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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2021), Nominee for Best Debut Novel (2021)A magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of Homegoing; Sing, Unburied, Sing; and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era.
The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.
Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.
To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.
The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.
Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.
To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.
816 pages, Hardcover
First published August 24, 2021
About the author
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
22 books1,107 followersHonorée Fanonne Jeffers was born in 1967 and grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. Her work examines culture, religion, race, and family. Her first book, The Gospel of Barbecue (2000), won the Stan and Tom Wick poetry prize and was a 2001 Paterson Poetry prize finalist.
Jeffers’s poetry has appeared in the American Poetry Review, Callaloo, the Iowa Review, Ploughshares, and Prairie Schooner. Her work has been anthologized in numerous volumes, including Roll Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art (2002) and These Hands I Know: Writing About the African American Family (2002). Jeffers has also published fiction in the Indiana Review, the Kenyon Review, the New England Review, and Story Quarterly.
The recipient of honors from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for Women, Jeffers teaches creative writing at the University of Oklahoma where she is an associate professor of English.
Jeffers’s poetry has appeared in the American Poetry Review, Callaloo, the Iowa Review, Ploughshares, and Prairie Schooner. Her work has been anthologized in numerous volumes, including Roll Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art (2002) and These Hands I Know: Writing About the African American Family (2002). Jeffers has also published fiction in the Indiana Review, the Kenyon Review, the New England Review, and Story Quarterly.
The recipient of honors from the Rona Jaffe Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for Women, Jeffers teaches creative writing at the University of Oklahoma where she is an associate professor of English.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,001 reviews
February 27, 2022
To say that I am astounded by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers ambitious and epic novel, a family drama, would be an understatement, it is demanding, challenging and requires commitment from the reader for this is a long, well researched book that proves to be extraordinarily rewarding. I found this to be an intense and profoundly moving family history. Interspersed with the work of scholar WEB Dubois in the narrative, this is a richly detailed story of the complicated multigenerational heritage of a Black American family through the centuries of a troubling, turbulent, and all too real American history that includes slavery.
This is not just a purely intellectual exercise but is underpinned with an understanding this knowledge impacts not just the mind but the entire body, how the real lived repercussions of that history is experienced by actual people, the pain, horror, trauma, joy and heartbreak. In a storyline that shifts from the past and present, Ailey Pearl Garfield goes in search of her family, a sense of belonging and her identity, an all encompassing history of incredible resilience and survival in the face of unbearable repression, grief, loss, abuse and other life challenges. The sheer scope of this novel is remarkable, in terms of education, learning, of what it is to be a woman, of American history and its songs, and how Ailey honours her ancestors.
This is a subtly nuanced, intelligent read which packs an emotional punch, a must read that I find hard to do justice to. Cannot recommend this highly enough, particularly to anyone who has any interest in American history. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
This is not just a purely intellectual exercise but is underpinned with an understanding this knowledge impacts not just the mind but the entire body, how the real lived repercussions of that history is experienced by actual people, the pain, horror, trauma, joy and heartbreak. In a storyline that shifts from the past and present, Ailey Pearl Garfield goes in search of her family, a sense of belonging and her identity, an all encompassing history of incredible resilience and survival in the face of unbearable repression, grief, loss, abuse and other life challenges. The sheer scope of this novel is remarkable, in terms of education, learning, of what it is to be a woman, of American history and its songs, and how Ailey honours her ancestors.
This is a subtly nuanced, intelligent read which packs an emotional punch, a must read that I find hard to do justice to. Cannot recommend this highly enough, particularly to anyone who has any interest in American history. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
February 2, 2024
how do you just...sit down and write an 816 page book?
i can barely even read them.
but i wouldn't have cut a single page from this one.
i don't know how to convey how incredible this book is, except to say that it's over 800 pages and i understood the purpose of all of them; that it covers several generations and dozens of characters and i could distinguish each one; that it's character-driven and in many ways nearly plotless and yet unputdownable and endlessly interesting.
the upside of long books is that to finish one is to love it, and i loved this. i spent two weeks reading it by the tens of pages and i missed it when i was done.
bottom line: i'm a short book girl, but team long books has made some points.
4.5
i can barely even read them.
but i wouldn't have cut a single page from this one.
i don't know how to convey how incredible this book is, except to say that it's over 800 pages and i understood the purpose of all of them; that it covers several generations and dozens of characters and i could distinguish each one; that it's character-driven and in many ways nearly plotless and yet unputdownable and endlessly interesting.
the upside of long books is that to finish one is to love it, and i loved this. i spent two weeks reading it by the tens of pages and i missed it when i was done.
bottom line: i'm a short book girl, but team long books has made some points.
4.5
October 4, 2021
‘The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois’, is so beautifully written and so moving that it brought tears to my eyes. The feeling is that you’re reading something very special, something that comes along only once in a while. A literary triumph!
I’ll leave the synopsis to the experts, they do it much better than I can, but basically it chronicles the lives of multiple generations of one American family, from the colonial slave trade, through the Civil War, to present times. This is probably one of my shorter reviews, but that isn’t because it’s not worthy of a long and glowing review, on the contrary, it’s one of the most impressive novels I’ve read, a story of race, resilience, family and love, but it’s best to just read it, and thereby let this ambitious, but glorious and moving saga, speak for itself. I won’t forget this one in a hurry.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Fourth Estate and William Collins, for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
I’ll leave the synopsis to the experts, they do it much better than I can, but basically it chronicles the lives of multiple generations of one American family, from the colonial slave trade, through the Civil War, to present times. This is probably one of my shorter reviews, but that isn’t because it’s not worthy of a long and glowing review, on the contrary, it’s one of the most impressive novels I’ve read, a story of race, resilience, family and love, but it’s best to just read it, and thereby let this ambitious, but glorious and moving saga, speak for itself. I won’t forget this one in a hurry.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Fourth Estate and William Collins, for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
September 1, 2021
Outstanding, brilliant, epic, intimate!!!
No need to reinvent- previously great words written —
Ron Charles, (professional reviewer for a reason), from the Washington Post said it best….
“It is, indeed, a mountain to climb, but the journey is engrossing, and the view from the summit will transform your experience of America”.
It’s impossible to finish this novel without having fallen in love with Ailey Pearl Garfield—your heart break for her sister, Lydia, feel a personal sense of pride for having committed to reading this, and feel blown away by debut author Honoree Fanonne Jeffers.
“The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois” is a treasured experience —
The characters emphasize many facets of real life heartbreak and beautiful complexities.
Mixed-race family, Black feminism, friends, coming-of-age, love, passion, sexuality, wellness, abuse, rape, grief, loss, death, education, history…
enraptured in delicious storytelling.
Welcome to America. 🇺🇸
“And when we call for education we mean real education. We believe in work. We ourselves are workers, but work is not necessarily education. Education is the development of power and ideal. We want our children trained as intelligent human beings should be, and we will fight for all time against any proposal to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings, or simply for the use of other people. They have a right to know, to think, to aspire”.
….W. E. B. Du Bois, “The Niagara Movement Address”
No need to reinvent- previously great words written —
Ron Charles, (professional reviewer for a reason), from the Washington Post said it best….
“It is, indeed, a mountain to climb, but the journey is engrossing, and the view from the summit will transform your experience of America”.
It’s impossible to finish this novel without having fallen in love with Ailey Pearl Garfield—your heart break for her sister, Lydia, feel a personal sense of pride for having committed to reading this, and feel blown away by debut author Honoree Fanonne Jeffers.
“The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois” is a treasured experience —
The characters emphasize many facets of real life heartbreak and beautiful complexities.
Mixed-race family, Black feminism, friends, coming-of-age, love, passion, sexuality, wellness, abuse, rape, grief, loss, death, education, history…
enraptured in delicious storytelling.
Welcome to America. 🇺🇸
“And when we call for education we mean real education. We believe in work. We ourselves are workers, but work is not necessarily education. Education is the development of power and ideal. We want our children trained as intelligent human beings should be, and we will fight for all time against any proposal to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings, or simply for the use of other people. They have a right to know, to think, to aspire”.
….W. E. B. Du Bois, “The Niagara Movement Address”
August 23, 2021
Whatever must be said to get you to heft this daunting debut novel by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, I’ll say, because “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” is the kind of book that comes around only once a decade. Yes, at roughly 800 pages, it is, indeed, a mountain to climb, but the journey is engrossing, and the view from the summit will transform your understanding of America.
A poet whose most recent collection, “The Age of Phillis,” was longlisted for a National Book Award, Jeffers has poured a lifetime of experience and research into this epic about the travails of a Black family. As any honest record of several centuries must, Jeffers’s story traverses a geography of unspeakable horror, but it eventually arrives at a place of hard-won peace.
One of the many marvels of “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” is the protean quality of Jeffers’s voice. Sweeping back and forth across the years, her narration shifts nimbly to reflect the tenor of the times — from the shared legends of tribal people to the candid realism of the modern era. At the opening, set deep in the mists of history, we’re met with. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
A poet whose most recent collection, “The Age of Phillis,” was longlisted for a National Book Award, Jeffers has poured a lifetime of experience and research into this epic about the travails of a Black family. As any honest record of several centuries must, Jeffers’s story traverses a geography of unspeakable horror, but it eventually arrives at a place of hard-won peace.
One of the many marvels of “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” is the protean quality of Jeffers’s voice. Sweeping back and forth across the years, her narration shifts nimbly to reflect the tenor of the times — from the shared legends of tribal people to the candid realism of the modern era. At the opening, set deep in the mists of history, we’re met with. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
August 21, 2021
The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois is a powerful intergenerational, feminist, and womanist novel. Honorée Jeffers tells the racial and class history of this country through this book, not with a lot of facts and dates although they are there you are not inundated with it. But she tells this history through the human relationships of her characters past and present. The novel spans from the pre-slavery era of the 1700s to the late 20th Century covering themes such as: racism, colorism, feminism, classism, and intergenerational trauma.
The novel is centered around the character of Ailey Garfield, a young Black girl who grows up in a Northern city with her two sisters Lydia and Coco. Her parents, Geoff and Belle, come from two very different worlds. Geoff comes from a Northern light-skinned, siddity Black family, who in many cases could pass for white. Belle’s family, which the novel is centered around, is a Southern dark-skinned, down-to-earth Black family from a town called Chicasetta, GA.
There are certainly echoes of The Color Purple in this novel; it is referenced a few times. Chicasetta reminds Ailey of the town that Celie and Nettie lived in, and yet you see common themes that both Walker’s and Jeffers’s novels share, such as the power of female relationships and sexual assault within families.
Another body of work that is referenced and quoted in the novel, and should be evident in the title, is the writings of the scholar W. E. B. Du Bois. Although Du Bois never actually appears as a character in this novel, outside of Uncle Roots' memory of the scholar, you can tell Du Bois’s scholarship, especially The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880, inspired some of the themes of Jeffers’s novel. This is especially evident in the sections of the book focusing on Ailey’s Black and white ancestors. There are specific white family members who represent the white planter class and the poor white working class that Du Bois writes about in BRIA, Jeffers like Du Bois shows how racial resentment developed in the white working class characters against the Black characters. Outside of themes, the character that embodies Du Bois is Uncle Root. Root, Ailey’s great uncle, is a devotee of Du Bois who worked as a history professor and will become an important force in Ailey’s personal and professional career.
The most important and pivotal characters in this novel are Black women. Characters like Belle, Lydia, Aggie, Eliza Two, Dr. Oludara, and of course Ailey. Some of these characters get to tell their stories of achievement, trauma, and relations with low-down men. I loved the character of Ailey. In her grad school days she represents every Black person who attended a PWI and has been subjected to white nonsense and casual racism. What’s special about Ailey is that she confronts these uncomfortable situations with humor and charm. I especially loved her in the moments she stood up for herself and her family, there were times when I yelled out “Go get ‘em girl”. There were also times I got frustrated with her, especially as it relates to some of men she got involved with. What I loved the most about Ailey was the connection she had with her ancestors: her occasional dreams of the long-haired lady, her devotion to her maternal side of the family, especially as it relates to her constant travelling down South to visit and spend time with her elderly relatives, but it also extends to what becomes her pinnacle moment which is the unearthing of her roots. She even makes some discoveries that her elders in Chicasetta do not know about. Anyone who has done genealogy can relate to how gratifying an experience it is to discover the ancestors who have essentially been searching and hoping for someone to find them.
Love Songs is a very engaging and beautifully written book. Don’t be intimidated by its size because when you read it you won’t be able to stop and won’t be able to get it out of your mind. Even when it ends you will be wondering what happens next. I for one wanted to know more about Ailey and the future contributions she was going to make to her world. Lovers of American history will enjoy how Jeffers weaves history in this family’s story, especially as it relates to Ailey’s ancestors consisting of indigenous people, Black enslaved, Black freedmen and freedwomen, white elites, poor whites, and the constant power dynamics and class struggles that intersect between them. W. E. B. Du Bois would certainly be proud of this work. At the end of this novel, the reader may come to the realization that Ailey is not only an heir of her ancestors but is also an intellectual heir of Du Bois. But she is not alone, Honorée Jeffers by writing this magnificent book is also an heir of Du Bois in the ways she weaves his writings in every part of her work. Do yourself a favor, pick up this book, read it, and enjoy the ride.
Thanks to NetGalley, Harper, and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on August 24, 2021.
Review was first posted here: https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-m...
The novel is centered around the character of Ailey Garfield, a young Black girl who grows up in a Northern city with her two sisters Lydia and Coco. Her parents, Geoff and Belle, come from two very different worlds. Geoff comes from a Northern light-skinned, siddity Black family, who in many cases could pass for white. Belle’s family, which the novel is centered around, is a Southern dark-skinned, down-to-earth Black family from a town called Chicasetta, GA.
There are certainly echoes of The Color Purple in this novel; it is referenced a few times. Chicasetta reminds Ailey of the town that Celie and Nettie lived in, and yet you see common themes that both Walker’s and Jeffers’s novels share, such as the power of female relationships and sexual assault within families.
Another body of work that is referenced and quoted in the novel, and should be evident in the title, is the writings of the scholar W. E. B. Du Bois. Although Du Bois never actually appears as a character in this novel, outside of Uncle Roots' memory of the scholar, you can tell Du Bois’s scholarship, especially The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880, inspired some of the themes of Jeffers’s novel. This is especially evident in the sections of the book focusing on Ailey’s Black and white ancestors. There are specific white family members who represent the white planter class and the poor white working class that Du Bois writes about in BRIA, Jeffers like Du Bois shows how racial resentment developed in the white working class characters against the Black characters. Outside of themes, the character that embodies Du Bois is Uncle Root. Root, Ailey’s great uncle, is a devotee of Du Bois who worked as a history professor and will become an important force in Ailey’s personal and professional career.
The most important and pivotal characters in this novel are Black women. Characters like Belle, Lydia, Aggie, Eliza Two, Dr. Oludara, and of course Ailey. Some of these characters get to tell their stories of achievement, trauma, and relations with low-down men. I loved the character of Ailey. In her grad school days she represents every Black person who attended a PWI and has been subjected to white nonsense and casual racism. What’s special about Ailey is that she confronts these uncomfortable situations with humor and charm. I especially loved her in the moments she stood up for herself and her family, there were times when I yelled out “Go get ‘em girl”. There were also times I got frustrated with her, especially as it relates to some of men she got involved with. What I loved the most about Ailey was the connection she had with her ancestors: her occasional dreams of the long-haired lady, her devotion to her maternal side of the family, especially as it relates to her constant travelling down South to visit and spend time with her elderly relatives, but it also extends to what becomes her pinnacle moment which is the unearthing of her roots. She even makes some discoveries that her elders in Chicasetta do not know about. Anyone who has done genealogy can relate to how gratifying an experience it is to discover the ancestors who have essentially been searching and hoping for someone to find them.
Love Songs is a very engaging and beautifully written book. Don’t be intimidated by its size because when you read it you won’t be able to stop and won’t be able to get it out of your mind. Even when it ends you will be wondering what happens next. I for one wanted to know more about Ailey and the future contributions she was going to make to her world. Lovers of American history will enjoy how Jeffers weaves history in this family’s story, especially as it relates to Ailey’s ancestors consisting of indigenous people, Black enslaved, Black freedmen and freedwomen, white elites, poor whites, and the constant power dynamics and class struggles that intersect between them. W. E. B. Du Bois would certainly be proud of this work. At the end of this novel, the reader may come to the realization that Ailey is not only an heir of her ancestors but is also an intellectual heir of Du Bois. But she is not alone, Honorée Jeffers by writing this magnificent book is also an heir of Du Bois in the ways she weaves his writings in every part of her work. Do yourself a favor, pick up this book, read it, and enjoy the ride.
Thanks to NetGalley, Harper, and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on August 24, 2021.
Review was first posted here: https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-m...
September 10, 2021
“When we speak about history, we speak about somebody’s life.”
The past woven with the present spanning generations, into one story of one black family, this is a stunning reflection of our history telling of the burdens and strength of women, black and Native American . It’s enlightening and moving, and it shook me to the core at times with so many incidents of sexual abuse not just of black women, but of children.
It’s history we have to know about and remember, and it’s brought to life by remarkable characters who will leave an indelible mark in your mind and heart . An extraordinary book.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.
July 2, 2022
4.5⭐️
“We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees, her water.”
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers is a sweeping multigenerational saga that delves deep into the roots, the land , the ancestry and legacy of a mixed race African American family . The narrative switches between the past in the "Song" segments of the novel and the present day story narrated by Ailey Pearl Garfield .While the past segments span generations of her mother's family in Chicasetta in present day Georgia, the present day narrative starts with Ailey the youngest child of a doctor and a school teacher with two older sisters being raised in the 'city'.
When Ailey as an adult embarks on researching her family's history, her lineage is traced to its indigenous roots in the Creek village and the land which was taken from its indigenous owners only to be allotted to settlers who bring with them slave labor from Africa to work the plantations they build on the very same land in pre-Civil War America.
This is a lengthy read and to be honest I was intimidated by the sheer volume of this book which is why I had put it aside in favor of other books . But I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging this novel was and the amazing journey this story takes us on spanning decades of the history of a nation and its people . Ailey's personal experiences with abuse, loss, grief and search for her own purpose in life and a place in her own family connects with the stories of those who came before her -racially diverse generations of grandparents, aunts, uncles , cousins and extended family. While Ailey's research takes her through a history of slavery and oppression, trauma and abuse, the present day narrative delves into issues pertaining to feminism, education, racial identity , shared trauma, sexual identity and substance abuse.
Compelling and immersive, emotional and informative , The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is an experience that I would definitely recommend.
“We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees, her water.”
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers is a sweeping multigenerational saga that delves deep into the roots, the land , the ancestry and legacy of a mixed race African American family . The narrative switches between the past in the "Song" segments of the novel and the present day story narrated by Ailey Pearl Garfield .While the past segments span generations of her mother's family in Chicasetta in present day Georgia, the present day narrative starts with Ailey the youngest child of a doctor and a school teacher with two older sisters being raised in the 'city'.
When Ailey as an adult embarks on researching her family's history, her lineage is traced to its indigenous roots in the Creek village and the land which was taken from its indigenous owners only to be allotted to settlers who bring with them slave labor from Africa to work the plantations they build on the very same land in pre-Civil War America.
This is a lengthy read and to be honest I was intimidated by the sheer volume of this book which is why I had put it aside in favor of other books . But I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging this novel was and the amazing journey this story takes us on spanning decades of the history of a nation and its people . Ailey's personal experiences with abuse, loss, grief and search for her own purpose in life and a place in her own family connects with the stories of those who came before her -racially diverse generations of grandparents, aunts, uncles , cousins and extended family. While Ailey's research takes her through a history of slavery and oppression, trauma and abuse, the present day narrative delves into issues pertaining to feminism, education, racial identity , shared trauma, sexual identity and substance abuse.
Compelling and immersive, emotional and informative , The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is an experience that I would definitely recommend.
Read
August 29, 2023DNF. There may be a decent novel buried in here somewhere, but this is at least 500 pages too long. This could have used a significant edit.
February 2, 2023
Note: I received a free copy of this book. In exchange here is my honest review:
This book is heavy! Both physically and metaphorically. There’s a lot of trauma packed into these 797 pages. 😬 Told on several different timelines, this follows a family from its beginnings. Slavery was such a horrific time in our worlds history, yet monsters still prey in our present day as well. 😢 Trigger warnings: drug use, suicide attempt, sexual abuse- be warned this is definitely not a light read!
Thank you @goodreads honoree_jeffers and @harpercolins #goodreadsgiveaway
This book is heavy! Both physically and metaphorically. There’s a lot of trauma packed into these 797 pages. 😬 Told on several different timelines, this follows a family from its beginnings. Slavery was such a horrific time in our worlds history, yet monsters still prey in our present day as well. 😢 Trigger warnings: drug use, suicide attempt, sexual abuse- be warned this is definitely not a light read!
Thank you @goodreads honoree_jeffers and @harpercolins #goodreadsgiveaway
April 27, 2022
[4.5] What do you say about a novel that somehow encompasses the history of the US -the real history - the theft of Native Americans' land, Black people sold as animals, white slave-owners and of all of their ancestors interrelated? Jeffers focuses on a few families over several centuries in this epic novel. There are times when historic details bogs down the narrative - but it is worth it. A magnificent novel.
May 6, 2022
Brilliant. Truly blown away by this novel, even more so knowing that it's a debut! I feel like Ailey and her family are real people. The amount of detail in this novel to bring so many threads together and create a tapestry of this family's lineage is masterful. I will seek out whatever Jeffers writes next, and will definitely go back and read some of her poetry now too (I also loved her piece about Phillis Wheatley in The Fire This Time).
Don't let this novel's length intimidate you! I sped through this because it was so immersive and unputdownable. I particularly loved the opening and closing sections. Going back and reading the opening pages after having finished the novel was such a unique experience, because she literally lays the whole story out for you from the get go, but over 800 pages you get to really experience it and then the words in the beginning take on so much more meaning.
Lots to unpack in this novel about history, how we tell it, who tells it. About class and race and colorism and colonialism and feminism and more. How she managed to touch on all of these things, while still crafting a compelling story that is highly readable and engaging is beyond me. It feels like the makings of a modern classic.
I am sure I will ponder this one for a long time to come. These are characters that will stick with you, a story that will make you reconsider how you perceive history (or deconstruct how it has been taught to you), and make you want to learn more about your ancestors!
Don't let this novel's length intimidate you! I sped through this because it was so immersive and unputdownable. I particularly loved the opening and closing sections. Going back and reading the opening pages after having finished the novel was such a unique experience, because she literally lays the whole story out for you from the get go, but over 800 pages you get to really experience it and then the words in the beginning take on so much more meaning.
Lots to unpack in this novel about history, how we tell it, who tells it. About class and race and colorism and colonialism and feminism and more. How she managed to touch on all of these things, while still crafting a compelling story that is highly readable and engaging is beyond me. It feels like the makings of a modern classic.
I am sure I will ponder this one for a long time to come. These are characters that will stick with you, a story that will make you reconsider how you perceive history (or deconstruct how it has been taught to you), and make you want to learn more about your ancestors!
November 4, 2021
4.5
This story takes you back and forth between present day and the beginning of American history and the tribal ages..
As written in the Washington post:
“
Jeffers uses that oracular narrator to carry us swiftly through the foundational sins of North America. “The original transgression of this land,” she writes, “was not slavery. It was greed, and it could not be contained.” Though the European immigrants “had been oppressed in their own land by their own king . . . they resurrected this misery and passed it on.” Kidnapped Africans are hauled across the ocean, while the natives who live here are shoved off or murdered.”
Very interesting history …though I was way more interested in the present day story!
Could this novel have been shortened? I believe so, at times the old history bogged down the story for me and that is why it took so long for me to read this.
I will forever remember Uncle Root!
This story takes you back and forth between present day and the beginning of American history and the tribal ages..
As written in the Washington post:
“
Jeffers uses that oracular narrator to carry us swiftly through the foundational sins of North America. “The original transgression of this land,” she writes, “was not slavery. It was greed, and it could not be contained.” Though the European immigrants “had been oppressed in their own land by their own king . . . they resurrected this misery and passed it on.” Kidnapped Africans are hauled across the ocean, while the natives who live here are shoved off or murdered.”
Very interesting history …though I was way more interested in the present day story!
Could this novel have been shortened? I believe so, at times the old history bogged down the story for me and that is why it took so long for me to read this.
I will forever remember Uncle Root!
July 2, 2022
Giveaway Win!
Y'all!!!! WE DID IT!!!
We finished this book!
Yall I started this book back in December and I was enjoying it and I thought imma be finished with this book by the end of the month......
....And then my life kind of collapsed around me and I fell into a horrible reading slump that's lasted on and off for....well until like 3 weeks ago. I was going through Black trauma, so reading Black trauma was not a good idea. I needed to put this book down and return to it at the right time.
The Love Songs of W E B Du Bois is an authentically Black book. I'm sure white folks can read this and enjoy it but this book ain't for them. If you're a Black woman from the south, you feel this book on a deep level. I missed my mom, my aunt and grandmother soo much while I was reading this book. Ailey's family reminded me of my own family. Both in our similar cultural background(Native, Black, and Irish) and in how many stories we shared.
As much as I loved this book, I will say to my fellow Black people. You don't have to read this if the cold hard trauma of slavery and present day racism is too much. We carry that trauma in our bones and we don't need to experience it again. But if you feel like you can handle it please pick it up. Books like this are more important than ever, given how things here in the U.S. are going(Texas wants to stop teaching about slavery). If things keep going the way I fear they are going, even more Black history will be lost forever. We as Black people already don't know our full history because of white people and they are once again coming for us.
This book has many content warnings: Child Rape, Rape, Torture, Racism, and graphic depictions of slavery.
Black people take care of your self and please make sure you collect and pass on your family history.
I Highly Recommend This!
Y'all!!!! WE DID IT!!!
We finished this book!
Yall I started this book back in December and I was enjoying it and I thought imma be finished with this book by the end of the month......
....And then my life kind of collapsed around me and I fell into a horrible reading slump that's lasted on and off for....well until like 3 weeks ago. I was going through Black trauma, so reading Black trauma was not a good idea. I needed to put this book down and return to it at the right time.
The Love Songs of W E B Du Bois is an authentically Black book. I'm sure white folks can read this and enjoy it but this book ain't for them. If you're a Black woman from the south, you feel this book on a deep level. I missed my mom, my aunt and grandmother soo much while I was reading this book. Ailey's family reminded me of my own family. Both in our similar cultural background(Native, Black, and Irish) and in how many stories we shared.
As much as I loved this book, I will say to my fellow Black people. You don't have to read this if the cold hard trauma of slavery and present day racism is too much. We carry that trauma in our bones and we don't need to experience it again. But if you feel like you can handle it please pick it up. Books like this are more important than ever, given how things here in the U.S. are going(Texas wants to stop teaching about slavery). If things keep going the way I fear they are going, even more Black history will be lost forever. We as Black people already don't know our full history because of white people and they are once again coming for us.
This book has many content warnings: Child Rape, Rape, Torture, Racism, and graphic depictions of slavery.
Black people take care of your self and please make sure you collect and pass on your family history.
I Highly Recommend This!
December 28, 2021
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Where to even begin with this over 800 page tome? Just take a look at the literary prizes for which it’s been nominated.
It took me about a month to slowly read through and savor the story- or should I say storylines because, while our main character is Ailey, and what a fine, strong, lovable main character she is, the book goes back in time for generations, two centuries, in fact, exploring her roots. The setting is the Deep South, and the ancestors are Indigenous, Black, and white.
What we have here is an epic, complex story that was never difficult to read. The writing is silky smooth, not a spare word, and there’s a family tree to help with remembering the progeny and relationships of the characters.
This is a story of inter-generational pain, abuse, trauma, horror, sadness, and grief, while also being a story of resilience, healing, and education. I am in awe of this book and the sheer talent and hard work by the author in creating it. This is a story that could have been told over multiple installments, and yet, it was delivered as one packaged, sturdy whole, without losing an ounce of interest on the part of the reader, and with complete investment in Ailey and her family. I’ll never forget the experience.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Where to even begin with this over 800 page tome? Just take a look at the literary prizes for which it’s been nominated.
It took me about a month to slowly read through and savor the story- or should I say storylines because, while our main character is Ailey, and what a fine, strong, lovable main character she is, the book goes back in time for generations, two centuries, in fact, exploring her roots. The setting is the Deep South, and the ancestors are Indigenous, Black, and white.
What we have here is an epic, complex story that was never difficult to read. The writing is silky smooth, not a spare word, and there’s a family tree to help with remembering the progeny and relationships of the characters.
This is a story of inter-generational pain, abuse, trauma, horror, sadness, and grief, while also being a story of resilience, healing, and education. I am in awe of this book and the sheer talent and hard work by the author in creating it. This is a story that could have been told over multiple installments, and yet, it was delivered as one packaged, sturdy whole, without losing an ounce of interest on the part of the reader, and with complete investment in Ailey and her family. I’ll never forget the experience.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
September 6, 2021
i understand what the novel attempted to create and execute, but it would have really benefitted from a skilled editor. it's approximately 300 pages too long (in its current form) and some of the characters receive too much real estate and others are woefully neglected. it's clear that the author researched the history but at moments it feels heavy handed and didactic.
a central theme in each generation was the physical, psychological, and spiritual abuse that many of the characters endured. i would have loved for at least ONE character to confront this and minimally be on the path for healing. the decision to simply sublimate this history makes sense, but it did not reflect the choices that each generation had at its disposal as the novel wended toward the 21st century.
the best takeaway for me was that it engendered a return to william edward burghardt du bois. i plan to circle back to his work. i appreciated the citations at the end.
a central theme in each generation was the physical, psychological, and spiritual abuse that many of the characters endured. i would have loved for at least ONE character to confront this and minimally be on the path for healing. the decision to simply sublimate this history makes sense, but it did not reflect the choices that each generation had at its disposal as the novel wended toward the 21st century.
the best takeaway for me was that it engendered a return to william edward burghardt du bois. i plan to circle back to his work. i appreciated the citations at the end.
September 30, 2021
Every once in a while I read a book that is so beautifully written and so deeply moving and engaging that I feel the need to give it more than the 5 stars allowed on GR. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is one of those books. I listened to the audiobook which was a fabulous experience. I don't think it's possible for me to do justice to this masterpiece with a review. The best thing I can do is highly recommend that you start to read or listen to this book. You will very quickly become deeply engaged in the lives of the many finely wrought characters.
Don't be put off by the length of this book. After 30 hours of listening I was disappointed when it ended.
Don't be put off by the length of this book. After 30 hours of listening I was disappointed when it ended.
August 29, 2021
(Very slight spoilers)
Professor Drogon and I just finished The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois in record time. It’s an 800+ page sweeping tale of an African American family. The story is primarily told from the perspective of Ailey Pearl Garfield. She recounts her story from the age of 4 into her 30s. We also gain the perspective of a myriad of historical figures. Of these historical figures, one story stands out STRONGLY in terms of interest and captivation. Ailey’s story is the focal point and where the beauty of Jeffers’ writing largely rests. I must say I was eager to read and finish this book, I love an epic, and became invested in several of the characters. I was not disappointed in Ailey’s storyline and her overall evolution as a character. I felt attached to her development, and craved to read more.
Those were the highlights….
My primary issue with this novel besides a smattering of flat characters and dull overtures, was the unresolved and emphatic use of sexual violence and abuse against black women and children. This novel is touted as a feminist novel, but I would consider it anything but. While it passes the Bechdel test, just barely so. There are a handful of conversations between women that do not center around a man. Conversations notwithstanding, there are extremely graphic depictions of sexual assault against women and children. Inevitably this triggers their subsequent responses and their relationships with others.
There is only one identifiable character who navigates this trauma in a healthy and productive way. Further, how did the characters protect other women? How did the characters create a productive space for themselves genuinely? For some, they just moved on with absolutely zero resolution.
We should not ignore or deny the painful knowledge of the constant sexual trauma and violations against enslaved black women, and black girls presently. My question is; does the “Great African American Novel,” HAVE to be centered around our collective trauma and pain. We can be so much more than our trauma. Our stories are more than degradation, suffering, and violence. In no way, do I believe that Jeffers’ told a cliched story. I do, however believe that there needs to be more space for black authors to tell a different powerful story. Black women specifically have a greater story to tell than one of overcoming abuse or addiction at the hands of men, systemic racism, or generational trauma.
This story gets a lesser rating for me because it could have been so much more. There could have been true joy here. We can absolutely tell both stories, because that is the reality of black life. We take our history and turn it into something more. We don’t have to settle in the grief and the trauma of it all. We can be joyous and victorious, and I wish someone would tell that story.
Professor Drogon and I just finished The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois in record time. It’s an 800+ page sweeping tale of an African American family. The story is primarily told from the perspective of Ailey Pearl Garfield. She recounts her story from the age of 4 into her 30s. We also gain the perspective of a myriad of historical figures. Of these historical figures, one story stands out STRONGLY in terms of interest and captivation. Ailey’s story is the focal point and where the beauty of Jeffers’ writing largely rests. I must say I was eager to read and finish this book, I love an epic, and became invested in several of the characters. I was not disappointed in Ailey’s storyline and her overall evolution as a character. I felt attached to her development, and craved to read more.
Those were the highlights….
My primary issue with this novel besides a smattering of flat characters and dull overtures, was the unresolved and emphatic use of sexual violence and abuse against black women and children. This novel is touted as a feminist novel, but I would consider it anything but. While it passes the Bechdel test, just barely so. There are a handful of conversations between women that do not center around a man. Conversations notwithstanding, there are extremely graphic depictions of sexual assault against women and children. Inevitably this triggers their subsequent responses and their relationships with others.
There is only one identifiable character who navigates this trauma in a healthy and productive way. Further, how did the characters protect other women? How did the characters create a productive space for themselves genuinely? For some, they just moved on with absolutely zero resolution.
We should not ignore or deny the painful knowledge of the constant sexual trauma and violations against enslaved black women, and black girls presently. My question is; does the “Great African American Novel,” HAVE to be centered around our collective trauma and pain. We can be so much more than our trauma. Our stories are more than degradation, suffering, and violence. In no way, do I believe that Jeffers’ told a cliched story. I do, however believe that there needs to be more space for black authors to tell a different powerful story. Black women specifically have a greater story to tell than one of overcoming abuse or addiction at the hands of men, systemic racism, or generational trauma.
This story gets a lesser rating for me because it could have been so much more. There could have been true joy here. We can absolutely tell both stories, because that is the reality of black life. We take our history and turn it into something more. We don’t have to settle in the grief and the trauma of it all. We can be joyous and victorious, and I wish someone would tell that story.
June 1, 2021
Let me start off by saying WOW.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois has rightfully taken it's place in my top 10 books for 2021. I'll never say that something is impossible, because there are truly people in this world crazy enough to conquer and deliver such madness. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, made a conscious decision to put down her poetry pen and give the world an 800 page novel. Now in most cases 800 pages can be intimidating, but what Jeffers has done is pull you in and give you the warmest of southern hugs.
The narrator, Ailey Garfield, starts off as a young girl telling all that she remembers growing up in her family. She, along with her sisters, spends her summers in Chicasetta, Georgia with her mother's side of the family. Where during each visit she experiences something worth repeating. There's something beautiful about being a city girl spending your summers in the country. Sitting on the porch snapping peas and listening to your grandmother tell stories of the past, hanging out by the creek without a care in the world. But make no mistake, this novel is not full of bliss, love, sunshine and rainbows. Jeffers gives us a history lesson on a Black family's lineage dating back to slavery. And, baby the truth is just as ugly as you can imagine. Going back and forth in time, Honorée tells us the story of Ailey's ancestors while Ailey tells the story of her present until the two meet in the middle and connect.
There are plenty of moments that will have you laugh, cuss, cry, and plain old throw the book across the room. But it's SOOOOOO worth it! I was engaged from start to finish ! This book is necessary for the Black community especially, many of our stories get lost and buried.
Family legacies are meant to be remembered and cherished, and with a LOT A BIT or research, many of us can find the truth about where we come from.
I encourage everyone to add this to your TBR this summer, you won't be disappointed.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois has rightfully taken it's place in my top 10 books for 2021. I'll never say that something is impossible, because there are truly people in this world crazy enough to conquer and deliver such madness. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, made a conscious decision to put down her poetry pen and give the world an 800 page novel. Now in most cases 800 pages can be intimidating, but what Jeffers has done is pull you in and give you the warmest of southern hugs.
The narrator, Ailey Garfield, starts off as a young girl telling all that she remembers growing up in her family. She, along with her sisters, spends her summers in Chicasetta, Georgia with her mother's side of the family. Where during each visit she experiences something worth repeating. There's something beautiful about being a city girl spending your summers in the country. Sitting on the porch snapping peas and listening to your grandmother tell stories of the past, hanging out by the creek without a care in the world. But make no mistake, this novel is not full of bliss, love, sunshine and rainbows. Jeffers gives us a history lesson on a Black family's lineage dating back to slavery. And, baby the truth is just as ugly as you can imagine. Going back and forth in time, Honorée tells us the story of Ailey's ancestors while Ailey tells the story of her present until the two meet in the middle and connect.
There are plenty of moments that will have you laugh, cuss, cry, and plain old throw the book across the room. But it's SOOOOOO worth it! I was engaged from start to finish ! This book is necessary for the Black community especially, many of our stories get lost and buried.
Family legacies are meant to be remembered and cherished, and with a LOT A BIT or research, many of us can find the truth about where we come from.
I encourage everyone to add this to your TBR this summer, you won't be disappointed.
July 29, 2021
MAMA I MADE IT!!! I made it through 816 pages of pure MAGIC ✨
“We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees, her water.”
From the moment I read the first sentence I knew I was in for an epic journey. Without question, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝗪.𝐄.𝐁. 𝐃𝐔 𝐁𝐎𝐈𝐒 by #HonoreeFanonneJeffers is one of my favorite books of the year. I LOVE HISTORICAL FICTION. One of my all-time favorites is 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 by Yaa Gyasi and I'm happy to add #TheLoveSongsofWEBDuBois to this list! I will be recommending this book to everyone. If you enjoy audiobooks like I do, this one is superb!! 🤩
DO NOT be intimidated by the length. This generational family saga has a multitude of layers and themes. The journey takes us from the appropriation of Native lands, to the African slave trade, through the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement to the early 2000's. Honorée knows how to tell a story! The characters are richly developed and the exploration of African American History is mind blowing. This is the coming of age story of Ailey Pearl Garfield, our protagonist, who is seeking to learn more about her ancestors and how they have shaped her. An memorable voyage that will stay with you. Honorée is deserving of all the good things that are coming her way when this book releases on 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟒𝐭𝐡. 🎉👏🏽 She's given us a MASTERPIECE!! I’m already jealous of everyone who will be reading it for the first time. I also see this as an awesome TV series!
“We are the earth, the land. The tongue that speaks and trips on the names of the dead as it dares to tell these stories of a woman’s line. Her people and her dirt, her trees, her water.”
From the moment I read the first sentence I knew I was in for an epic journey. Without question, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝗪.𝐄.𝐁. 𝐃𝐔 𝐁𝐎𝐈𝐒 by #HonoreeFanonneJeffers is one of my favorite books of the year. I LOVE HISTORICAL FICTION. One of my all-time favorites is 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 by Yaa Gyasi and I'm happy to add #TheLoveSongsofWEBDuBois to this list! I will be recommending this book to everyone. If you enjoy audiobooks like I do, this one is superb!! 🤩
DO NOT be intimidated by the length. This generational family saga has a multitude of layers and themes. The journey takes us from the appropriation of Native lands, to the African slave trade, through the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement to the early 2000's. Honorée knows how to tell a story! The characters are richly developed and the exploration of African American History is mind blowing. This is the coming of age story of Ailey Pearl Garfield, our protagonist, who is seeking to learn more about her ancestors and how they have shaped her. An memorable voyage that will stay with you. Honorée is deserving of all the good things that are coming her way when this book releases on 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟒𝐭𝐡. 🎉👏🏽 She's given us a MASTERPIECE!! I’m already jealous of everyone who will be reading it for the first time. I also see this as an awesome TV series!
January 12, 2022
The debut novel of established poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s an immensely gripping, epic saga. It’s centred on one Black American family and their history, which is also a history of America’s South. Jeffers explicitly draws on a long tradition of Black writing here: from Zora Neale Hurston to Alex Haley, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Terry McMillan and beyond. Although it was Walker, and to a certain extent Maya Angelou, who most often came to mind when I was reading this. Like Morrison, Jeffers is dealing with challenging material but she’s clearly aiming for Walker’s accessibility and, frequently, her intimate, visceral immediacy. Much of the narrative revolves around Ailey Garfield a middle-class doctor’s daughter. Born in the ‘70s, she’s growing up in an unnamed city, which could be any of the urban, Northern centres to which Southern Black families flocked during the era of the Great Migration. But despite Ailey and her family’s years in the North, they’re continually travelling back in body and in mind to Chicasetta, a small town in Georgia: a stand-in for Eatonton, Alice Walker’s birthplace where Jeffers’s mother grew up.
Chicasetta’s the home of Ailey’s beloved maternal grandmother so it’s associated with tenderness and deep roots but it’s also a trauma site, bearing the traces of a past in which Ailey’s ancestors were brutally enslaved. Paralleling Ailey’s experiences are a series of near-folkloric episodes, and flashbacks, which gradually reconstruct Chicasetta’s buried histories: the Muskogee (Creek) tribe whose land was stolen from them through successive acts of colonial violence; the vast plantations sustained by the bodies of slaves; and the rise of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. Underlying all of this are a series of debates exploring the ongoing intricacies of Black American identities represented by the conflicting visions of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois. Jeffers’s meticulous reconstruction’s based on a wealth of archival research but she’s equally invested in highlighting Black feminism, the role of Black women in the development of Black society and communities. Through her memorable female characters, she exposes and explores the myriad internal and external pressures that impact on Black women’s lives and sense of self: patriarchy, male violence, racism, passing, colourism. But she also celebrates the women's strength, tenacity and courage. Although it has its flaws - weaker passages, sections that might benefit from trimming, a slightly breathless ending - I found this utterly engrossing. It’s an intense, powerful piece of storytelling, rhythmic, flowing, deeply atmospheric, with a wonderful feel for character and place.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fourth Estate, imprint of Harper Collins for an arc
Rating: 4.5
Chicasetta’s the home of Ailey’s beloved maternal grandmother so it’s associated with tenderness and deep roots but it’s also a trauma site, bearing the traces of a past in which Ailey’s ancestors were brutally enslaved. Paralleling Ailey’s experiences are a series of near-folkloric episodes, and flashbacks, which gradually reconstruct Chicasetta’s buried histories: the Muskogee (Creek) tribe whose land was stolen from them through successive acts of colonial violence; the vast plantations sustained by the bodies of slaves; and the rise of the KKK and Jim Crow laws. Underlying all of this are a series of debates exploring the ongoing intricacies of Black American identities represented by the conflicting visions of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois. Jeffers’s meticulous reconstruction’s based on a wealth of archival research but she’s equally invested in highlighting Black feminism, the role of Black women in the development of Black society and communities. Through her memorable female characters, she exposes and explores the myriad internal and external pressures that impact on Black women’s lives and sense of self: patriarchy, male violence, racism, passing, colourism. But she also celebrates the women's strength, tenacity and courage. Although it has its flaws - weaker passages, sections that might benefit from trimming, a slightly breathless ending - I found this utterly engrossing. It’s an intense, powerful piece of storytelling, rhythmic, flowing, deeply atmospheric, with a wonderful feel for character and place.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fourth Estate, imprint of Harper Collins for an arc
Rating: 4.5
October 5, 2021
I lost patience at the one-quarter point of this bloated almost 800-page doorstopper. Endless inconsequential details that add nothing to, and in fact diminish, what might have been a decent work of historical fiction were it a fraction of the length. Do I really care to read utterly tedious descriptions of the heart-attack-inducing food the characters eat, what they wear to some meaningless party, the back and forth of stupid conversations in college dorm rooms, and teenage sex? I do not. This is an awful book. I don’t care what Oprah or anyone else says. This overly long and often tryingly dull novel is a testimony to the paucity of discriminating editors in the book industry.
March 19, 2022
This is a black feminist treatise in the form of a family saga. It is extremely long and convoluted, but for the most part it held my interest. The modern day story focuses on Ailey Pearl Garfield and traces her life from the age of 3 to her 30s. However, the scope of the book is huge and starts with her African and Native American ancestors. Descriptions of the histories and experiences of these ancestors were interspersed with the Ailey story. Chapters are separated by quotations from the works of W.E.B. Du Bois (and a few other writers). A thread running through all of these histories is the sexual abuse and exploitation of generations of women. There were a lot of predators in the family tree. Do not read this if you are particularly triggered by child molestation. It also deals with drug addiction, male chauvinism and the stratification of African Americans based on skin tone. Ailey’s family came in all colors.
I found the parts of the book set in the past more interesting than the present. The story of life on the plantation was particularly compelling and often difficult to read. “The creatures: the horses, the cattle, the pigs, the chickens, the Negroes. Under the law, Samuel could do as he willed with any of his creatures—even kill—and no one would take him to task. Thus, any little girl he wanted was his to ruin as he saw fit.” An escaped slave later wrote to Samuel: “I forgive you for being the left-handed comrade of the Devil who whispers his desires in the dark and who you follow without hesitation. Truly I forgive you Master though you are a creature worthy of disgust without mitigation. Daily I pray for your ugly, miserable and tarnished soul.”
I got a little bored by Ailey’s coming of age, school angst and sexual exploration. It took a really long time for her to find some focus. It wasn’t until she decided to become an historian like her great uncle Root that I started to like her. I did like her mother Maybelle though. I enjoyed her spirit: “Because I don’t want to have to leave your daddy on his sickbed and come kill somebody’s knucklehead son and then hide the body. But I will. And that’s my right hand slapped by Glory.” Uncle Root was also a very vivid character.
This is quite an ambitious book and I think that the author covered a part of American history from a feminist prospective in a way that was informative, accomplished and entertaining.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I found the parts of the book set in the past more interesting than the present. The story of life on the plantation was particularly compelling and often difficult to read. “The creatures: the horses, the cattle, the pigs, the chickens, the Negroes. Under the law, Samuel could do as he willed with any of his creatures—even kill—and no one would take him to task. Thus, any little girl he wanted was his to ruin as he saw fit.” An escaped slave later wrote to Samuel: “I forgive you for being the left-handed comrade of the Devil who whispers his desires in the dark and who you follow without hesitation. Truly I forgive you Master though you are a creature worthy of disgust without mitigation. Daily I pray for your ugly, miserable and tarnished soul.”
I got a little bored by Ailey’s coming of age, school angst and sexual exploration. It took a really long time for her to find some focus. It wasn’t until she decided to become an historian like her great uncle Root that I started to like her. I did like her mother Maybelle though. I enjoyed her spirit: “Because I don’t want to have to leave your daddy on his sickbed and come kill somebody’s knucklehead son and then hide the body. But I will. And that’s my right hand slapped by Glory.” Uncle Root was also a very vivid character.
This is quite an ambitious book and I think that the author covered a part of American history from a feminist prospective in a way that was informative, accomplished and entertaining.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
May 28, 2022
Wow.
This was an intense read and worth every single second of the 800+ pages. I almost didn't want it to end so I kept pushing those last couple pages because it felt like we were together, Ms. Jeffers and I, as she walked me through legacy and history and experience.
Reading this book, I felt... absorbed. It felt like I was present in every era, looking through the trees at the people before me, staring through the slats and the cracks in between the doors. It was emotionally gripping, thoughtful, relatable and sometimes unbearable. Ms. Jeffers easily, seamlessly moved through the 1700s, 1800s, 1900s and brought you through 5 generations of family history from pre-slavery to the late 90s/early 00s.
This book has completely overwhelmed me. It has overwhelmed every part of my mind.
Ailey.
My god what a character! What a woman. A character created from a line of perfectly crafted women characters. A warrior. A petty, messy, delightful, traumatized, hurt, loving, studious, and reflective queen. A fighter. All of the women in this story and the multitude of things that they have been through displays a heavy Alice Walker, The Color Purple, influence. The through-line that Black women, they keep going, they keep fighting is such a cherished lesson to share with others, especially when we still feel the remnants of these times and are still fighting through so much.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is such a powerful story of resilience. Resilience that no one should have to possess the way that the ancestors had to possess it. A very direct story about the steps you take to get somewhere, to reach a free place, to go in a direction different from where you started out.. This story got me on levels. The amount of research that Ms. Jeffers no doubt put into the creation of this novel is something else.
I think I'm too overwhelmed to be coherent, but this was an absolute feat of writing.
The talent that exists in the mind, body and spirit of Honorée Fannone Jeffers was definitely passed down from the ancestors. Those Toni Morrison comparisons are accurate and this is definitely the best fiction that I've read in 2021.
This was an intense read and worth every single second of the 800+ pages. I almost didn't want it to end so I kept pushing those last couple pages because it felt like we were together, Ms. Jeffers and I, as she walked me through legacy and history and experience.
Reading this book, I felt... absorbed. It felt like I was present in every era, looking through the trees at the people before me, staring through the slats and the cracks in between the doors. It was emotionally gripping, thoughtful, relatable and sometimes unbearable. Ms. Jeffers easily, seamlessly moved through the 1700s, 1800s, 1900s and brought you through 5 generations of family history from pre-slavery to the late 90s/early 00s.
This book has completely overwhelmed me. It has overwhelmed every part of my mind.
Ailey.
My god what a character! What a woman. A character created from a line of perfectly crafted women characters. A warrior. A petty, messy, delightful, traumatized, hurt, loving, studious, and reflective queen. A fighter. All of the women in this story and the multitude of things that they have been through displays a heavy Alice Walker, The Color Purple, influence. The through-line that Black women, they keep going, they keep fighting is such a cherished lesson to share with others, especially when we still feel the remnants of these times and are still fighting through so much.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is such a powerful story of resilience. Resilience that no one should have to possess the way that the ancestors had to possess it. A very direct story about the steps you take to get somewhere, to reach a free place, to go in a direction different from where you started out.. This story got me on levels. The amount of research that Ms. Jeffers no doubt put into the creation of this novel is something else.
I think I'm too overwhelmed to be coherent, but this was an absolute feat of writing.
The talent that exists in the mind, body and spirit of Honorée Fannone Jeffers was definitely passed down from the ancestors. Those Toni Morrison comparisons are accurate and this is definitely the best fiction that I've read in 2021.
August 29, 2022
At 790 pages The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois was intimidating but I quickly found myself immersed in this saga, spanning several decades from an Afro-Indigenous family in the 1700s, to the 1800s during slavery in the south, to 2007, where Ailey Garfield is coming to terms with her family’s history and her desire for belonging. Ailey is one of three daughters, close with her Uncle Root, and a kind person.
The story is set in Georgia and alternates between Ailey and her family, when she is child continuing through her postgraduate years, and previous generations of her extended family. Each generation has its own struggles and family secrets remain throughout the years. I really enjoyed reading about the Garfields over several decades. There were some very sad parts to this story and the family faced more than its share of challenges, though I enjoyed their closeness throughout all they endured.
The story is set in Georgia and alternates between Ailey and her family, when she is child continuing through her postgraduate years, and previous generations of her extended family. Each generation has its own struggles and family secrets remain throughout the years. I really enjoyed reading about the Garfields over several decades. There were some very sad parts to this story and the family faced more than its share of challenges, though I enjoyed their closeness throughout all they endured.
July 11, 2022
Wow! I like what the author did with this historical novel vacillating between the time of slavery and the relatively current days building two stories that slowly melded into one. She also intermixed history including WEB DuBois, Jessie Redmon Fauset and Booker T Washington and through the novel discussed/applied the philosophies and lives of these Black leaders. She illustrated how their lives and ancestry fed into their beliefs and formed many of the beliefs of Black people (particularly the rich heritage of those with strong ties to the South). This was definitely a teaching novel that works to show how the conditions of the past shape the world today. Jeffers lays bare the notion of "I never owned slaves and have nothing to do with slavery..." Goodness everyone has involvement in the quality of treatment of Black and Native American people (let alone other marginalized communities) past and present in this country. Lest I be unclear, the narrative of the treatment of these communities is not a "feel good" story. It also shows how understanding where we are from, our history; helps to understand the world we currently live in, how we got here, and the often hidden/lost/invisible drivers in our trajectory. Trigger Warnings: There may be a fuller review down the road. I appreciate what Jeffers attempted to do here, tying history to the present in an epic family saga. She succeeded! I thought this was a brilliant treatise!!
4+ Stars
Listened to the audiobook. A great cast includes Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton, Prentice Onayemi. They did not disappoint.
4+ Stars
Listened to the audiobook. A great cast includes Adenrele Ojo, Karen Chilton, Prentice Onayemi. They did not disappoint.
January 11, 2022
Don't let the size of this book deter you from picking it up, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction, literary fiction, and/or multigenerational family sagas. The writing is superb and the story is so engrossing that you'll keep wanting to pick it up and hardly notice the size of it.
However, this book does deal with a lot of DIFFICULT topics (abuse, drugs, pedophilia) and toward the end I found myself favoring the present day Ailey POV over the past POV.
Watch me discuss this more in my December wrap up: https://youtu.be/xQg8xt0Or3Q
However, this book does deal with a lot of DIFFICULT topics (abuse, drugs, pedophilia) and toward the end I found myself favoring the present day Ailey POV over the past POV.
Watch me discuss this more in my December wrap up: https://youtu.be/xQg8xt0Or3Q
April 9, 2022
The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois is unlike any book I have ever read. An historical fiction following the establishment of a family from the time before there were white settlers in what has become the state of Georgia, through the landing of the first European settlers, the arrival of the first slaves, and the many torturous interminglings of these groups over the following centuries. The vehicle for unearthing the saga is Ailey Garfield who we meet as a young child, but who grows to chronicle the lives of her forbears.
The novel has an unusual structure, with each section begun with a “Song.” These Songs are myth-like presentations of the far past, stories of the old people, the forefathers and mothers. Initially they can be confusing but they gain so much power as the novel proceeds. Then, after select quotations from the works of DuBois, the story of the contemporary, multi-generation family is told. If there is a weakness to the totality of this experience, it may be that this section is too expansive. But as I finished reading the book, I could forgive any excess. The final section, from the final Song to the end, was beautifully done.
A book of more than 800 pages can be a hard sell for some, but I do recommend this and suggest you read it slowly as I did, perhaps with friends, as I also did, discussing sections as we read.
The novel has an unusual structure, with each section begun with a “Song.” These Songs are myth-like presentations of the far past, stories of the old people, the forefathers and mothers. Initially they can be confusing but they gain so much power as the novel proceeds. Then, after select quotations from the works of DuBois, the story of the contemporary, multi-generation family is told. If there is a weakness to the totality of this experience, it may be that this section is too expansive. But as I finished reading the book, I could forgive any excess. The final section, from the final Song to the end, was beautifully done.
A book of more than 800 pages can be a hard sell for some, but I do recommend this and suggest you read it slowly as I did, perhaps with friends, as I also did, discussing sections as we read.
March 15, 2022
I wanted to like this one more, but could not relate to the 100 or more pages spent describing the pledging rituals and rivalries between black fraternities and sororities. If you remove that part, this book is a five-star for me. The story of the horrors of slavery and the toxic impact it has had even generations afterward must be told again and again because still unfortunately the Rebecca's outnumber the enlightened at least 10 or 100 (or 1000?) to 1. I can't say that the story is unpredictable as several of the outcomes are rather obvious from the beginning, but nonetheless, the articulate description of conditions under slavery and during Reconstruction were all clearly meticulously researched and well-written. It is a pity that it nearly lost me with all the Beta/Gamma stuff because I truly did not care and found it took me too far away from the elements of the story I really cared about.
Another criticism I would raise is that there is a certain frustration to see that some of the crimes go frustratingly unpunished in the present part of the story. I thought the ending was poetic, but that one or two comeuppances would have helped my appreciation a bit more.
As for comparing this to the canon of writing about these subjects, I think that Transcendent Kingdom was more powerful in some ways to this story as was Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Still, it is a story worth telling. It could have used some editing because with maybe 150 less pages, it could have aspired to true excellence.
My list of potential Pulitzer's for 2022 - click now to vote for your favorite!
Another criticism I would raise is that there is a certain frustration to see that some of the crimes go frustratingly unpunished in the present part of the story. I thought the ending was poetic, but that one or two comeuppances would have helped my appreciation a bit more.
As for comparing this to the canon of writing about these subjects, I think that Transcendent Kingdom was more powerful in some ways to this story as was Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Still, it is a story worth telling. It could have used some editing because with maybe 150 less pages, it could have aspired to true excellence.
My list of potential Pulitzer's for 2022 - click now to vote for your favorite!
February 22, 2023
Now the winner of The 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction...
So I made it. After starting this over maybe twice, I made it. And what a journey this was!
At almost 800 pages, this was a Herculean task. Reading it at times, I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, but praise Jesus, I'm done!
Where do I even start? It's about a Southern family, but it's also about the history of America and its first peoples, particularly Black slavery and Indian genocide. The chapters focus on different members of that family, and in that regard, I enjoyed it immensely. There's a lot of family trauma; a lot of generational trauma, too. As in any family, we get a lot of baggage, a lot of drama, a lot of secrets, and a whole lot of emotions. There's also a lot of love. It's a novel that shows how the past affects the present, but it also gives us hope for the future.
As a Bildungsroman, Ailey is our main character. The novel traces her growth from a child to a woman in her late twenties still on a journey of self-discovery. In showing how she interacts with each of her family members, Jeffers paints vivid, memorable characters. Jeffers writes like a historian and is clearly interested in how these characters interact with the world they grow up in. It hardly matters that the history in question is fictional; the novel is immersive, sweeping, grand, and quite ambitious.
I'm sure Ms. Jeffers felt quite justified in its length, and who am I to say otherwise? If you don't think you can get past the size of the thing, then leave it alone. If like me, you love a good book no matter the size, then you're gonna discover just that- a damn good book.
So I made it. After starting this over maybe twice, I made it. And what a journey this was!
At almost 800 pages, this was a Herculean task. Reading it at times, I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, but praise Jesus, I'm done!
Where do I even start? It's about a Southern family, but it's also about the history of America and its first peoples, particularly Black slavery and Indian genocide. The chapters focus on different members of that family, and in that regard, I enjoyed it immensely. There's a lot of family trauma; a lot of generational trauma, too. As in any family, we get a lot of baggage, a lot of drama, a lot of secrets, and a whole lot of emotions. There's also a lot of love. It's a novel that shows how the past affects the present, but it also gives us hope for the future.
As a Bildungsroman, Ailey is our main character. The novel traces her growth from a child to a woman in her late twenties still on a journey of self-discovery. In showing how she interacts with each of her family members, Jeffers paints vivid, memorable characters. Jeffers writes like a historian and is clearly interested in how these characters interact with the world they grow up in. It hardly matters that the history in question is fictional; the novel is immersive, sweeping, grand, and quite ambitious.
I'm sure Ms. Jeffers felt quite justified in its length, and who am I to say otherwise? If you don't think you can get past the size of the thing, then leave it alone. If like me, you love a good book no matter the size, then you're gonna discover just that- a damn good book.
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