STITCH LINES...... Ramblings on life as a quilter, stitcher, traveler, photographer, gardener and lover of books, cats and fine chocolate....

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

On My Bookshelf

It's been a while since I've done a book review, and I'm more than a few behind. I finished this book recently, in between two Louise Penny books. Cane River by Lalita Tademy is an Oprah's Book Club pick. I often find many of Oprah's choices quite "dark" but not so with this one. It is a well written family saga of four generations of women, all born as slaves, somewhat reminiscent of Arthur Haley's Roots. Although a work of fiction, the characters are real. Tademy left the corporate world as a vice president with Sun Microsystems to research her genealogy and write this novel based on her ancestors on a Creole plantation on the banks of the Cane River in Louisiana. Here, Elisabeth, Suzette, Philomene and Emily (Tademy's great grandmother) endured a difficult and often brutal existence at the hands of their white masters. Tademy combines meticulous historical "reconstruction" with wonderful storytelling to bring their lives to life on the page, stories which were not always pleasant. These four women of great strength and perseverance were each determined to see the next generation do better, always with the hope and dream of freedom. The addition of actual photos of her ancestors and legal documents enhance the story. 4.5 stars out of 5 from this bookworm.

Peace,
Linda

"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." ~ James Bryce

6 comments:

Jennifer said...

Now that sounds like an interesting read, I just checked my library's database and they don't have it. They do have "Citizen's Creek" by the same author, though.

Sandi Mac said...

One of my favorites of all times. Glad you enjoyed it!!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I'll have to check our library for this book, it does sound good. I've read a few you've recommended on your blog and never been disappointed Linda.

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Back to say our library has the book and it's available - now on my Kobo ereader!

kath001 said...

I have told myself over and over, 'no more Oprah book club books!' as I usually am bummed out by them. But here you have me wanting to read this one. LOL

I'm glad to see you post, of course, but sad that Noah's sweet smile was replaced with the book image in my blog list today.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I've read this book but I don't remember much about it. Not sure what that means....maybe I should read it again! Hugs!

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