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A review by jenpaul13
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
4.0
Freedom can manifest in different forms and finding what that means in actuality is central to Kaitlyn Greenidge’s Libertie.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Libertie Sampson is a free-born Black girl with dark skin living Brooklyn during the Reconstruction-era whose mother, a talented and practicing physician with light skin, has a vision of their future working together side-by-side. Libertie, however, is drawn more toward the arts than science and desires something beyond the life that her mother envisions for her and has sent her to school for. Upon returning home from a year of education, Libertie finds that a young Haitian man, Emmanuel, has been working with her mother and he soon proposes to her, offering assurances that on the island they will be equals; however, after arriving she learns that she’s still his subordinate despite his words and future plans otherwise. Struggling to come to terms with her life in a new place and what she truly wants from life, Libertie begins to piece together what freedom means for herself and Black women now and in the future and takes action to make that freedom a reality.
The story ambitiously delves into topics of identity and forging a path within the world that leads you to a satisfying life as it explores what constitutes freedom and the challenges of prejudice faced as a Black woman in this time of change within society, especially when placed in contrast with those in her circle, including her own mother, who are able to pass. Though her mind is continually exploring ideas and concepts of freedom and what she desires in life, Libertie’s outward actions do not match up with her internalized life for so long, despite the strong, if stoic, role model she has had in her mother as a woman who makes things she wants happen, which is a rather infuriating experience as a reader, especially when the story is closely focused on her internal observations; coupled with this is an unbelievability of the rapidity of her romantic relationship with Emmanuel, which felt rushed and underdeveloped given the massive changes in livelihood it presented and seemed to serve as more of a method of being able to include his family’s dramas to explore issues more compellingly. The format of the narrative being presented in longer sections with frequent breaks within the text that shift the narrative focus slightly was an adjustment to make from a more traditionally chapter-divided story.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Libertie Sampson is a free-born Black girl with dark skin living Brooklyn during the Reconstruction-era whose mother, a talented and practicing physician with light skin, has a vision of their future working together side-by-side. Libertie, however, is drawn more toward the arts than science and desires something beyond the life that her mother envisions for her and has sent her to school for. Upon returning home from a year of education, Libertie finds that a young Haitian man, Emmanuel, has been working with her mother and he soon proposes to her, offering assurances that on the island they will be equals; however, after arriving she learns that she’s still his subordinate despite his words and future plans otherwise. Struggling to come to terms with her life in a new place and what she truly wants from life, Libertie begins to piece together what freedom means for herself and Black women now and in the future and takes action to make that freedom a reality.
The story ambitiously delves into topics of identity and forging a path within the world that leads you to a satisfying life as it explores what constitutes freedom and the challenges of prejudice faced as a Black woman in this time of change within society, especially when placed in contrast with those in her circle, including her own mother, who are able to pass. Though her mind is continually exploring ideas and concepts of freedom and what she desires in life, Libertie’s outward actions do not match up with her internalized life for so long, despite the strong, if stoic, role model she has had in her mother as a woman who makes things she wants happen, which is a rather infuriating experience as a reader, especially when the story is closely focused on her internal observations; coupled with this is an unbelievability of the rapidity of her romantic relationship with Emmanuel, which felt rushed and underdeveloped given the massive changes in livelihood it presented and seemed to serve as more of a method of being able to include his family’s dramas to explore issues more compellingly. The format of the narrative being presented in longer sections with frequent breaks within the text that shift the narrative focus slightly was an adjustment to make from a more traditionally chapter-divided story.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.