Wench: A Novel
3.8
355
5
1
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780061706561 |
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| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 01/25/2011 |
| Series: | P.S. Series |
| Pages: | 294 |
| Sales rank: | 209,527 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d) |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Wench
3.8 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
355 reviews.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I loved this story, held my interest from beginning to end, its heart
breaking to think this was once acceptable. I strongly recommend this book, you will not be disappointed.
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This book is a good read. I picked it up in the airport while I was heading to my vacation and couldn't put it down. I can't wait for another book by the author.
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I was excited to read this book about one of the lesser known sides of slavery but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. The story finished open-ended, which was disappointing because after such a heart-wrenching story, I was really hoping for a more redemptive, fulfilling finish. Despite that, it was an interesting look into the life of a favored female slave and the issues that came with that.
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I read this book twice, when it was first published and last week. I picked up some details I missed on my first read! Interesting and compelling subject matter. Enjoy!
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I loved the historical side of the book and the story lines were great -
but I didnt like the way it ended. It seems that she could have written
an additional 100 pages in order to tell more.
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I was taken on a long ride of the lives of slave women and it tore at my soul! It was one thing to be a women in this era but quite another to be a slave woman and to bear children under these consquences.
This book was beautifully written and lives were so descriptive that I could see everything as though I was watching a movie but a movie that you could not turn off or walk away from.
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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.
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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.
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This book is written beautifully!
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I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are well drawn and the plot propels the reader through the tragedy and hope of four slave women. Although fiction, the story is well researched, pulling the reader into the lives of the women .
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Controversial but truthful. Loved it!
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This is a great book. If you like Civil War fiction this is a good book from the perspective of the slaves in the south. It is historicly accurate and give you a different point of view.
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Love it!
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I could not put this book down! I love boks like this telling history. I read this book in two days!!!
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Simply amazing
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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.
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This was based on a new aspect of slavery for me but the ending was missing something.
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This book is very similar to The Help, but takes place during an earlier time period. I learned some new things about black women pre civil war, but other than that, it didn't strike me one way or another.
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It's a little known fact, but back in the mid-1800's, there was a resort in Ohio called Tawawa House. It was a summer resort, frequented by slave owners and their slave mistresses. When Perkins-Valdez learned of this, she was amazed that such a place existed. Intrigued by the idea, she crafted a tale about four women, all friends, and how their roles as mistresses were not always clear-cut. This is Lizzie's story. Drayle purchased her as a young girl. Gave her books, treated her as if she mattered and as she grew into a young woman, her love of Drayle grew as well. It doesn't matter that he is married to Fran. Lizzie knows that he holds a special place in his heart for her and when she gives him the children that Fran can't, she feels that her position in the house is secure. To confirm this, Drayle takes her to Tawana House each summer. There, they sleep in the same room. She cooks for him, cleans for him, yet in her head, she is the one he loves. At first, she is happy playing this role, but as she becomes close friends with the other women, Reenie, Sweet and Mawu, she begins to question her importance and as her own children get older, she is often reminded that they are in fact, slaves. This is a wonderful, complex story about a slave and her white master but it's also a story about friendship. It's difficult to understand how a slave could ever love her master, but to Lizzie, Drayle is everything to her. And although she knows she is tied to him because of the children, she really can't imagine life any other way. Lizzie's story is tragic, because as a reader you can clearly see the master/slave lines but Lizzie can't. Not at first. But somehow, I wasn't frustrated with Lizzie. I wanted her to make different choices, sure, but I didn't fault her for the ones she made. What's strange is that I felt sorry for Fran as well. She knows full well what is going on in her house, but she doesn't have the power to do much about it. Oh yes, she tries, but she too, learns a thing or two in the end. I've read a few books dealing with slave/master relations, but none of them were quite like this one. This story was unique and it left me thinking about things long after I finished it. I highly recommend it.
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It wasnt very good. I really dont want to waste a review on it. Its an interestig concept but poorly executed in my opinion
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