The Invention of Wings

This book was incredibly profound, well written, informative, entertaining, heart breaking and chock full of historical sad truths about slavery and what it took to start the process of taking a stand against slavery which was so clearly horrible and wrong; easily said now, yet then it wasn’t. Sarah and Angelina Grimkey had to take a stand that would define who they were and how true they could be to themselves and their conscience dispute the consequences. They became infamously known and forbidden to go home, so really they gave up everything they had ever known to do what they did. It’s so mind blowing and powerful and incredible it made me think- Wow, people can do the most amazing things no matter what, as long as the sacrifice is worth it to them, and in this case, Sarah and Angelina were selfless and are heroes to me! Thank you Sue Monk Kidd for bringing this beautiful and courageous story to life; I truly benefited and am inspired to take a stand for the things in my life that are difficult yet important. I recommend this book to anyone who: loves Historical Fiction, like I do; is a Woman; might be a little racist and struggles with Black Lives Matter and such movements and to remember why these issues are issues that he or she can fully understand or want to understand. I get it; I myself am a White privileged female who doesn’t like to think about what slaves and Blacks went through, but in reading this book my eyes were opened and my heart softened and I’m saddened at my own inconsiderate attitude. No longer. I have been sensitized. Thank You Sue!

The invention of wings - Absolutely Superp and Delightful I think it is a beautiful, well-written and touching book. It brings us close to the atrocities of slavery in a time when both women and slaves had no rights and no voice at all. Although the atrocities are there since they are part of the characters’ lives, they are not the center of the plot. In a family where slave cruelty was commonplace, an abolitionist child, Sarah, flourishes and will go through an ordeal not only to respect her beliefs but also to fight for them. The same happens to her younger sister Nina who, as Sarah's goddaughter, not only takes after her in her position before the world and its injustices, but is bolder and moves from words to actions more promptly. Sarah's life is entwined with the life of the slave she receives as a gift on her 11th birthday, Hetty Handful, to whose freedom she feels committed. The author has a wonderful way with the words and delights us with precious paragraphs that unveil the insights of these three girls on their way towards womanhood. It's amazing how she outlines the accomplishments of the two sisters who had to break with their origin within an aristocratic family, and everything brought along with it, in their pursue to be true to themselves, becoming the two first female abolition agents in America. “Sarah the first woman in America to write a comprehensive feminist manifesto and Nina the first woman in the United States to speak before a legislative body” as the author stated. Two historical women wonderfully depicted by Mrs. Monk Kidd. The story of three women who found their ways to voice themselves, and I felt privileged to have been led by Mrs. Kidd into following their steps. The way the relationship between Sarah and the slave Hetty Handful develops did not meet my initial expectations but now I am sure it could not have been different in the 1800’s. In fact, this sensation did not affect neither my appreciation of the book nor the impact it had on me. On the contrary, it rather challenged me into trying to understand both the time when they lived in and the magnitude of their attitudes. The bond and intimacy possible back then between a slave and a white person were determined by rules and laws instead of their feelings. Although the two girls struggled to go beyond these boundaries I had the sensation that it could have gone deeper and that a lot more was kept inside in many situations. I loved the way the author made me see how deeply the relationship impacted on one another in spite of the distance imposed by the rules, as well as understand the extent and importance of actions that seemed so little at first in many passages of the plot. Following the path of these two brave women in their fight against slavery and for women's rights, and the slave's endurance to preserve her inner freedom, was a rich and enlightening experience provided by an inspiring, worth-reading book that combines rich fiction and a story based on true characters that are historical figures.

This is a carefully researched, historical fiction about two sisters that are real and were abolitionists and feminists. The story is also about a real, actual, African American slave associated with the sisters. Most of the details about the slave, "Handful" are lost to history. Sue Monk Kidd wrote a novel about their lives and the people and events with which they were associated. The novel itself is very good. At the end of the novel is an author's note in which she detailed what parts of the book were fiction, etc... I really appreciated that and was glad I waited until the end of the book to read it. This this book is a combination of excellent fiction and is still very educational. I read this book on Kindle. I have, what I refer to as, a "flawed inner narrator". Therefore I often spend extra money and purchase the accompanying audiobook. I did so in this case and was very glad I did. The audiobook is really excellent. The novel is constructed around the first person narration of two females protagonists. One is a free white lady named Sarah Grimke who is an actual historical figure. The second lady, as described below, is also a real, actual person, however, lamentably, there is little real historical information about her. The second lady is an enslaved African American lady named "Handful". According to the author there was such a lady, but very little is known about her. There are descriptions of "punishments" (torture) of various African Americans that can only be described as ghastly. While the exact story depicted here is fiction, the acts are drawn from actual histories of slavery. In that context the novel is similar to "Uncle Tom's Cabin". In any event, the Audiobook has two narrators. They switch back and forth as the novel switches scenes between the two protagonists. Both narrators are really excellent. In the novel Miss Grimke has a speech impediment and her narrator represents that in such a way that really moved me, but would have mostly been lost to my own flawed inner narrator. In the event that a reader enjoys the format of this book, with two female protagonist narrators, I happened to read another book like that, "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles, that I enjoyed very much. It is a far different story, but the format is the same. That audiobook was also excellent. I am somewhat embarrassed to confess that I was unfamiliar with Sarah Monk Kidd. The reason I read this book was because it was a book club selection. I am now going to research the author and select another work of hers to read. Thank You...

An astonishingly gripping, enthralling and enchanting read A novel so powerful, it took my breath away What an insight into South American in the 1800s, a savage chapter In History so well told, it made me wince n cry with disbelief and subsequent relief that it is all over Did it all really happen? Were the so called coloured people only 3/4th human? How could the taking away of a child from her mother to never seeing her again and hearing of her death years later, being lashed for learning the alphabet, flogging and branding a mother in front of the child while she looks on helpless be justified, the basic rights to human life denied to the negros, and why just them'? The restrictions that killed the aspirations and ambition of thousands of white women in South America, the laws which prohibited them to express their opinion and views, take up a profession or even get educated at the same level as men be thought of as the will of God? Did bible really preach that slavery is the way of life? Unputdownable. What an inspirational story of two strong willed women who fought all odds to make their voice heard in a society where women were shushed for so long that they didn't know their voices existed The author has woven fictional as well as non-fictional events intricately together perfectly preserving the reality and adding twists and turns which are in perfect tandem with the story, maintaining the pace very well. Words fall short in describing the beauty of this compelling narrative.

The Invention Of Wings is the third Sue Monk Kidd novel I have read following The Mermaid Chair and the highly regarded The Secret Life Of Bees. The novel works as a dual narrative, switching between daughter of wealthy plantation owners Sarah Grimke and her slave girl Handful whom she is "given" as a gift on her 11th Birthday to literally be her personal slave. Where this story alters from standard slave/mistress or slave/master stories is that Sarah despite her background and upbringing is vehemently pro-abolition daring and incurring the wrath and disapproval of the society she finds herself in. She refuses the gift when Handful is presented to her only to be punished and to have the honour forced upon her in the coming days. Both Sarah and Handful are beautifully drawn as the novel follows them from childhood right through to their early 40s. Sarah is a unique and fairly admirable character, repeatedly flying in the face of what would be the easiest and most comfortable for her and her own life to stand up for her rights as a woman and the rights of all women. I was really glad to read this novel, for too often, stories like this are told in a pardon-the-pun black and white way. We rarely if ever hear the voice of the minority white in the slavery era, who thought slavery was abominable and strove to change it. It also stays honest, at times we see Sarah Grimke, though a heroine, her heart in the right place, act in the racist way that has been indoctrinated in her. I thought it was unique and clever and then wondered : But is this realistic, would a person with the background of Sarah Grimke ever have been able to do this? Ever acted in such a way in the face of such huge censure, at one point unable to return to her family home for fear of being lynched? Imagine my delight therefore to discover upon closing an Authors Note that revealed Sarah Grimke was in fact a very real person, who did many if not all of the things ascribed to her. I had never heard of her before and this seems a real pity as she truly was a heroine of her time. The novel also made me question, question if I had been born Sarah Grimke or someone like her, would I have been brave enough to stand up the way she did or would I have conformed? I really hope I would have been brave. Whether Handful ever existed or certainly the Handful that is portrayed is unlikely and unknown which seems a shame - and a little like a betrayal of all the real Handfuls who did. The story begins with Sarah's refusal of her, a real event, and so in some ways it would have been a further betrayal of those women to have the girl who was offered and rejected be silent in the novel, but it cannot be considered authentic in the way that Sarah's is. I would love to see this made into a Hollywood film mainly because Sarah Grimke deserves to be more widely known, and the story of the women who were part of the abolition movement more widely honoured.

incredibly well written!. the characters of sarah and handful are very well developed - as are the other minor characters. It's a gripping story and depicts the lives of the slaves and the upper class extremely well. This book will have you in tears of anger, sorrow and joy. It's a good book for everyone who likes fascinating stories, charismatic characters and suspense until the end.

One of the most powerful books that I've read lately. It drew me into a world of horrors where owning slaves and cruelty were synonymous. It brings to light the under current of southern mentality that has not totally disappeared, ....just gone under the skin and appears subtly when no one is looking! Horrifying but riveting to the very end.

Questo libro sembra seriamente basato su personaggi reali e, almeno in parte (l'embrione di progetto di sollevazione), su fatti realmente accaduti. Esso descrive con finezza psicologica le secolari barriere del pregiudizio di cui era prigioniera un'intera società, pur tra le più attive nello sviluppo del costituzionalismo, le inevitabili sfaccettature all'interno di essa, l'eroismo di coloro che per primi, anticipando i tempi, vi si opposero, le sofferenze di generazioni di vittime, in uno stillicidio di episodi oscuri, non registrati dalla storia. Ben scritto, utile per chi vuole esercitarsi in inglese/americano senza sottoporsi a noiosi percorsi didattici. Lo schema resta quello, per me vincente a dispetto delle resipiscenze manzoniane, del romanzo storico. Nel finale, c'è pure la suspense, unica concessione, forse, ai facili effetti, ma non guasta e fa davvero palpitare. A mio sommesso avviso, un capolavoro.