I almost did not read this book. It is set in South Carolina in the early
1800s and deals with slavery, a tough subject, to say the least. However, I kept to it and am so very glad I
did.
This story is of girl named Sarah who
is given ownership of a slave named Hetty/Handful, when she turns eleven years
old. The story is not only of their
relationship over the years but of Sarah’s dislike of the institution of
slavery. The scope of the story is wide,
there are twists and turns as the characters grow and mature. It is difficult to put this book down once
you start reading it.
Sarah has dreams, even at a young age,
of getting an education like her brothers and becoming a lawyer. She soon finds that she will not be following
that path and says, “My aspiration to become a jurist had been laid to rest in
the Graveyard of Failed Hopes, an all-female establishment.” As you can see, there is some humor, despite
some of the gruesome stories told in the book.
(A lot of us,
including myself, know very little about the daily life of a slave at that time
in our history. I did not know, for
instance, that each family member had a slave appointed or “given” to him/her
and that that slave would sleep on a quilt on the bare floor outside the owner’s
door all night long. At any time of the
night, that slave was to do the owner’s bidding. There are many such descriptions of the life
of the slave and the owner that add to the depth of this book.)
I was overwhelmed when I finished this
book. I recommend it highly.
No comments:
Post a Comment