Book Review: "Red at the Bone" by Jacqueline Woodson
“Red at the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson
Synopsis:
Moving forward and backward in time, Jacqueline Woodson’s taut and powerful new novel uncovers the role that history and community have played in the experiences, decisions, and relationships of these families, and in the life of the new child.
As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody’s coming of age ceremony in her grandparents’ Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the music of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody’s mother, for her own ceremony– a celebration that ultimately never took place.
Unfurling the history of Melody’s parents and grandparents to show how they all arrived at this moment, Woodson considers not just their ambitions and successes but also the costs, the tolls they’ve paid for striving to overcome expectations and escape the pull of history. As it explores sexual desire and identity, ambition, gentrification, education, class and status, and the life-altering facts of parenthood, Red at the Bone most strikingly looks at the ways in which young people must so often make long-lasting decisions about their lives–even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be.—Penguin RandomHouse
Rating (out of 5): 4
Review: I’ve been reading Jacqueline Woodson since I was a middle-grade reader, and was so excited to try this adult fiction read of hers. Adding to this is the Brooklyn setting, which filled me with that nostalgic sense of recognition. I have to forewarn you that the book opens in New York City in 2001, and that always means something. You probably picked up on this reading the synopsis, but occasionally I’m slow on the uptake.
The book is very short, and has a fever dream-y flow to it. This is not usually my speed—I love a standard narrative and am often thrown off by alternating narrators and time sequences. In this case, it was so effective and powerful.
Woodson writes with such love and compassion for all of her characters, and it is so apparent in these pages. Our heart aches for Iris, whose ambition is challenged by a teen pregnancy, for her parents, who wanted so much more for her, for her stalwart partner, who is content with far less than her, and for Melody, whose mother is distant, both physically and emotionally.
We get quite an insightful look at class disparities within the black community, something that is often under-articulated. Elizabeth has talked a great deal about the #ownvoices movement, but I wanted to note how true Woodson’s words ring. So often the narrative, experience, and vernacular of a particular ethnic or cultural group is written in a way that sounds ersatz and even patronizing, but Woodson’s voice rings true and honest. The book also explores sexual orientation in a nuanced and complex way, for multiple characters.
While the book is very short, it’s not the kind you should speed through. Take it slowly through this rich, affecting narrative.
TL;DR: A gorgeous, lyrical dive into a family’s history. A definite must-read.
If you liked this, try:
“Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid
“If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin
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