Wench

I just finished reading Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. I loved that this book told the story of the Underground Railroad, such a fascinating and sad time in our nation's history. USA Today heralded this novel as intriguing as The Help, which I didn't find to be the case. It didn't pull me in with as much reckless abandon - I was able to put it down, but did read it in a week. I enjoyed reading from the slave woman's point of view. When I was in eighth grade, I did a project on the Underground Railroad in Ohio. This novel took place in Ohio and Tennessee, and felt very familiar to what I read years ago. It was a work of fiction, but I love how the author took the facts of a true time in history, and a true location, as well as how the vacation spot of Tawanda House fit into history. Perkins-Valdez did a really nice job weaving a fictional story into facts.
As is to be expected, this story was filled with rapes, which were somewhat graphic and difficult to read.

One concept I found particularly striking was how the masters viewed the children from couplings with their slave mistresses. These children were recognized as blood relatives of the master, but were property before they were thought of as family. I can't imagine being able to make this distinction in one's mind.