#Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

[blogmillymills]

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton.

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson SextonMy rating: 3 of 5 starsSisters Ruth, Esther and Chloe make up The Salvations, a girl group playing the Champagne Supper Club and are the talk of the 1950’s jazz scene in their home town.Vivian is there mother harbouring big ambitions for her daughters; daughters who have their own ideas for their futures.I liked the deep south setting; the smokey jazz…

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#1950s #Margaret Wilkerson Sexton #On the Roof Top

[gatheringbones]

Hey, do you have any good books for understanding and disarticulating authoritarianism? I've really benefited from a lot of your book recs, thank you

start granular go big

I cut my eye teeth on domestic violence literature, then by the time I got to Judith Herman explaining that the tactics of abusive families and abusive governments are the same, I had enough base knowledge on the internal systems of abusive families to muddle my way forward from there. I’ll try to structure the list so it follows that same basic trend.

adult children of emotionally immature parents by lindsay c gibson

controlling people by patricia evans

trauma and recovery: the aftermath of violence from domestic abuse to political terror by judith herman

if this is a man by primo levi

by hands now known: jim crow’s legal executioners by margaret a. burnham

the man they wanted me to be: toxic masculinity and a crisis of our own making by jared yates sexton

jesus and john wayne: how white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation, by kristin kobes du mez

caste: on the origins of our discontents, by isabel wilkerson

white rage: the unspoken truth of our racial divide by carol anderson

captive genders: trans embodiment and the prison industrial complex by eric a. stanley

the origins of totalitarianism by hannah arendt

#book recs tag

[aurorawest]

Reading update

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault - DNF

I have to admit I didn't give this one much of a chance. I got it in a Rainbow Crate so I felt compelled to at least try to read it, but it's just not my kind of thing, and I DNFed at page 4. Really didn't like the writing style.

Idol Minds by KT Salvo - 2.75/5 stars

Almost DNFed this when I was about 50 pages from the end because it very abruptly lost my attention. I never really liked either of the main characters so I didn't care about their breakup or HEA. Also the sex scenes were weirdly short but also repetitive, somehow?

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse - 3.75/5 stars

I will be completely honest and admit that I could remember almost nothing of the first book when I started reading this the other day. I remembered that I really liked it, and that was about it. This one was...good?

Ok, so, let me see if I can put this into words. During the pandemic, authors kept writing, right? Especially if they were under contract to produce a series. And for some authors, that was fine. There is no discernible difference in their work. And then other authors, it's like...the anxiety brain fog got baked into their writing. There's nothing technically wrong with it. Things are happening. The characters are still engaging. And yet...sometimes it just feels like...things are happening. Like the author couldn't really process the emotions of the things happening, and thus couldn't really write feeling into the work? So it becomes just Things Happening. And I know how I should feel about it, but I'm not feeling it. Like when the dose of your antidepressant is too high, and you just have no feelings? It's sort of like that.

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton - DNF

There's nothing wrong with this book, tbh—it's well written with an interesting setting, characters with depth, and a theme that should, in theory, interest me. That said, I just wasn't feeling it. I won this book from my local bookstore and it's the sort of literary fiction that I read all the time in my teens and early twenties, even though I never really enjoyed it? I'm a genre fiction kid, as it turns out.

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll and Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron - 4/5 stars

I really really liked this, and I probably would have rated it higher, except it fell into the trap that a lot of queer retellings of classics do: in being forced to hew to a plot line from a century or more ago, a lot of story and character depth has to be jettisoned. This book did a much better job than The Henchman of Zenda by KJ Charles, but I still found myself wanting a more modern storytelling style. Overall it was really good, though.

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer - 4.75/5 stars

I hated Less for most of the time I was reading it (but it didn't bore me, so that's something). When I got to the end and realized it was a romance, I ended up loving it, but I had to split the difference in my rating, haha. This is the direct sequel and I loved it. It's laugh out loud funny (which I did not find Less to be most of the time) and melancholy, but at its heart is also a love story.

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain - 4/5 stars

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars (reread)

I loved it even more on the reread. I would die for Edwin and Robin. I'm crazy excited for A Power Unbound.

Hoarfrost by Jordan L Hawk - 4.25/5 stars

Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda - 3.5/5 stars

I never know how to rate thrillers because honestly, they aren't my genre. This was part of the batch of books I won at trivia from my local bookstore. It was good in that it held my attention and was entertaining (and a bit creepy), but like, I don't know that I'll tell people that they simply must read it. But yeah, I read it in a day, so it's a quick read.

Spell Bound by FT Lukens - DNF

Ugh. Reads like my fantasy epic I was writing when I was 14 (see also: TJ Klune's Verania series). When I'm mentally editing the book as I'm reading, you know that's a bad sign. The first chapter could have been like, 2 pages (instead it was 18). Here's how Chapter 3, which introduces the other main character begins: Summer was such a waste of time and effort. Spring was okay. Autumn was the best. Winter wasn't bad.

Okay???? Great??????? Why do I care? I read for another page after that. Lukens is an author I really, really want to like, but the last two books I've read by them are just obnoxious. I could forgive The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic because it was one of their first books (it might have been their first?), but this...is not their first book, yet that's what it reads like. I suspect this is a manuscript they wrote a while ago, shelved, and brought it back out now that they're having success.

Heart of Dust by HL Moore - 5/5 stars

You know when you read a book that's so good, and you can't figure out why the hell you had to stumble across it by going down some algorithm recommendation rabbit hole? This is one of those books. Gritty and unique sci-fi setting, a backdrop of labor rights, aching gay mutual pining? Please read this.

#baker thief #idol minds #fevered star #rebecca roanhorse #reading tag #on the rooftop #my dear henry #kalynn bayron #less is lost #andrew sean greer #a marvellous light #freya marske #such a quiet place #megan miranda #spell bound #heart of dust #hl moore

[bookclub4m]

28 Family Sagas by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

An Unlasting Home by Mai Al-Nakib

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran

The Strangers by Katherena Vermette

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

#booklists #family sagas #fiction

[bqstqnbruin]

what were your favorite and least favorite books you read each month and why??

SOMETHING TO DO YAY I read 64 books so far (and that's probably the ending number so) here ya go

None of these books are part of the SMP boycott as far as I am aware.

January:

Favorite: The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

When I tell you this was totally unexpected holy shit. It's YA Horror and follows Mars after they wake up to their twin sister, Caroline standing over them with a knife trying to kill them in their sleep. They go to the camp where Caroline last was to try to figure out what happened leading up to her breakdown and ultimate death, where they encounter a clique Caroline was part of called 'the Honeys.' This book, I was very happy I was reading it when my roommate wasn't home/asleep because I was up at 3 am screaming while I was reading I stg

Least Favorite: Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girls Buide to Murder #2) by Holly Jackson

I couldn't even tell you what happened in this book. All I know is that wanted Pip to stop with the god damn antics and just go to bed I stg

February: I actually only read two books in February so uh

Favorite: On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Ngl, I do not remember what happened in this one. It was just ok

Least Favorite: American Royalty by Tracey Livesay

This is supposed to be a take on the Prince Harry/Meghan Markle romance but god this was just so boring to me. The royal family in this was based off real life though with how insufferable they are

March: I only read one book this month whoops

Favorite: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

I will recommend this book until I die I swear this is my roman empire. This book took me all month to read but is so good and made me cry and I need to read the second book ASAP but it's so long that I keep putting it off

April:

Favorite: Takes from the Cafe (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #2) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This series is so beautifully heartbreaking and deals with time travel to see the ones you love knowing that no matter what happens you can't change anything

Least Favorite: A Tale of Two Princes by Eric Geron

I know that the book is YA and that the boys are teenagers in this but all their antics were so overly juvenile and petty that I couldn't deal with it. Like I know that they are kids, but this was so bad. I was hoping someone would just like ground them or something just so they would stop

May: I apparently only read two books again in May

Favorite: Loveless by Alice Oseman

Alice Oseman never misses tbh

Least Favorite: Paper Towns by John Green

I remember loving this in like middle school/early high school and decided to reread it and that was a mistake

June:

Favorite: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I only picked this one up because it's the first of a trilogy that is connected to another trilogy that I wanted to read but god I love the sisters in this book

Least Favorite: The Golden Spoon by Jess Maxwell

This was just ok. It's like Great British Bake Off mixed with murder

July:

Favorite: Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

This book was so sickeningly sweet I stg I think about Dylan and Theo all the time I need to reread this one

Least Favorite: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

I might come back to this one next year but like I couldn't get past the "I want to fuck death" aspect of this book

August:

Favorite: She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

Another one that was just so sweet I was rooting for these girls the entire time

Least favorite: A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos

This is another one where I couldn't tell you what happened except that she can get sick if people make food when they're mad and they fuck on the prep table in the restaurant

September: I only read two books this month and I loved both of them

Favorite: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

What happens when a white woman talks over the experiences of POC in the publishing world? I wanted to punch June the entire time

October: I also read only two books and really liked them

Favorite: These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology

I'm not normally one for dark academia but I read this book the day I bought it and didn't want to put it down

November:

Favorite: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I had to reread it thanks to tik tok and it holds up unlike other books I read when I was younger this year

Least Favorite: The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag

This book wasn't bad. It was just ok. I read it and kinda just went 'meh'

December:

Favorite: Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender

Check you TW before reading this because it is HEAVY but god this book had my sobbing at 3 am this was the book where I kept asking if I read the library book or do I read the one I really wanted to and I read it in one sitting it broke my heart and put it together in all the right ways

Least favorite: Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

I love Sophie Cousens but the first love interest in this felt so cartoony it ruined the book for me

[rebeccachapmanbook]

(Download PDF/Epub) On the Rooftop - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Download Or Read PDF On the Rooftop - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton Free Full Pages Online With Audiobook.

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A stunning novel about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with the daughters? ambitions for their own lives?set against the backdrop of gentrifying 1950s San FranciscoAt home they are just sisters, but on stage, they are The Salvations. Ruth, Esther, and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak. Thanks to the rigorous direction of their mother, Vivian, they?ve become a bona fide girl group whose shows are the talk of the Jazz-era Fillmore.Now Vivian has scored a once-in-a-lifetime offer from a talent manager, who promises to catapult The Salvations into the national spotlight. Vivian knows this is the big break she?s been praying for. But sometime between the hours of rehearsal on their rooftop and the weekly gigs at the Champagne Supper Club, the girls have become women, women with dreams that their mother cannot imagine.The neighborhood is changing, too: all around the Fillmore, white men in suits are approaching

[rockislandadultreads]

Fiction to Check Out: Juneteenth Picks 

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Jojo and his toddler sister, Kayla, live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop, and the occasional presence of their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, on a farm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Leonie is simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she’s high; Mam is dying of cancer; and quiet, steady Pop tries to run the household and teach Jojo how to be a man. When the white father of Leonie’s children is released from prison, she packs her kids and a friend into her car and sets out across the state for Parchman farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary, on a journey rife with danger and promise.

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

This novel follows three generations of a Black family as Jim Crow and its legacy threaten the family's freedoms and well-being. Evelyn is a Creole woman who comes of age in New Orleans at the height of World War II. In 1982, Evelyn’s daughter, Jackie, is a frazzled single mother grappling with her absent husband’s drug addiction. Fresh out of a four-month stint for drug charges Jackie's son, T.C., decides to start over - until an old friend convinces him to stake his new beginning on one last deal.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Justyce McAllister is top of his class and set for the Ivy League - but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs. And despite leaving his rough neighborhood behind, he can't escape the scorn of his former peers or the ridicule of his new classmates. Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers. Then comes the day Justyce goes driving with his best friend, Manny, windows rolled down, music turned up—way up, sparking the fury of a white off-duty cop beside them. Words fly. Shots are fired. Justyce and Manny are caught in the crosshairs. In the media fallout, it's Justyce who is under attack.

#fiction #to read #tbr #booklr #book tumblr #library books #reading recommendations #book recommendations #book recs #juneteenth #juneteenth celebration

[ekute-ile]

Book 42, 2021: 'A Kind Of Freedom' by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton.

Louisiana. Black family. Three generations of life

Weltanschauung.

#book #bookpost #america #classic #history #black #family #a kind of freedom #margaret wilkerson sexton #bookporn

[foreverlostinliterature]

5/7 Book Deals

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope your week has gone well. :) It’s been a stressful/anxiety-filled week for me, but at the same time this was also my last week ever of grad school, so there’s that positivity. And I’m getting my second vaccine shot tomorrow, so hooray for that. How are you all doing? I hope your week wasn’t too bad and that things are okay for everyone. :) Things are still so weird in the world and I know it’s been hard for a lot of people. 

There are some really great deals for books that are on sale today, so be sure to have a look if you want to get some books for weekend reading. :) I read Yangsze Choo’s The Ghost Bride years ago and I’ve been meaning to re-read it and read her latest release, she’s a fantastic writer! Alison Weir is also a great choice, and I’ve heard good things about a lot of these. I was sent a copy of Ninth Street Women by the publisher back when it came out and it’s a huge tome, so definitely get some bang for your buck on that one, haha. 

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful day and even better weekend!

Today’s Deals:

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys - https://amzn.to/3usyxtV

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo - https://amzn.to/33nXYRr

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo - https://amzn.to/3nYwYBG

Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener - https://amzn.to/3tsMXZI

The Apartment by K.L. Slater - https://amzn.to/3eqxogF

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir - https://amzn.to/3uvhhEa

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi - https://amzn.to/3bbhLrt

Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen by Greg Jenner - https://amzn.to/3vTt9jV

The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies, and Blunders on Maps by Edward Brooke-Hitching - https://amzn.to/3etix5u

Anna K by Jenny Lee - https://amzn.to/3erAYaH

The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton - https://amzn.to/2Rx4ZwL

Apollo 13 by James Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger - https://amzn.to/3uuUYyH

The Sellout by Paul Beatty - https://amzn.to/3usV2iv

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce - https://amzn.to/2PWWtqe

Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties by Camille Pagan - https://amzn.to/3usi09q

Ninth Street Women: Five Painters and the Movement that Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel - https://amzn.to/3ewTj6h

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo - https://amzn.to/3eqy3i9

The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen - https://amzn.to/2RDeuuo

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang - https://amzn.to/3ha2OtK

The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor - https://amzn.to/3f4Rjkm

NOTE:  I am categorizing these book deals posts under the tag #bookdeals, so if you don’t want to see them then just block that tag and you should be good. I am an Amazon affiliate in addition to a Book Depository affiliate and will receive a small (but very much needed!)  commission on any purchase made through these links.

#bookdeals #booksale #yangsze choo #alison weir #ruta sepetys #fiction #nonfiction #fantasy #nghi vo #gene luen yang #margaret wilkerson sexton #flannery o'connor #mary gabriel

[book-warehouse-broadway]

See any new releases you like?

#book stacks #bookstores #bookshops #bookstore #indie bookstores #new releases #what are you going through #sigrid nunez #Watch Over Me #Nina LaCour #It Would Be Night in Caracas #Karina Saenz Borgo #The Revisioners #Margaret Wilkerson Sexton #The Trials of Koli #M.R. Carey #The Midnight Library #Matt Haig #The Last Story of Mina Lee #Nancy Jooyoun Kim #Monogamy #Sue Miller #Hench #Natalie Zina Walschots #The Trouble With Peace #Joe Abercrombie #The Lying Life of Adults #Elena Ferrante #To Sleep in a Sea of Stars #Christopher Paolini

[afroeditions]

#black authors #recommended reading #bernice l mcfadden #yaa gyasi #brit bennett #ayobami adebayo #maryse conde #isabel wilkerson #nk jemisin #margaret wilkerson sexton #toni morrison #zora neale hurston #afroeditions

[bookclub4m]

Episode 171 - The Moving and Management of Books

This episode we’re talking about The Moving and Management of Books! We all own a lot of books. And we’ve all made big moves! We talk about when we leave books behind, how we choose the ones we keep, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Media We Mentioned

Wonderland, vol. 6 by Yugo Ishikawa

Links, Articles, and Things

Count Duckula (Wikipedia)

Ero guro (Wikipedia)

28 Family Sagas by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

An Unlasting Home by Mai Al-Nakib

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama

Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran

The Strangers by Katherena Vermette

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, April 4th when we’ll be discussing the genre of Domestic Thrillers!

Then on Tuesday, April 18th we’ll be giving our Spring 2023 Media Update!

#episodes

[athena-athena]

Free Writing Webinars

Since so many of us are having to stay home right now, She Writes University is offering many of their webinars for free. Most of these are usually $197 each, so this is definitely a bargain! You can find the whole list here, and I’ll share links to a few of them below. These are free until May 31st, 2020.

Indie Publishing Bootcamp

Did That Really Happen?: Writing Characters So Real, They Walk Right off the Page  (Taught by Kirstin Chen)

Researching Your Novel: How to Get the Details Just Right (Taught by Taylor Jenkins Reid) -- I watched this one the other night and it was very informative!

Moral Choices: How to Transform a Good Book into a Great One (Taught by Caroline Leavitt)

Writing a Thriller that Grabs Hollywood’s Attention (Taught by Wendy Walker)

The Writer’s Hustle: How To Create and Maintain High Productivity (Taught by Aya de Leon) 

Takeaways from a Runaway Bestseller (Taught by Kelly Corrigan)

Where Do I Begin? How to Grip Readers from the First Page (Taught by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton)

There are so many more available for free, as well as some free Book Marketing Classes, and I’m planning to take advantage of as many as I can before May 31st. :) 

#writing #writing resources #free resources #she writes university #writing classes #kirstin chen #taylor jenkins reid #caroline leavitt #wendy walker #aya de leon #kelly corrigan #margaret wilkerson sexton

[universitybookstore]

New from Counterpoint and the award winning author of A Kind of Freedom, The Revisioners, by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton. (Read more by and about the acclaimed author here.)

#books #margaret wilkerson sexton #the revisioners #a kind of freedom #novelists #african americans #women writers #fiction #counterpoint #new books #new releases

[the-final-sentence]

When he set her down, alone in her bedroom for the first time together, she squealed despite the people on the other side of the door listening because it was still so early in the morning, and their lives lay out uncharted before them, and the voice of ambivalence that had taunted her a minute before had gone.

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, from A Kind of Freedom

#lit #submission #A Kind of Freedom #Margaret Wilkerson Sexton #prose

[sarahelainewrites-blog]

Review: ‘A Kind of Freedom’ by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

My favorite stories are the ones that unpack the aftermaths of moments that throw us off center. I love books that draw out the extraordinary in the mundane, that use relationships between characters not only to paint portraits of inner lives but to also weave larger narratives about the social world. This is exactly the type of book Margaret Wilkerson Sexton has crafted. 

'A Kind of Freedom' follows many members of a Black Creole New Orleans family over the course of three generations. With crisp images of the city throughout various stages in its complex history, Wilkerson lays bare this family's hopes, joys, and sufferings by breathing life into wonderfully imperfect characters. Jackie, T.C., Terry, Sybil, Ruby, Evelyn, Renard, Alicia, Tiger and others--they all brought to mind people I know, people I knew, and, at times, my very own self. In the first chapters of the book, I found Wilkerson doing more telling than showing and wondered if the character-centered novel would hold my attention; I've never been more happy to be wrong. As Wilkerson unfolds the effects of colorism, classism, Jim Crow, neocapitalism, racism in housing markets, the War on Drugs, and mass incarceration, emotional bonds and emotional depth remain front and center. The reader comes to the social critiques through Wilkerson's patient, comprehensive characterization, and it's the characters' emotional anxieties and complexities that lead us to the novel's core. 'A Kind of Freedom' is stylistically masterful, and Wilkerson's gift of language and structure shine.

 I definitely, definitely recommend it. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35431528-a-kind-of-freedom

#reading #novels #book blog #review #a kind of freedom #margaret wilkerson sexton #southern fiction #fiction #african american literature #contemporary fiction #literary fiction #new orleans #gulf coast #generational saga #historical fiction