The Invention of Wings

Hetty (aka Handful), a young slave on a Charleston plantation, is given to Sarah on her eleventh birthday as a handmaid. The story follows the lives of Hetty and Sarah over the course of 35 years, laying bare the differing difficulties that both endure throughout their lives.

This story is inspired by the historical figure Sarah Grimke, and it was fascinating to read more about the lives and accomplishments of her and her younger sister after finishing the story.

Hetty is indeed a "handful", and a willful young girl who grows into an impressively strong young woman.

Sarah likewise is willful, and finds herself constricted by social standards for women. She is smart and ambitious, but trapped in a man's world. So she carves out a place for herself in a world that only views women as wives and mothers or property or burden.

My final word: I liked this story. There were a lot of hard moments to get through, but overall it was rather inspiring and perhaps even empowering. And it made me realize how closely intertwined women's rights and civil rights were, as the real Sarah Grimke was heavily involved with both. Hetty is equally impressive in her struggles, and fights tooth and nail for everything. This is a great book club read!

I was really excited to read this book as I had heard and read such great things about it. I would give it 3.5 stars if that were an option. The writing is beautiful, I found though that the story dragged at points. I also had a hard time with what seemed like current day values being imposed on history. It helped me to keep reading when I saw that Sarah was based on a real woman who was an abolitionist.

I didn't realize until the end of the book that it was based on real history. A compelling read that was hard for me to put down. I highly recommend this book!

Fantastic! This is Kidd's 3rd novel and her best. This is not just another book about slavery. It is the early 1800's in the Charleston and slavery is a way of life. Sarah is given her own slave, Handful, for ownership, as a birthday gift but Sarah has much different opinions on slavery than her parents and society. This is a story about Sarah & Handful over the next 35 years. They are strong, courageous women who face much hardship and sorrow. Their stories are beautifully woven together. I love how it is told in alternating point of views. It is also the story of sisters, Sarah and her younger, bold sister Nina and Handful and her sister Sky. One of my favorite quotes is from Handful to Sarah after Sarah returns from a trip to the North. "My body may be a slave, but not my mind. For you, it's the other way around." What I found really fascinating was that Sarah and her sister were real people from a family in Charleston. They were leading women in the fight against slavery and for racial equality as well. Be sure to read the author's note. :) Extremely well written and researched. I didn't like all the characters but they were well developed. Although Handful is a fictional character, she was inspiring, full of courage, determination, love and hope.

This book was fabulously written, with vivid and violent depictions of what slavery was like in Charleston prior to the Civil War. The characters and story haunted me and I couldn't put the book down. Sue Monk Kidd is a truly underrated author.