A review by treberry
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I enjoyed this book; a multigenerational African American story. It was like taking all the family’s history, secrets and shame and putting it all on the floor! There were many moments where I felt overwhelmed with emotion, especially during Lydia’s section and the sections with rape. It was very unsettling. 

Initially I thought this was an autobiography or a book of poetry. After reading I see that the title was pretty deceiving, although I really loved Uncle Root and David’s intellectual debates about WEB vs Booker T. I’d like to know more of the link between this story and WEB DuBois. 

My absolute constant favorite part of the book was Uncle Root! I adored he and Ailey’s close relationship!!

Here are some things that kinda tipped the scales:

The length! 800+ pages, 30 plus hours of audio. Reading this felt like a marathon. 

The flow! I was very lost with the historical portion. There were several characters introduced in the beginning, then about 10% in, then 1/2 way and all the while there were 15 other characters being introduced within this time. Around 35% I stopped trying to figure out who was who…

Redundancy of the most awful scenes, many trigger warnings, very depressing/horrific moments. How much of Aileys sex life was really needed? How many times did Scooter need to invite Ailey to dinner with him and Rebecca? 

Ailey never really seemed to have growth for me. As an adolescent we saw her with “boys, drugs, sex, school”, and as an adult we saw her with “men, drugs, sex, school/research”. 

Was the focus a family drenched in centuries of violation, rape, abuse? Suffering, heartache and tragedy? Where was the redemption? Was it the secret Ailey discovered in the end? How will this knowledge effect the family going forward?

We get a few different narratives, and I believe Ailey was the main character connecting us to the family, past and present (thru ancestral research and present family relationships). Lidia also had a story, which was very strong and straightforward. However, there were other POVs such as their mother, Belle, who I just didn’t understand where it was going. I know that she was a woman who wanted more for herself than being a wife/mother, but that’s where the buck stopped. Why did everyone make it their business to protect her, over protecting the children?

Also, the third sister CoCo just seemed to fade in and out, with no real purpose. I guess she really was the forgotten child she proclaimed to be. I just don’t understand why have 2 fleshed out storylines from the daughters and only introduce one that was an afterthought.

Also, the POV from the 1800s+… who was this person? We get more of the familial hierarchy as the story goes, but as I said before, the flow was completely off for me and I just didn’t care to connect the dots. 

The ending! Who was the long haired woman? Who was the man and the children singing? What was the ending?

I could benefit from watching the author discuss the book for more detail. I was happy to be read and discuss this with a book club! Most of them enjoyed the book but had the same questions that I had. There was much confusion, but we all agreed that it was a good read!!