Wench

Worth Your Time

A quick read if you are looking for a well written piece of historical fiction. The author's detail allows one to clearly imagine the setting...everything from the sights to the smells. This book is well worth the time.

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

Every reader who enjoyed The Help will find Wench to be equally captivating.

Similar to The Help, Wench is a beautifully written poignant story of four African-American women in the South; however, Wench takes place 100 years before The Help. Set in the 1850's, Wench is the tale of four slave women who meet when their masters bring them to a summer resort in Ohio. The author has created women with very strong characters who bond together as they balance the indignity and privilege of being their masters' concubines. The servants in The Help had to contend with the attitudes of the women whom they worked for, however, Wench shows how the female slaves' masters treated them: sometimes tenderly, sometimes brutally, and always like property. Because this summer resort is in the North, the hotel employs "free coloreds". This first glimpse at freedom poses another challenge to the slaves' self respect and causes them to re-examine their tolerance of their lives and to struggle with the dream of freedom.

10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Ohio History in "Wench"

Being a native of Northeast Ohio, I am always fascinated with literature that chronicles the social history of the 19th century. This area was a hotbed of political and economic controversy, as it was home to the abolishonist movement. The story of "Wench" begins in 1852 Xenia Ohio, at a resort frequented by Southern planters and their slave lovers. The author vividly conveys the aching need of the slaves to taste freedom, even for the few weeks of the summer vacations that they spend at the resort. The author also provides a disturbing look at the reality of slave wenches being so close to freedom, as in being on free soil, however remaining legally and emotionally bound to their masters. "Wench" will certainly becomes a must read for those interested in this time of history, when social, political, economic and racial forces combined to enslave both black and white in the greatest social change of our national history.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Wench is a must read for every American. The complex relationship between master and slave is thoroughly explored in this novel.

The relationship between Master Drayle and his lover and slave, Lizzie, defies categorizing. A myriad of emotions exists between them. While Drayle remains master and is strong in the role, a love develops between them. While Drayle may tie Lizzie up at times, he also teaches her to read and finds her sister. He refuses to free the slave children they have had together, but bestows education and other benefits not available to other slaves on them. The historical accuracy of this phenomenon in America's past is something everyone should experience and have knowledge of. From the first page until the last, you will be mesmerized by the development of the characters and the lives they experience.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Boring.

I tried to read this. I did not care about the characters at all. I found them boring and shallow. I didn't even finish the book. That is very rare for me.

3 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Definitely a Book You Can't Put Down...Mesmerizing

Before reading this book I had quite a bit of knowledge of the condition of the black female plantation slave, but this author has the style and technique to blend well-developed characterization with historical facts. As a reader, I found myself identifying with the 4 female slaves as they went on their annual "spa resort excursions" with their white masters. I felt their dehumanzing pain as well as some of the comic relief the narrator occaisonally inserted. As I began to understand their individual personality traits, I looked forward to their reactions to situations they found themselves in, how they would support one another, and to the various ways they would dare to rebel. At times I just wanted to leap out of my chair and wield my own style of justice at the white slave master because I knew the female slaves where basically powerless to do so. Although sad through many parts of the book, it was a beautiful story of how people can manage to bond and support each other in the face of adversity. I lent my book to others and they enjoyed in immensely, also. Please read it...it is a page turner. You won't be disappointed.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Anyone who liked "The Help" will also enjoy this book. It is historical fiction at its best, covering a subject that has previously been either taboo or ignored. The paradox of a life of privilege yet powerlessness within slavery.

Readers of Historical fiction will enjoy this book. It explores the demimonde of the pre-Civil War South without being preachy or moralistic, but never-the-less it leaves the reader with powerful feelings of sympathy and horror. The book is well written and the characters interesting, varied, and believable. The setting is a resort hotel in Ohio where black slave owners take their mistresses for a summer vacation. Since Ohio was a free state, the slave women are exposed to the idea of "free blacks," which seems like an unbelievable concept to them. They are faced with many challenges, including facing the truth of their own lives and the daring choices that are given them. The reader will be asked to understand that sometimes courage means staying where you are, and sometimes it means running away. The options between those two extremes were few.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Remarkable Book!

I couldn't put this book down, I loved the book. Must Read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended

Not the romanticized slavery story like "Gone with the Wind"!!! This book showed the brutality of one of the most embarrassing times of United States history. While not sugarcoating the subject matter, this book was also a story of hope and survival. To think of the original use of Wilberforce University, my God!!! This book also highlighted the plight of women regardless of color. I'm so glad I'm alive now. I don't think I could survive the times. A friend recommended this book thinking that it would make me angry, it caused tears instead. You should read this one!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent Piece of Historical Ficton

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Though it started off a bit slow for me, once I got into the book, I just couldn't put it down. I felt like a fly on the wall, just sitting next to the characters as the story played out. I absolutely admired the characters who endured such injustices, iniquity, shame and oppression. Their tenacity and courage left me hopeful but sad by what my ancestor weathered in this country. The ending left me a bit flat because Lizzie's character had fully developed and my hope was that she would take that next step but the freedom of her children was more important than her suffering.

My hope is that this author will continue the series and pick up where she left off with Lizzie in her next book. Highly recommend!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Refreshing!!!

This novel has made it onto my list of favorites. This is a story I can read multiple times. Not only was the character development exquisite, but the plot, imagery, and language was written with class. The internal struggles of the main character were expressed perfectly. Due to some graphic scenes, I would reccomend this novel to anybody (Especially women) over the age of sixteen.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wench

Was not that good. Rambled then sped up, then rambled. Read it all the way through but didn't really enjoy it.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Quick Read

I enjoyed the characters in the book and the way the author told the story of each of their connections to their owners.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Simply Wonderful

This was a really good book the characters are phenomenal. This is definitely a great book for a book club enjoy!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WENCH--a story to remember fooled by the title.

An interesting story dealing with the lives of four Negro women slaves whose masters take them to a "free" state for a so-called vacation from their plantations. We learn the life stories of each of these women who return each season to share a little more about their lives.

A story which will have you discussing how those times tried to destroy a group of people who endured all that slavery defines. We learn from these women that the inner soul can survive life's greatest challenges each in their own way.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good Read

I have to admit, it took me a while to get into this book. I was expecting more because of the initial reviews.

After I got into it (around Part II pg 87), I began to warm up to it a bit. As I read each chapter, I was itching to see what would happen next.

While I liked the book, I do, however wish the ending had been a little stronger. It seemed to end over the course of the last 4 pages. After reading nearly the entire book, I kept holding out for a strong ending.

This was a good book and I recommend it to you if you're considering whether to give it a read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent....must read!

This book is excellent. The author writes in a lyrical voice that makes you feel like you are a part of the story. Although this is a work of fiction, it is very accurate historically. The resort is the land where the historic Willberforce University is located. I look forward to the author's next novel.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Memphian at her finest

This book is full of topics to talk about from the interaction of the "mistresses" with one another to the actions of their masters. It was a quick refreshing read. Dr.Valdez Memphis is proud and ready for another book already!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

KP-Texas

Well written novel set during the period of slavery. The author does a good job of describing the setting and the experiences that these women went through being forced to submit to the whims of their owners' sexual desires. It is difficult to truly understand the plight of slaves and what they went through. This book gives a little insight into an aspect that is not often discussed in our history lessons. Good read.

good historically-based fiction

This was based on a new aspect of slavery for me but the ending was missing something.