The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

My latest read is by the same author who wrote Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair (I've read both books but never reviewed those...huh).  I was on the fence between 4 and 4.5 stars but went with the 4.5 because of the amount of thinking this book made me do. And by the way - though the book is fiction, the characters were real people, living during this time period...famous people who fought for women's rights and abolitionists.

The synopsis: In 1803, Sarah Grimke,  turned 11 years old and the gift she receives from her mother is ownership of her own slave, Hetty "Handful".  She is disgusted by the gift because she is disgusted by slavery but due to the rigid Southern way of life, she has no ability (at 11) to change anything (in fact, South Carolina law prevented it).  The rest of the novel follows Sarah and Handful as they plod through their lives and the challenges they are forced to muddle through (slavery, being a woman in the 1800s with no rights).

This novel was so upsetting in so many ways (the torture/punishments meted out were horrible) but what really got to me were some of the things that went through my head while reading. For example, at one point Handful was doing something that went against the "rules" (taking a bath in the bathtub meant for Sarah).  I was reading and thinking, "Oh God, get out, get out...you're going to get caught! Why are you doing this!?" And then I thought, "My God! What am I thinking?! Why can't she take a bath?! Why should she fear getting whipped just because she takes a bath!?"  Sad, scary.

At times, reading this book, I got frustrated because it felt like Sarah was constantly reinventing herself (her beliefs, what was important to her, who and what she wanted to be) but after finishing the novel, it made sense.  This was a woman who was striving to find a purpose throughout her life but every time she found something that she wanted to do, a door would slam in her face. And I realized, it wasn't flightiness or indecision that kept her turning in a new direction.  It was society and the rules that were forced on women.  I can't imagine having to live during that time.  Strong women were shunned and ostracized and never given a chance to have the life they wanted.  And though there is NO comparison between what women went through at that time and the plight that the slaves were forced to endure, there is still a parallel...it's quite interesting and worth the read, for sure!