REVIEW: Memphis by Tara Stringfellow and some news

 

I picked up this book as part of the Southern Reading Challenge - it's the second book that I've read for the challenge - the third will be reviewed shortly!  Strangefellow, is was trained as a lawyer, tells the story of a family - the Norths - through three generations of the women in the family. We are told the stories through the matriarch, Hazel, August and Miriam - sisters, and Miriams daughter, Joan. The book starts in 1995 when Miriam, Joan and Joan's sister, Mya arrive at August's home in Memphis, which August is sharing with her son Derek.  We meet them at the middle of the family's story, as Miriam is fleeing a violent marriage. As the book progresses, not only do we learn more about the complex characters, but we see approximately 7 decades of Memphis history and life as the backdrop to their stories. 

We definitely encounter things like Jim Crow and abuse - both sexual and physical - but also many moments that are absolutely beautiful, such as Joan's maturation into a successful artist.  We also experience MLK's death and the sanitation strike's impact on this family that seemingly idolized him.  There are many moments of joy too found in everyday life - the conversations that happen between women in August's hairdressing shop, conversations between black female radicals, the time spent on the porches just laughing. 

I loved this book.  So much.  I felt like I was immersed in the city of Memphis - that I could see the people that lived there and what the city was like. It was just as much a character as the actual people. For the most part, I felt that Ms. Stringfellow did a wonderful job immersing us in the life of this family with one exception that stays with me to this day:  Miriam knew that Derek had severely physically abused Joan and she decided to return to the home where he was living, knowing that he was still there. This implies to me that she had considered other options, or tried to (if there were no other options), but nothing else was there for her to go to - we never see her considering the places that she could go. Of course, that could be the point - there was nothing to consider because of course she would go back to the family home that August was in - but even if that was so, I would still have liked to see that contemplation.  Having said that, I loved this book. I loved how Stringfellow wrote and built this novel.  I look forward to her next one.

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Now to my news.  When I was in NYC two weeks ago, I got engaged!  We were eating dinner in this little bistro near the UN and he asked me!  Of course I said yes.  No date set yet but yay!  I am excited to marry my best friend.