Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
By APOOO • Feb 6th, 2010 • Category: Book of the Week •
Email This Post
• 
Print This Post
A few thoughts from APOOO Member Tavares Carney about Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.
I rated this book a 5, as it is the first historical fiction book I’ve read personally that delves into the hearts, minds and emotions of slave women. The stories I’ve read and things I’ve been taught do teach about the things read in Wench, so yes, I knew about them happening but this book allowed me to really go deep with the subject matter. It was painstakingly raw and full of emotion. Check out more of my thoughts at Amazon.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Tawawa House in many respects is like any other American resort before the Civil War. Situated in Ohio, this idyllic retreat is particularly nice in the summer when the Southern humidity is too much to bear. The main building, with its luxurious finishes, is loftier than the white cottages that flank it, but then again, the smaller structures are better positioned to catch any breeze that may come off the pond. And they provide more privacy, which best suits the needs of the Southern white men who vacation there every summer with their black, enslaved mistresses. It’s their open secret.
Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at Tawawa House. They have become friends over the years as they reunite and share developments in their own lives and on their respective plantations. They don’t bother too much with questions of freedom, though the resort is situated in free territory–but when truth-telling Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking of running away, things change.
To run is to leave behind everything these women value most–friends and families still down South–and for some it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds that bind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances–all while they are bearing witness to the end of an era.
An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, with an unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery.
Visit amazon to order a copy of Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.
Related Posts
APOOO is an online author and reader community dedicated to advancing African American literature. Our mission is to expose readers of all ages to a good book in any genre; to support African American authors, books, literary events and bookclubs; to provide marketing resources, tools and tips to authors; and, to promote literacy within the African American community.
Email this author | All posts by APOOO
Get New Posts via Email
