book review: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The backstory: The Invention of Wings is the third selection in Oprah's Book Club 2.0 . The basics: Based on the life of suffragist and abolitionist Sarah Grimke, The Invention of Wings begins when Sarah is eleven and receives her own slave, Hetty "Handful," as a gift. Told in alternating chapters, the novel explores the lives of both Sarah and Handful. My thoughts: As soon as I heard Sue Monk Kidd's new novel was based on the life of Sarah Grimke, I was eager to read it. I've long been fascinated by Grimke and wrote papers on her in college (yes, I took the time to find and re-read those papers after I finished this novel.) When Oprah chose it for her book club, I was thrilled. I hope this novel brings the life and work of Sarah Grimke to more people. Because of my familiarity with Grimke, I initially found the novel's pace a bit slow. I appreciated the insight into her childhood, but I was eager for the action to move along to where I knew it was g...