Helpful Score: 8
I agree with the reviewer above me...the relentless misery of each person in this novel really affected my enjoyment of the book. While the writing was beautiful and I think Ms. Mathis is very talented, I just wished something nice would happen to someone...anyone! It's a law of averages that a good thing needs to happen every once in a while - and I would have loved to have seen it here. I also agree that it frustrated me terribly to have to abruptly leave one person's story and move on to another's without ever knowing how everything actually "turned out". You became invested in each character's misery and wanted to know if they were able to overcome their situation and how if affected them and the ones around them, but you just never know. I did like the author's lovely literary voice, but wish the material was more cohesive and had a glimmer of happiness here and there. I think if she'd tied up some loose ends and gave her creations some joy somewhere, she would have had a real winner with this book.
Helpful Score: 6
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-twelve-tribes-of-hattie.html
Hattie Shepard is a child of the South. At age fifteen in 1923, Hattie leaves Georgia to seek a better life in Pennsylvania. She marries a man named August with hopes for a bright future. Unfortunately, that does not come to pass. In addition, her firstborn twins pass away because of a lack of medicine. Hattie goes on to have nine more children and works hard to instill in them the discipline and strength she feels are necessary to survive in a challenging world.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, as the title suggests, follows the stories of Hattie and, turn by turn, her children. To some extent, reading each section is like reading an independent story. The characters carry over from one to the other. However, the focus of each is so definitely one character that the commonality between them seems less relevant.
Unfortunately, because of this structure, I found myself not being able to really vest in any of the characters or develop that sense of emotional connection. By the time I started to feel a connection, the section ended and I felt like I moved on to a brand new story.
Each of the individual stories in and of itself is sad and depressing. So, at the end, I am left with a set of depressing stories - not really something I want to spend time with. I am glad to be done and ready to move on.
Hattie Shepard is a child of the South. At age fifteen in 1923, Hattie leaves Georgia to seek a better life in Pennsylvania. She marries a man named August with hopes for a bright future. Unfortunately, that does not come to pass. In addition, her firstborn twins pass away because of a lack of medicine. Hattie goes on to have nine more children and works hard to instill in them the discipline and strength she feels are necessary to survive in a challenging world.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, as the title suggests, follows the stories of Hattie and, turn by turn, her children. To some extent, reading each section is like reading an independent story. The characters carry over from one to the other. However, the focus of each is so definitely one character that the commonality between them seems less relevant.
Unfortunately, because of this structure, I found myself not being able to really vest in any of the characters or develop that sense of emotional connection. By the time I started to feel a connection, the section ended and I felt like I moved on to a brand new story.
Each of the individual stories in and of itself is sad and depressing. So, at the end, I am left with a set of depressing stories - not really something I want to spend time with. I am glad to be done and ready to move on.
Helpful Score: 4
Could not get through the second chapter before giving up this book. Depressing, repetitive text, I felt like the story was going nowhere. Boring, poorly written. The reviews on the back cover were raving...I don't know which book those reviewers were reading, but it wasn't this one. If I knew ahead of time it was an Oprah book pick I'd have skipped even trying to read it. She has a penchant for DEPRESSING stories which I hate. I will gladly move onto a much better book.
