Before (long before) there was "The LOvely Bones" there was this. And better. ( )

It's hard to imagine a book about slavery in America and not come away repulsed by what you are shown, but this book gets away with it. Presented almost like a loving relative telling a rather lengthy fairy tale, the reader can absorb the horrors without the full depth of emotional trauma. Appreciation without devastation. While the goal is one of optimism, I question some of the author's positions on issues. For instance, especially toward the end, she seems to be stating how good it is for a black person to look white. Not just for acceptance in a white-dominated society, but because it's just better. She also ends emphasizing the power of love when what she shows throughout is more the power of persistence in making life better. However, neither of these take away some of the beauty of what is written. At one point, a main character acknowledges to her new husband that she has seen the scars of his abuse as a slave, and says, "I's gonna rub em down with my special linment." To which he replies, "Yo special limment is love. You done already rubbed me all over my heart and soul. My body be awright now." And so is the reader, in the end. ( )

Cooper is so underrated! This is an experience, as good literature should be. It evokes so many emotions as you "experience" the unspeakable plight of slaves in the warring south. I read this years ago, and I think I appreciated it more this second time around. ( )

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African American history fiction- [slave mistress has her son raised by master]