Wench

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

This book was recommended to me by a Black woman on a transracial adoption board I read.  She said it more accurately depicts the inhumanity and hopelessness of slavery than any other book she's read.  It was not an easy read.  It was, in fact, horrifying and contained some pretty graphic scenes.  At the same time, it was well-written and accomplished its purpose.  It definitely made me think.  How would I have handled this, had I been a black woman in America in that season?  I shudder to even imagine it.

The main character was purchased by her master at the age of 7, separated from her family, and then carefully groomed by her master for the next six years until she was prepared to accept his sexual advances as an expression of love, even believing herself in love with him.  Because really, what choice does she have?

This book details personal growth in four different women as each summer the slave mistresses travel to the free state of Ohio to vacation at a resort with their masters.  It shows the lack of choice and ownership they had over their own bodies.  It revealed how the birth of each child conceived as a result of their violation further enslaved them and removed the possibility of choices for fear of their children being punished or even sold off.  Most of all, it conveys the utter hopelessness of their situation as they were forced to simply endure.

"She had the look. The look of a woman who is done fighting.  The look of a woman months after her children have been sold from her.  The look of a slave who has decided it is better not to feel" (53).
"Lizzie tried to stop the pain in her head.  The resort had lulled her into feeling human again.  Had she glanced around at the others, she would know it had done the same to them" (68).
"Big Mama had once told her she had to prepare for a life in which she would be violated:  it hurt the first time, she'd said, but you get used to it" (93).
"she figured that to protest would be futile.  A passivity settled upon her along with the blanket.  This resignation was a feeling she would not soon forget" (110).
"Lizzie knew she ought to feel bad about it, pitiful as Glory's face was, but she didn't.  She really couldn't say that she felt anything at all.  It seemed like lately, her feelings had been drying up" (253).
(in regards to her children) "It was better, she figured, for them to know sooner rather than later that the white people they loved would disappoint them (146).  She took to hitting her children more, especially Nate.  She didn't want a white man to be the first to beat her son" (151).
"She thought of (her daughter) and what she would teach her.  This was what she would say:  Don't give in to the white man.  And if you have to give in, don't give your soul over to him.  Love yourself first.  Fix it so you don't give him children.  If you ever make it to freedom, remember your mammy who tried to be good to you.  Hold fast to your women friends because they are going to be there when ain't nobody else there. . .Learn a craft so you always have something to barter than your private parts" (287).

I was also struck by the attitude that some people had that slavery--the captivity of a human being--isn't such a bad thing if masters are "good ones".  As one white woman in the book said "Good. 'cause I can't stand men who are brutes.  A lot of slave owners are brutes, aren't they?  At least, that's what I hear.  That's why I detest slavery" (229)  As if having no freedom, as if having a man raise you from childhood to be his mistress, is okay as long as he's not a "brute" who beats his slaves.

While I'm not a fan of "self-love" in general, believing that most of us have too much love for ourselves, I couldn't help but ache at the conclusion Lizzie came to toward the end of the book.  "My children ain't the only thing I love.  If I was allowed, I reckon I'd love myself, too" (286).

Just Okay

I know I'm supposed to be reading The Brother's Karamazov, but if you've been reading my blog any length of time at all, you know I have issues when books catch my eye.  These books have been decidedly easier to read than Dostoevsky, but they have been just "okay".  I guess it's time to get back to a classic.

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak


I read this because I thought Zusak did such a great job with language in The Book Thief. 

This means I went into it with high expectations. . .and I was disappointed.  It was "ok".

Mostly, it was weird.  There were hints of his developing language usage, but it's easy to believe The Book Thief came later.  I was excited to read it, but then I had to make myself finish it.

In my opinion, the best part of the book is the end, which I can't tell you about the bizarre twist because that would ruin it for you.  I will just say it is original and unexpected.  It's the only thing that made me stop and think about the book.

I won't be reading anymore pre-The Book Thief work by Zusak, but I do hope he writes another and continues growing.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

I thought it was ok for my long road trip over Labor Day weekend, but was a little disappointed in the story and characterization--it wasn't Harry Potter! She was just so good at creating that alternate world in HP. . . Some people had told me it was decidedly "adult", but I didn't think it was bad other than the pervasive language. It's good enough that I read the next book, but not so great I would recommend it, nor did it keep me up into all hours of the night

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

These books were "okay" to me.  I used to read lots of mysteries and there are two types I hate:  those which introduce the killer for the first time in the last chapter (grrrr, so annoying!) and those which make it obvious who the killer was in the first quarter of the book.  Rowling/Galbraith makes neither of these mistakes, but neither does she produce my favorite type of mystery: those which cleverly allude to the killer in such a way that you figure it out right before you're told. . .or at the very least, once you're told, you can easily connect the dots/clues of supporting evidence so that it makes sense.

While there is more language and reference to sexual practices than I prefer, it's also not as prevalent or detailed as many other books in the mystery genre (the main reason I gave up reading mysteries).

Easton Starting Second Grade

We started school today.  (Yes, I still have two more students to highlight.)  After we finished school today, Easton came up to me, gave me a huge hug, and whispered in my ear "I love school!"

That is just the sort of incentive we homeschooling mamas need to get us through the year!

Easton has turned into a first-class bookworm!  (Hurray!  Three down, three to go!)  It seems he always has his nose buried in a book or a magazine.  He finished reading Mr. Popper's Penguins last week, read several Highlights magazines and Billy and Blaze books these last few days, and started Ralph and the Motorcycle today.

For school this year he will continue reading aloud from level-appropriate readers and be allotted time for sustained silent reading.  He is finishing Alpha level in Math U See and will soon start level Beta.  He loves to use Draw Write Now books for penmanship practice (the drawing is a bonus for him), and he will also start a daily reading comprehension workbook this year.  For history we are using Beautiful Feet's Early American History, which employs many living books and I'm incorporating several fun hands-on activities from the colonial time period.

In addition to these core subjects, we will be interspersing Scripture memorization, Bible stories, art appreciation, science, music appreciation, character readings, poetry, graphing, and some geography.  He will also be participating in the coop, will continue his involvement with the monthly Lego club, and the children's musical.  He is most excited about beginning piano lessons with Destry.

I have also incorporated a "chore time" to our daily schedule, and for right now, one of his chores includes mowing the lawn.  He learned to mow the lawn on the riding lawn mower this summer and it is more fun than work for him.  It's funny--he has turned into a lover of "things that go" as one of his other favorite activities is driving the go-kart all around the yard.

I'm hoping he's still telling me he loves school a few months down the road!