Recent Reads: The Invention of Wings

I truthfully didn't know much about Sue Monk Kidd's The Invention of Wings, but it is part of Oprah's Book Club so I figured it had to be good. It was.

The fictional tale follows the lives of Sarah Grimke, a young, slave owner living in the South in the 1800s, and her slave, Hetty a.k.a. Handful. The two girls are close in age and form a close friendship during their childhood and a bond that carries through to adulthood.

The story is told from both girls' points of view. You hear how Sarah struggles with the idea of slavery and her efforts to try and change things but also how her radical ideas form a rift between her and her family. You hear how Handful struggles to find her place in a world where she has no voice, her clever protests against slavery, and the intense bond she shares with her mother.

As a child, Sarah makes a promise to Handful's mother that she will do everything in her power to help Handful become free. The book documents Sarah's journey to keep her promise and Handful's own strides in securing her own freedom.

Additionally, the book goes beyond the issues of slavery to explore female rights and gender equality - a topic not often intertwined with the discussion of slavery. The book also examines the stark contrast of Southern versus Northern lifestyles in the 1800s.