Remembrance is a historical fiction novel that follows four African American women through different points in history. They are all connected by their uncanny similarities and affinities for supernatural powers. The novel moves forwards and backwards in time to show the suffering these women all endure and how they each play a part in undoing some of the horror that was slavery.
I thought the novel was really well written and easy to follow along with. The imagery in it is really beautiful. I didn't care for the four person point of view format as I felt that Gaelle's perspective really wasn't necessary to the story except to set the book up for a sequel. I also felt that just as I was getting engrossed in a perspective, I was ripped out of it, and this made it difficult for me to get into the book. It took me weeks the first time I tried to read it to get 100 pages in, and then I had to come back a few months later and start over, and it still took me forever to get through. The magical realism aspect also never really gets fleshed out in a way that I found satisfying, and mostly I found it a problem with the novel rather than something that added to it.
I was interested in finding out what happened to the characters, but I wished more had been done in some of the timelines, specifically Margot's and Gaelle's. Because of the format, the novel has to rush over certain events and the time needed to process those events, and I felt that there were some missed opportunities there for character development. I liked that the characters were all strong, capable African American women, but I wished I could have seen them grow more. I felt like even when some of the arcs ended that the characters hadn't achieved the things they were supposed to.
All in all, I thought the book was okay, but not my particular cup of tea. I think it definitely has room for improvement, and ends on a note for a sequel that I'm not inclined to pick up. I gave it three stars because the writing is really beautiful, but it is slightly less than middle of the road for me in preference.
I thought the novel was really well written and easy to follow along with. The imagery in it is really beautiful. I didn't care for the four person point of view format as I felt that Gaelle's perspective really wasn't necessary to the story except to set the book up for a sequel. I also felt that just as I was getting engrossed in a perspective, I was ripped out of it, and this made it difficult for me to get into the book. It took me weeks the first time I tried to read it to get 100 pages in, and then I had to come back a few months later and start over, and it still took me forever to get through. The magical realism aspect also never really gets fleshed out in a way that I found satisfying, and mostly I found it a problem with the novel rather than something that added to it.
I was interested in finding out what happened to the characters, but I wished more had been done in some of the timelines, specifically Margot's and Gaelle's. Because of the format, the novel has to rush over certain events and the time needed to process those events, and I felt that there were some missed opportunities there for character development. I liked that the characters were all strong, capable African American women, but I wished I could have seen them grow more. I felt like even when some of the arcs ended that the characters hadn't achieved the things they were supposed to.
All in all, I thought the book was okay, but not my particular cup of tea. I think it definitely has room for improvement, and ends on a note for a sequel that I'm not inclined to pick up. I gave it three stars because the writing is really beautiful, but it is slightly less than middle of the road for me in preference.