Women searching for the truth. Women trying to forget the truth. Women trying to hide the terrible bounds of inter-generational drama. Women writing about all of this.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams is following this literary pathway. Without pathos but also avoiding the sugar coat the drama, to make it acceptable, to normalize it.
Tati, a 14-year old poetry lover, is imperative about finding the truth about her father. As she is starting her journey of revealing the disparate fragments of family history, she may stumble upon family secrets well hidden, that may help her nevertheless to start revealing her own story. The story is placed in the mid-1990s, but goes far to the beginning of the 20th century.
The short description of the book topic may look nothing but average, but the writing and the honest voice of the characters do make a significant difference in this case. The dialogue of different women, living in different time and geographical circumstances is as important as the slowly reveal of the layers after layers of trauma.
Although there are many similar books on similar topics published in the last decades, I would rather avoid drawing comparisons. Therefore, I fully immersed into the story and allowed it to take it over any other topics and approaches, no matter how similar. I may confess that I needed some time off once the book was finished, as it really loaded my mind with so many traumatic realities that are hard but impossible to ignore while and after reading this book.
A recommended read for the Black History Month, but that deserves open debate and consideration all round the year.
Rating: 5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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