Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Memphis

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

16 reviews

analenegrace's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Memphis was an absolute five-star read that combined history, love, family, and the strength of Black Women into one compelling story that I absolutely flew through. Stringfellow's descriptive writing style made every page seem so vivid and alive as I tried to imagine the homes and places where the characters go.

I normally don't like books that jump around timeline-wise, but Stringfellow's use of the characters and their history was enjoyable and easy to follow. I also don't usually like books that weave multiple major historical events into their characters' lives, but again Stringfellow's writing on things like the

Civil Rights Movement, the Gulf War, and 9/11

were done perfectly and made the characters fit so well into their various historical events. Her historical research was clearly done and done well.

All of her characters had such full and big personalities, even the side characters. I especially loved Miss Dawn and Stanley, both serving as characters who moved the plots and offered direct support for each of the characters, while still being developed as their own characters. As a Jewish person who lives in the South, I especially thought Stanley was an interesting character because he operates as such a picture of Southern Jewishness and the way it functions very differently from Northern Jewishness, including being more involved in non-Jewish communities and being considered more "assimilationist," for lack of a better term.

All-in-all, I imagine Memphis is a book I will reread in the years to come as I imagine there is more to glean from it than just from a first read!

Content Warnings