilers? I'm trying to stick to the early sections until I know for sure…"

Sounds super busy, but good busy!

Generally we are soft footed for the first two weeks of the month, following conversation trend of course. If someone wants to discuss something a little further, we’d appreciate a spoiler filter, but there’s no rule about discussion procedure. Also, as the discussion leader, you can totally set the tone and pace. After the first couple weeks, or if conversation just heads that way, the floor is essentially open and many members know to be careful in reading comments if they don’t want to be spoiled.

The author mentions several influences that may be more meaningful than the ones on the book blurb: The story of Sally Hemmings, for example. This book made me think hard about the contradictions, complexity, and interior struggles that a woman in Sally's position might have experienced.

The author also mentions the books Wench and The Book of Night Women as influences. Has anyone read either of those?

And also the narratives and stories of enslaved concubines.

So, it is clearly informed by history. But also by current events, clearly, with respect to women's rights to make their own choices (the author lives in Texas). How well do you think the author did in welding the historical perspective with something that feels very current and relevant?

I think that this book does a good job of examining intersectional power dynamics. That is somewhat rare in my experience of dystopian speculative fiction. Does anyone have other examples of authors who do this well? Octavia Butler, of course, but recent writers in the realm of speculative fiction?

Maybe Friday Black? Colson Whitehead? I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of right now.

Rose wrote: "The author mentions several influences that may be more meaningful than the ones on the book blurb: The story of Sally Hemmings, for example. This book made me think hard about the contradictions, ..."

Definitely a lot more complex feelings that Solenne is dealing with here than I expected. I think it took nearly half the book to finally pin down her age in relation to the official. I knew she was young and he was older but wasn’t sure how young she was and am still a little unsure of how old he is but we know he is an adult at least. This adds more complexity to her mental and emotional journey. She was literally groomed by the entire society. Everyone keeps telling her to stop being a child but she is.

I just read and finished Annie Bot, and it surprisingly helped me feel a deeper understanding of Solenne. It doesn’t seem like it would since it’s an AI story so one might think sci-fi, but it’s a very complex mental and emotional growth story centered around a couple, in base terms. It definitely tackles intimate power dynamics, but not race. I’d be very interested in reading something on Sally Hemmings.

As for modern body politics, I think we can all see the way the state restrictions have gotten lately and they’re continuing to spread. I saw an interesting documentary, “Shiny Happy People,” I believe it was called, and it seemed to be about the Duggar family from a tv show called 14 Kids and Counting, but it delved surprisingly into modern politics and a long-game push by certain groups to flood positions with their candidates. It was eye opening.

I also think her book showcases the cycle of history. I don’t know why we seem doomed to repeat our mistakes, it isn’t as if human memory isn’t long enough anymore with our modern accesses. The policy that they’re voting on early in the book is obviously a reference to the Fugitive Slave Act, and she also discusses the lack of funding for aid after storms in Louisiana as some sort of political punishment or chokehold on a population the government doesn’t care about. They want the one safe haven to implode.