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A review by satashii
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is one of those books that you probably should read because of how informative and in-your—face it is about uncomfortable things—the black experience in Georgia going back to the 1600s when the land was occupied by the Creek. It’s informative but also heart breaking in so many ways.
So why such a low rating?
Because this is a book that, imo, needed an editor to make it a tighter story. There’s a good 200 pages of this book that make the story drag on and on. If I hadn’t already hit the halfway point when it really started to slow it’s momentum I’d probably would have DNF’d it but I slogged ahead determined to finish.
Was the end worth it? Yes. Did I think the main character Ailey had an effective character arc? Somewhat. I really struggled with Ailey being the spoiled younger daughter that wasn’t really growing up/maturing. While I was sympathetic to Lydia’s death and how devastating it was for her, she could be a selfish brat for the middle third of this book that was not endearing her to me. Her relationships with men and how toxic they were I felt distracted a lot from the other parts of the narrative and the back and forth between present and past didn’t always feel like it was integrating well. Tbh I would have probably been more interested in seeing Coco’s viewpoint rather than Lydia’s drug spiral. In the end, I wasn’t wholly satisfied by Ailey’s relationship choices other than I did like that she seemed to be ending up with David at the end.
So subtracting one star for the need for editing and another half star for what felt like, to me, like gratuitous lingering on sex scenes that weren’t really driving the narrative further and felt distracting.
Overall, I’d recommend it as a read if you haven’t read Toni Morrison’s work or Octavia Butler’s Kindred… but I’d probably recommend them over this book.
So why such a low rating?
Because this is a book that, imo, needed an editor to make it a tighter story. There’s a good 200 pages of this book that make the story drag on and on. If I hadn’t already hit the halfway point when it really started to slow it’s momentum I’d probably would have DNF’d it but I slogged ahead determined to finish.
Was the end worth it? Yes. Did I think the main character Ailey had an effective character arc? Somewhat.
So subtracting one star for the need for editing and another half star for what felt like, to me, like gratuitous lingering on sex scenes that weren’t really driving the narrative further and felt distracting.
Overall, I’d recommend it as a read if you haven’t read Toni Morrison’s work or Octavia Butler’s Kindred… but I’d probably recommend them over this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, and Grief