Property

I delve into Black History Month each year - this year one of the books that I am reading is Property, although I am thinking that I may stop reading it. I heard how amazingly vivid, chilling, suspenseful and compelling it is but I think I am going to save it for March.

This book is unlike most of my Black History Month reading because it is written by a white woman and as much as I love writers of all different races - I feel "off" not reading black authors during this month. Also, to be completely honest (AND PROBABLY OFFENSIVE) I don't think I am into the civil rights and slavery movement through white eyes...like I couldn't get into The Secret Life of Bees. For me there is no comparison between your mean father and a bunch of women that don't have a father and also deal with constant racism, mental health issues (that aren't treated) and put their lives into danger to help you out.

Even in Property, it's about slavery from the perspective of the white slaveholders wife. She becomes jealous of her beautiful slave's "relationship" (what?!?) with her husband. I don't know, as much as I tried to go into this open minded and tried to realize that it had to be hard for Manon (the white wife) to be trapped in an adulterous marriage - the stories and the trials just aren't comparable to me. I mean, Sarah (the slave) is the property of someone, she is being forced to sleep with her "master" (what?!?), being treated like crap from his jealous wife, and being denied marriage and love....I don't know.

I mean, I haven't really delved into the book yet, so maybe that's not this Sarah's story and I really wanted to push myself with this novel... I may try to read it. Maybe Valerie doesn't fall into the same literary trap as Sue Monk Kidd did...

I don't know - this turned into a random tangent but oh well.