From the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees and the forthcoming novel The Book of Longings, a novel about two unforgettable American women.Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world.Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century … 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.
Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.
As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.
Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.
This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.
more
Halfway through it I was already raving about this book to my friends. It felt so real, so poignant. I was equal parts delighted and saddened to learn at the end of the book that the story was based on real people and events. Absolutely brilliant work.
I so enjoyed this book even though it depicted such a dark time in our history. The characters came alive on the page, and the author’s description of Charleston, as well as the characters, kept the book engaging and interesting. I loved all of the characters, but I had a soft spot in my heart for Handful and Mauma.
I was rooting all through the book for Handful and Sarah. Their bond was evident from the beginning and without giving away any spoilers, Sarah, despite having many obstacles came through for Handful albeit, late.
I highly recommend reading The Invention of Wings.
Sue Monk Kidd’s latest book (the author of The Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair) imagines the plantation childhood of Sarah Moore Grimke’ (1792-1873) who became an abolitionist and a promoter of women’s rights. The Invention of Wings reveals the story through the voices of Sarah and her slave Handful, called Hetty by her owners
I enjoyed reading the book. Kidd’s Sarah is conflicted and unsure of herself, while under her tutelage her younger sibling Angelina is able to commit to her convictions and scorns public or family opinion. Handful was based on the slave Hetty given to Sarah on her eleventh birthday, but the real Hetty died young. Handful is the most vividly drawn character in the book, and her story gives the reader insight into the daily life of a plantation slave. We learn about the punishments dealt out, the Work House where masters could hire out punishments, and about free black society. Most importantly it is Handful and her mother’s dreams of freedom that is best portrayed.
Sue Monk Kidd is one of those rare writers who in a way that is almost musical. Like Dickens and Tolkien it is easy to get into the rhythm as well as the story!
The story was heart breaking on so many levels but I learned a lot about life in Charleston, South Carolina in the times of slavery. I couldn’t put it down.
Rarely does a book stay with me let alone become a part of me–at least not since those wonderful books read in childhood. But “The Invention of WIngs” did just that. I loved how Sue Monk Kidd brought history to life in such a way that I could almost see and breathe and taste the conflicted world of slavery and Charleston. It made me feel as if I walked with those stalwart abolitionists and saw their world through their own eyes, instead of mine, and as if I feared the peril slaves faced from fickle, impetuous and cruel owners, decades upon decades later. So well done, and highly recommended.
Sue Monk Kidd’s writing is immersive, to the point that I was surprised to find myself in my own living room instead of in an antebellum Charleston plantation home. I loved this story. Elements of it are difficult to take, but she pulls no punches when it comes to revealing the damage that slavery inflicted on slaves, slave owners, slave-owning households, and slave-owning communities. To continue the vile and immoral practice required complex philosophical and moral gymnastics that don’t hold up under even the barest scrutiny. Equally strong is her portrayal of the courage and energy required of those who wished to change the institution, particularly when they were women who were battling to control their own lives and destinies. The topics in this book are tough, but the women who inhabit it are tougher, full of determination, love, and hope.
One of my favorite books.
Liked this better than the Secret Life of Bees.
Thought provoking
This book was a real page turner. The author really made you care about what happens to the main character. I highly recommend this book.
What can I say? It is Sue Monk Kidd! She is simply an amazing author. The Invention of Wings will make you feel all emotions – anger, disgust, fear, sadness, happiness. The subject matter is tough, harking back to a dark time in our nation’s past, but read it. If Ms. Kidd wrote the phone book, I would read it.
There is more story than what was written, so very good ..
Important reading to understand ante-bellum South and why strong conscientious women became Abolitionists against immense pressure. Beautifully written.
This was a poignant story about a woman who went against everything her family stood for to defend what she believed to be the rights of every person to be free, even the slaves that enabled her way of life.
I thought I read this book several years ago it’s always 1st when people asked me for a recommendation. It’s definitely the best book I’ve read in many many years
Loved this well told story.
This is one of the most subtle books I have read. Unlike the current crop of hate-injected white supremacist books, this one is more convincing and convicting because it does not preach. It rips a hole in the barriers of time and shows us, through the main character Dana’s experiences, how overbearing even a well-intentioned white could be in slave-era Maryland. This is time-travel at its finest, and it’s least important all at once. There is so much too this “simple” sci/fi book! Read it; recommend it to your teens.
This was the first novel I read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love reading historical fiction and this author’s ability to blended the fiction and the historical facts was exceptional. I had never heard about the Grimke sisters and their work as abolitionists and their early pioneering in women’s rights prior to this reading. In addition to Sarah and her sister (Angelina), I had to admire Hetty *Handfull” and her mom Caroline. Two very strong women surviving as slaves and seeking freedom. All four of these women women in their own ways were seeking their freedom from emotional, physical, social and cultural boundaries and constraints. Great read!
I enjoyed this book. It was my first by this author. I found it interesting that Sarah Grimke was a real person active in abolishing slavery that many have never heard of including me.