The Invention of Wings

It’s Sarah’s 11^th birthday and her mother has a grand gift planned – another girl named Hetty.  The Grimke family has lived in antebellum Charleston for decades along with their slaves, including Hetty and her mother Charlotte.  But Sarah isn’t interested in owning another human and quickly tries to grant her freedom but her actions are rejected by her father, a leading judge in the city.  The next 30 years will see great losses and trauma for both women as the work towards their own identities and for freedom from the Grimke family.

The Invention of Wings is a historical fiction loosely based on the true story of Sarah Moore Grimke – an abolitionist who left her prominent South Carolina family to become a Quaker in Pennsylvania.  As described in the author notes at the end of this book, Sue Monk Kidd took some liberties with Grimke’s life in this novel, but delivers a striking and relatable story of these strong women fighting for what is right. 

I give The Invention of Wings 4 out of 5 stars.  Told through dualling narratives, this book captures some of the worst aspects of American life in the 1800’s.  The author brings to life facts I have read about in textbooks – the slave punishments, general slave life, and the oppression of abolitionists in the south as well as the north.  Early chapters were daunting reads for me though and I found it hard to connect with the storyline and characters.  The ending also felt rushed or forced as if Hetty and Sarah’s stories weren’t fully told.  However, this book has touched my heart in a way that will stay with me for a long time.

This novel would be best for more mature audiences over 16.  Sue Monk Kidd portrays a very real portrait of inner-city slavery including owner produced violence.  The book also includes mentions of sex, both voluntary and forced, that may be triggering for some readers.    Given the dual narratives, this book would make a great book club discussion!

I chose The Invention of Wings as my read for The Booklist Queen Reading Challenge prompt “by a local author”.  Sue Monk Kidd grew up in Sylvester, GA, between Albany and Tifton and about 2 hours south of me.  While I have heard of the author and her more famous release The Secret Life of Bees, I had never read any of her work.  I am a fast fan of the author and will be adding her additional works to be TBR list for the year!

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Diana: Her True Story, Andrew Morton
• Current audio book: Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
• Book I’m most looking forward to: The Help, Kathryn Stockett