RLT Reads: The Invention of Wings Book Review!

I have read over half of the Oprah Book Club abolitionist in the early 1800's long before the end of slavery.  It focuses on Sarah and Ann Grimke and their family, wealthy slave owners from Charleston, South Carolina. It begins on Sarah's eleventh birthday when she is given a ten year-old slave girl Handful as a birthday gift.

While Sarah Grimke and her family are real characters in American history, the book is historical fiction, weaving the life of Sarah's family with historical facts and great creativity.

This is not your ordinary slave book. Sue Monk Kidd, gives incredible voice to Handful and her mother. And let me tell you, Handful and her mother are a handful. Sue Monk Kidd paints the slave culture with brilliance. She gives voice to feminist, as well as a glimpse into the lives of women who are living with purpose in and era when their only purpose should have been family.

Equally important she gives an historical place for two very important woman in American history. Sarah and Ann Grimke, who were abolitionist speaking to mixed audiences of male and female which was unheard of at the time. Coming from the planation class, they were received as legitimate abolitionist, who understood the horrors of slavery first hand. They were the first American feminist thinkers. Sarah was the first woman in the United States to write a comprehensive feminist manifesto and Ann was the first woman to speak before a legislative body.

The book tells a story of slave/ slave owner relationship. She gives voice to the issues surrounding slavery from a slaves perspective. She traces the complicated relationship between Handful and Sarah. There are tons of interesting twist in the book, like Denmark Vesey and his slave insurrection. She gives voice to women in and era when they had no voice.

This book is a must read, especially for history buffs. It was an awesome read that left me wanting more.

On a side bar, I am currently reading Sue Monk Kidd's, When The Heart Waits. I have been on this Seekers journey and when I watched her interview on Super Soul Sunday with Oprah  I was moved to pick it up. The book is her spiritual memoir unpacking the most important elements on her own seekers journey. I have had a lot of Aha moments. I'm almost done, and what impresses me the most about this book is how she weaves her Christian foundation and Biblical principals to inform her journey.