Imagine a place during slavery that was safe for Black people. A community where Black people could farm, hunt, grow their families, and not have to constantly look over their shoulders for fear of being hunted. This is a place that no white person can find even if they are standing in the right spot. Imagine how frustrated they were 🤣 This place is called Remembrance and it’s been created by Mother Abigail.
We follow four women throughout the book from Saint Domingue (Haiti) in the 1700’s to Louisiana in the 1800’s to present day Ohio. This is a book that refuses to be stuffed in a box as it is a mashup of historical fiction and magical realism. As a fantasy lover I was here for it! This isn’t your typical slave narrative guys. Some of these Black women have been enslaved and refuse to go back quietly and will do everything in their power to fight. The Black men in this book don’t play around either. They’ve got guns too and are not afraid to use them to protect the women and children in this community. Can we also talk about all the creole in this book? I loved it.
The actual connection between the four women we follow was a slight disappointment I’ll admit because I was hoping for more. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the present day pov which is Gaelle because I just feel like her storyline didn’t add much overall. I found myself trying to speed through her parts to get back to the women in the past. Besides those two things this was an enjoyable read.
I definitely recommend this for fans of Octavia Butler!