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A review by the_abundant_word
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
5.0
The story follows bi-racial Pheby Dolores Brown, growing up on a plantation in Virginia in 1850. She looked forward to the freedom promised to her on her eighteenth birthday for her entire life, but in a tragic turn of events she is torn from everything she knows and forced to become the mistress of a man who owns a jail… A man who is so adept at breaking and auctioning the enslaved that he is compared with the Devil himself. Faced with the true horrors of slavery, Pheby has to adapt to this fresh nightmare and must make soul-changing decisions about life, love and freedom.
Despite the heavy premise, this historical fiction work is not depressing as you might assume. Yes, your emotions will feel like they have run the gauntlet in places, but there is a constant sense of resilience and feminine strength that will leave you feeling fresh appreciation for what our ancestors survived and maybe even empowered by it.
I very much enjoyed the beautiful prose, laced with just enough emotion and serene elegance to write these important events — based on truth — into the part of the mind that remains forever. The characters were as memorable to me as if I had Pheby’s diary. They were authentic and believable in a world that was brought to life through the senses. If you have never smelled a scene through a book before, you will with this one (you can trust me on that).
Reading the story from a bi-racial point of view also added so much to my understanding of history, of colourism, of passing, of exoticism and shadeism… It whispers answers to questions often asked in conversations about Black identity identity and belonging. For the careful reader, it offers answers as to why mother’s today are often accused of trying to make their Black sons as harmless as possible, but toughening up their daughters. And after it is done with you, it welcomes you back to the line between the fiction and the history, and shows you the path to discover more, if you wish.
I will, without a doubt, be looking up other works by this writer.
Despite the heavy premise, this historical fiction work is not depressing as you might assume. Yes, your emotions will feel like they have run the gauntlet in places, but there is a constant sense of resilience and feminine strength that will leave you feeling fresh appreciation for what our ancestors survived and maybe even empowered by it.
I very much enjoyed the beautiful prose, laced with just enough emotion and serene elegance to write these important events — based on truth — into the part of the mind that remains forever. The characters were as memorable to me as if I had Pheby’s diary. They were authentic and believable in a world that was brought to life through the senses. If you have never smelled a scene through a book before, you will with this one (you can trust me on that).
Reading the story from a bi-racial point of view also added so much to my understanding of history, of colourism, of passing, of exoticism and shadeism… It whispers answers to questions often asked in conversations about Black identity identity and belonging. For the careful reader, it offers answers as to why mother’s today are often accused of trying to make their Black sons as harmless as possible, but toughening up their daughters. And after it is done with you, it welcomes you back to the line between the fiction and the history, and shows you the path to discover more, if you wish.
I will, without a doubt, be looking up other works by this writer.