The Invention of Wings

by Sue Monk Kidd

Reading Group Guide: quote from Sue Monk Kidd’s web site :

“Inspired by actual historical figures like Sarah and Angelina Grimké and Denmark Vesey, and enlivened by original creations like Charlotte and Handful, The Invention of Wings is the extraordinary story of two struggles for freedom: the battle of Handful to find the wings her mother promised and the equally intense quest of Sarah to liberate her mind and spirit. This triumphant novel also speaks with wisdom about the nature of evil and injustice, the courage to dare what seems unattainable, and the hope inside of us that the worst darkness can’t extinguish.”

Readers noted similarities between this novel and The island beneath the sea, January’s book selection by Isabel Allende. The invention of wings details the life of Sarah Grimke’ and her dedication to the abolition of slavery and strong advocate for women’s rights. The setting of this novel in Georgia is later in history than Allende’s novel, but the descriptions of life during slavery are just as vivid. Readers discussed the interior lives of Sarah and the fictional character, Handful and the qualities motivating both of them. Another point of discussion was Sarah’s conflict between her campaign against slavery and marriage. She chose not to marry while her sister Angelina did both.

A desire for freedom was the recurrent theme throughout the book. Members discussed the role education and reading played in the advancement of Sarah and Handful as well as the consequences of denial of both. The hypocrisy of the times was demonstrated when Sarah’s father encouraged her to “speak her mind” and then punished her severely for doing so. Slaves were derided for being stupid but were not allowed to learn to read or practice their religion freely. The determination of Charlotte and others to achieve freedom or die trying strongly resonated with the group.

Please share your thoughts in the comments! All welcome!

This Month's Selection: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

Afternoon Readers Book Club

 

Island Beneath the Sea

by Isabel Allende

Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1 p.m. 

 

From the publisher:

Born on the island of Saint-Domingue, Zarité—known as Tété—is the daughter of an African mother she never knew and one of the white sailors who brought her into bondage. Though her childhood is one of brutality and fear, Tété finds solace in the traditional rhythms of African drums and the voodoo loa she discovers through her fellow slaves.

When twenty-year-old Toulouse Valmorain arrives on the island in 1770, it’s with powdered wigs in his trunks and dreams of financial success in his mind. But running his father’s plantation, Saint Lazare, is neither glamorous nor easy. Although Valmorain purchases young Tété for his bride, it is he who will become dependent on the services of his teenaged slave.

Against the merciless backdrop of sugarcane fields, the lives of Tété and Valmorain grow ever more intertwined. When the bloody revolution of Toussaint Louverture arrives at the gates of Saint Lazare, they flee the brutal conditions of the French colony, soon to become Haiti, for the raucous, free-wheeling enterprise of New Orleans. There Tété finally forges a new life, but her connection to Valmorain is deeper than anyone knows and not easily severed. With an impressive richness of detail, and a narrative wit and brio second to none, Allende crafts the riveting story of one woman’s determination to find love amid loss, to offer humanity though her own has been so battered, and to forge a new identity in the cruelest of circumstances.