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Dessa Rose
“Having this treasure of a book available again for new and more readers is not only necessary, it is imperative.” —Toni Morrison
Expanding the canon of African American literature, alongside Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sherley Anne Williams’ critically acclaimed and unforgettable Dessa Rose is a novel of two powerfully conceived female protagonists forging a vital friendship in the face of racial divides in the antebellum South.
Expanding the canon of African American literature, alongside Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sherley Anne Williams’ critically acclaimed and unforgettable Dessa Rose is a novel of two powerfully conceived female protagonists forging a vital friendship in the face of racial divides in the antebellum South.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Sherley Anne Williams
10 books37 followersSherley Anne Williams (August 25, 1944 – July 6, 1999) was an African-American poet, novelist, professor, and social critic. Many of her works tell stories about her life in the African-American community.
Williams was born in Bakersfield, California. When she was little her family picked cotton in order to get money. At the age of eight her father died of tuberculosis and when she was sixteen her mother died. She graduated from Thomas Alva Edison High School in Fresno California in 1962. In 1966 she earned her bachelor's degree in English at what is now California State University at Fresno and she received her master's degree at Brown University in 1972. The following year (1973) she became a professor of English Literature at the University of California at San Diego. She traveled to Ghana under a 1984 Fulbright grant. Her works include collections of poetry such as The Peacock Poems (1975), the novel Dessa Rose (1986), and two picture books. She also published the groundbreaking work Give Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study of Neo-Black Literature in 1972.
(from Wikipedia)
Williams was born in Bakersfield, California. When she was little her family picked cotton in order to get money. At the age of eight her father died of tuberculosis and when she was sixteen her mother died. She graduated from Thomas Alva Edison High School in Fresno California in 1962. In 1966 she earned her bachelor's degree in English at what is now California State University at Fresno and she received her master's degree at Brown University in 1972. The following year (1973) she became a professor of English Literature at the University of California at San Diego. She traveled to Ghana under a 1984 Fulbright grant. Her works include collections of poetry such as The Peacock Poems (1975), the novel Dessa Rose (1986), and two picture books. She also published the groundbreaking work Give Birth to Brightness: A Thematic Study of Neo-Black Literature in 1972.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
July 19, 2010
I have been looking for a novel that is not as challenging as Beloved to use in my American Studies class. Morrison's novel is so rich in language and image and provides an incredible number of unique insights into the experience of slavery and the impact of slavery on people, black and white, slave and free. So that is a lot to replace. I am not sure I will end up replacing it in the end, but reading several other options is a good exercise.
So I'll start with that point: Dessa Rose is a good option to replace Beloved. Published just a year before Beloved, this novel touches upon many of the same themes: the dehumanization of slavers and the enslaved, the complexity of relationships among people who were enslaved, race relations among freedpeople and sympathetic whites, and the specific experiences of women/mothers in slavery. In the case of Dessa Rose, this last point is clearly an emphasis of Williams, whose two main characters' process of conflict and coming-together reveals to them and to the reader how an understanding of our common humanity can help people recognize the pain and wrongness of slavery as well as a way to heal from it.
There are many similarities between Williams' Dessa and Morrison's Sethe. Both loved and lost a man of their choosing; both had a child by that man; both escaped slavery while pregnant; both were in prison after committing a violent act; both begin to heal when sensitive men enter their lives and reverse the meaning of their scars. Dessa has mental and physical scars as painful as Sethe's, and these are, I think, essential to the discussion of slavery. The scars represent not only the brutality of the slavers but the memory and legacy that has to be acknowledged and dealt with for the nation to move on. As I mentioned earlier, Williams provides a storyline for healing of individuals within the community of former slaves, between blacks and whites, and also within individual whites. As such, the novel does not presume too much; it is based on true events and possibilities--and a lot of research.
Some other differences worth noting:
Morrison's book clearly is haunting. There are unforgiving memories embodied in the character of Beloved. There is an important emphasis on some of the worst violence within slavery: the mechanical devices like the bit and the brutal, public humiliation and even execution. There is also part of the book set during Reconstruction, with its particular brand of racial violence. The novel helps us to discuss so much of the promise and failure of Reconstruction.
Another major difference is how each author includes the perspective and voice of white people. In Beloved, the reader is wrenched into that perspective at the center of the book, the moment the slavecatcher and Sethe's former owner arrive at 124 to reclaim her and her children. It's an incredible shock to be thrust into the hateful language at the moment of greatest crisis for Sethe and her family. It plunges the reader back into that reality, the deep immorality that allowed slavery to continue. Later in the novel, we get a smaller glimpse into the residual racism of the abolitionist Bodwin, as he considers his own fate since slavery times, riding back to the "house on Bluestone Road" after many years' absence. In Dessa Rose, Williams begins the book from the white perspective, and it is a multi-layered approach: the sentiments of one profiteering from slavery (though not a slaveholder himself), and two people who took the story of Nat Turner for themselves, Turner's contemporary and the recorder of his alleged story, Thomas Grey, and William Styron, who took liberties with Turner's story in the 1960s. This beginning is confusing because the character's intent and language are so tangential to the story the reader wants to understand--why Dessa is a prisoner. The reader only "hears" Dessa as he records her speech, and so she is trapped in the prism of his limited view of her humanity. This is frustrating! and I almost dismissed the book, until Williams relieved me of that frustration by switching to Dessa's voice. And just when I began to sense something of Dessa's story, she and I were swept away again, the unexpected escape from her jail cell abruptly reported by the initial white man's voice. The second part of the book began with a new and still more confusing white voice, this time a woman. But this time, the white person undergoes a psychological self-examination that serves as an extraordinary contrast to the other white person's perspective, one made even more sharp near the end, when these two white characters' now vastly different views on Dessa are described through Dessa's eyes. It is a satisfying reversal from the opening pages.
Dessa Rose did not make me cry, as Beloved had and does each time I read it. But I still think it is quite powerful. From what I've read, Dessa Rose was met with critical acclaim, but clearly it has not gotten the same attention that Beloved did, so I wonder if the latter just eclipsed its predecessor. Dessa Rose certainly deserves more attention, and, I might add, a new edition is overdue.
So I'll start with that point: Dessa Rose is a good option to replace Beloved. Published just a year before Beloved, this novel touches upon many of the same themes: the dehumanization of slavers and the enslaved, the complexity of relationships among people who were enslaved, race relations among freedpeople and sympathetic whites, and the specific experiences of women/mothers in slavery. In the case of Dessa Rose, this last point is clearly an emphasis of Williams, whose two main characters' process of conflict and coming-together reveals to them and to the reader how an understanding of our common humanity can help people recognize the pain and wrongness of slavery as well as a way to heal from it.
There are many similarities between Williams' Dessa and Morrison's Sethe. Both loved and lost a man of their choosing; both had a child by that man; both escaped slavery while pregnant; both were in prison after committing a violent act; both begin to heal when sensitive men enter their lives and reverse the meaning of their scars. Dessa has mental and physical scars as painful as Sethe's, and these are, I think, essential to the discussion of slavery. The scars represent not only the brutality of the slavers but the memory and legacy that has to be acknowledged and dealt with for the nation to move on. As I mentioned earlier, Williams provides a storyline for healing of individuals within the community of former slaves, between blacks and whites, and also within individual whites. As such, the novel does not presume too much; it is based on true events and possibilities--and a lot of research.
Some other differences worth noting:
Morrison's book clearly is haunting. There are unforgiving memories embodied in the character of Beloved. There is an important emphasis on some of the worst violence within slavery: the mechanical devices like the bit and the brutal, public humiliation and even execution. There is also part of the book set during Reconstruction, with its particular brand of racial violence. The novel helps us to discuss so much of the promise and failure of Reconstruction.
Another major difference is how each author includes the perspective and voice of white people. In Beloved, the reader is wrenched into that perspective at the center of the book, the moment the slavecatcher and Sethe's former owner arrive at 124 to reclaim her and her children. It's an incredible shock to be thrust into the hateful language at the moment of greatest crisis for Sethe and her family. It plunges the reader back into that reality, the deep immorality that allowed slavery to continue. Later in the novel, we get a smaller glimpse into the residual racism of the abolitionist Bodwin, as he considers his own fate since slavery times, riding back to the "house on Bluestone Road" after many years' absence. In Dessa Rose, Williams begins the book from the white perspective, and it is a multi-layered approach: the sentiments of one profiteering from slavery (though not a slaveholder himself), and two people who took the story of Nat Turner for themselves, Turner's contemporary and the recorder of his alleged story, Thomas Grey, and William Styron, who took liberties with Turner's story in the 1960s. This beginning is confusing because the character's intent and language are so tangential to the story the reader wants to understand--why Dessa is a prisoner. The reader only "hears" Dessa as he records her speech, and so she is trapped in the prism of his limited view of her humanity. This is frustrating! and I almost dismissed the book, until Williams relieved me of that frustration by switching to Dessa's voice. And just when I began to sense something of Dessa's story, she and I were swept away again, the unexpected escape from her jail cell abruptly reported by the initial white man's voice. The second part of the book began with a new and still more confusing white voice, this time a woman. But this time, the white person undergoes a psychological self-examination that serves as an extraordinary contrast to the other white person's perspective, one made even more sharp near the end, when these two white characters' now vastly different views on Dessa are described through Dessa's eyes. It is a satisfying reversal from the opening pages.
Dessa Rose did not make me cry, as Beloved had and does each time I read it. But I still think it is quite powerful. From what I've read, Dessa Rose was met with critical acclaim, but clearly it has not gotten the same attention that Beloved did, so I wonder if the latter just eclipsed its predecessor. Dessa Rose certainly deserves more attention, and, I might add, a new edition is overdue.
July 30, 2008
i became aware of this in an essay by mae gwendolyn henderson : http://www.barnard.edu/sfonline/sfxxx... and immediately wanted to read more of this book. the story-story-within-a-story construct really interesting and effective. we learn this woman's history as she tells it to her captor. henderson's essay underlined the differences between written and spoken language, particularly as that difference relates to african and african-american language and culture. williams' book is a novel and never overtly asks the same questions, but having read henderson's essay first, i am very aware of the heavy baggage carried by a white character who writes and a black character who speaks. the novel continues on to align escaped slaves with an abandoned white woman and her two children together the slaves and the woman posing as their mistress work to subvert white, male power. again reinforcing the rift between those who write the story down and those who make it up or tell it. highly recommended.
June 9, 2020
Dessa Rose by Sherley Anne Williams is an important read and I put it up there with other classics as The Color Purple or Beloved. It's a powerful story of an imprisoned slave, Dessa who is being held in prison until her baby is born before she's hung for attacking her mistress. With the help of other slaves she escapes. While on the road she about dies giving birth and her fellow slaves take her to a house owned by a white mistress. There her whole life begins to change.
Dessa has no experience with whiteys other than abuse, violence and hatred. Although when she finally wakes from her birthing ordeal and sees a white woman breast feeding her small baby she freaks out and rages. Scaring the mistress, Ruth calls for her help Ada who is also black to come help with Dessa. Soon Dessa is feeling better and taking care of her young son. The group, along with the mistress Ruth, who's husband left over a year ago and still has not returned, decide they must escape to the West, as they are all running from somewhere or someone. Dessa is still leary of Ruth and her motives, but goes along with the plan. They need a white woman to help them get through all the checkpoints and cities without being stopped and she is happy to accompany them.
Over the course of their journey Dessa becomes Ruth's lady's maid, it's all part of their plan and a story they all must stick too, but beside the ruse their all perpetuating, Dessa and Ruth slowly start becoming friends. They start with a simple laugh over an event that happens to Ruth that Dessa never dreamed happens to white women, as it does to blacks and blossoms from there. The line between their differences soon becomes shorter and shorter and the similarities between them become more prominent. After all they're both women who both deal with womanly issues in a time when men call the shots. They realize their only difference is the color of their skin and their backgrounds and determine this is not enough to stop their friendship from growing.
When I started this one I wanted a better understanding of the days of slavery. I've read many other books dealing with the topic, but this one was different it dealt with not only slavery, but more so the connection between two strong female protagonists who came from very different backgrounds and were still able to find common ground. I felt hopeful for Dessa and I loved the characters in this book. Often times books on slavery are all about the horrors of what the slaves went through, which is important to know and yes the beginning of this book talked about this to some degree, but the main point was the growing friendship between a white woman and a black women. It was uplifting to read how the author was able to bridge the gap between the two women who lived such different lives. Very well written, a very important book to read, in my opinion and one I won't forget for some time. I would recommend this one to anyone with an interest in learning more about the roots of our history with slavery, or who wants a great book on the relationship between two unlikely people. It's a hopeful book for our future that a white woman in the 1800's is able to not see color and go on to discover what she has in common with her new black friend rather than what their differences are. Excellent book! Happy Reading!
Dessa has no experience with whiteys other than abuse, violence and hatred. Although when she finally wakes from her birthing ordeal and sees a white woman breast feeding her small baby she freaks out and rages. Scaring the mistress, Ruth calls for her help Ada who is also black to come help with Dessa. Soon Dessa is feeling better and taking care of her young son. The group, along with the mistress Ruth, who's husband left over a year ago and still has not returned, decide they must escape to the West, as they are all running from somewhere or someone. Dessa is still leary of Ruth and her motives, but goes along with the plan. They need a white woman to help them get through all the checkpoints and cities without being stopped and she is happy to accompany them.
Over the course of their journey Dessa becomes Ruth's lady's maid, it's all part of their plan and a story they all must stick too, but beside the ruse their all perpetuating, Dessa and Ruth slowly start becoming friends. They start with a simple laugh over an event that happens to Ruth that Dessa never dreamed happens to white women, as it does to blacks and blossoms from there. The line between their differences soon becomes shorter and shorter and the similarities between them become more prominent. After all they're both women who both deal with womanly issues in a time when men call the shots. They realize their only difference is the color of their skin and their backgrounds and determine this is not enough to stop their friendship from growing.
When I started this one I wanted a better understanding of the days of slavery. I've read many other books dealing with the topic, but this one was different it dealt with not only slavery, but more so the connection between two strong female protagonists who came from very different backgrounds and were still able to find common ground. I felt hopeful for Dessa and I loved the characters in this book. Often times books on slavery are all about the horrors of what the slaves went through, which is important to know and yes the beginning of this book talked about this to some degree, but the main point was the growing friendship between a white woman and a black women. It was uplifting to read how the author was able to bridge the gap between the two women who lived such different lives. Very well written, a very important book to read, in my opinion and one I won't forget for some time. I would recommend this one to anyone with an interest in learning more about the roots of our history with slavery, or who wants a great book on the relationship between two unlikely people. It's a hopeful book for our future that a white woman in the 1800's is able to not see color and go on to discover what she has in common with her new black friend rather than what their differences are. Excellent book! Happy Reading!
May 26, 2012
Loved the novel. I can't believe that I waited so long to discover and read it. I might think about assigning it in my American Slavery course or my History and Memory course. Even if I don't assign the novel, I will definitely cherish the powerful story and the beautiful writing.
September 28, 2020
This has to be one of the most ingeniously plotted books I have ever read. Reading it felt like holding a large rose where the petals were slowing being peeled off to reveal more below. One more petal. One more shocking revelation.
Imaginatively written by Sherley A. Williams, this book is the fictional confluence of two disparate real-life events: first, a slave revolt in Kentucky in 1829 led by a pregnant woman and, second, a white woman in North Carolina in 1830 who harbored runaway slaves. Thanks to the author's poetic license in writing this novel, these two women meet in the pages of this book. And what a meeting it is.
Dessa Rose, a young field hand who has been enslaved since her birth on the same plantation, fell passionately in love with Kaine, who worked in the master's house. Tragedy befalls Kaine, and pregnant Dessa evokes revenge and is sold away. While chained to other slaves in a coffle, she and two others come up with a plan to escape. Miles away lives Rufel, the mistress of a small home and large and failing plantation. Her husband has gone away and left her with a young son and a baby, as well as slaves who have a habit of running away. But then slaves start arriving, taking up residence and bringing other runaways. The neighbors think Rufel owns them; but she doesn't. Still, they work the land and keep the house. It is when Dessa Rose shows up that both their lives drastically change. And the group devises an audacious plan for them to escape far away from the South.
This is one of those rare books where I felt myself become one with the two main characters. It was if all my senses were set on fire. I could see, smell, hear, taste, and feel what they were seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feeling. It is a rare writer who can turn words into such strong, abiding feelings.
The writing is raw and gritty. But it's also poetic and lyrical.
Emotionally searing, this haunting and evocative story just grabbed my heart and soul and wouldn't let go. It is an absolutely mesmerizing, as well as a sophisticated read.
Imaginatively written by Sherley A. Williams, this book is the fictional confluence of two disparate real-life events: first, a slave revolt in Kentucky in 1829 led by a pregnant woman and, second, a white woman in North Carolina in 1830 who harbored runaway slaves. Thanks to the author's poetic license in writing this novel, these two women meet in the pages of this book. And what a meeting it is.
Dessa Rose, a young field hand who has been enslaved since her birth on the same plantation, fell passionately in love with Kaine, who worked in the master's house. Tragedy befalls Kaine, and pregnant Dessa evokes revenge and is sold away. While chained to other slaves in a coffle, she and two others come up with a plan to escape. Miles away lives Rufel, the mistress of a small home and large and failing plantation. Her husband has gone away and left her with a young son and a baby, as well as slaves who have a habit of running away. But then slaves start arriving, taking up residence and bringing other runaways. The neighbors think Rufel owns them; but she doesn't. Still, they work the land and keep the house. It is when Dessa Rose shows up that both their lives drastically change. And the group devises an audacious plan for them to escape far away from the South.
This is one of those rare books where I felt myself become one with the two main characters. It was if all my senses were set on fire. I could see, smell, hear, taste, and feel what they were seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and feeling. It is a rare writer who can turn words into such strong, abiding feelings.
The writing is raw and gritty. But it's also poetic and lyrical.
Emotionally searing, this haunting and evocative story just grabbed my heart and soul and wouldn't let go. It is an absolutely mesmerizing, as well as a sophisticated read.
February 10, 2020
A little too slow for me, but not at bad book. Obviously a lot of research had gone into it and the ideas behind the crafting were great, but it just didn't have the oomph to keep me captivated, which is probably why it took me so long to finish.
October 20, 2020
WOW
A really hard book to read. This author took two woman in history and combined their stories into a work of fiction. First Dessa is a slave who lead a revolt and was waiting to birth a slave baby and then she was to be put to death. The second woman Ruth, was a woman in history that lived on an isolated farm that took in runaway slaves. Combine these two women and events and you have a work of fiction,and what if they had met, how would their stories have changed. A really good fiction book. It was kinda hard to keep up with what all was going on or who was speaking or telling the story at times. It is a book that I am glad I read and gives one a lot to think about. Wish their was another book about their trip west and how they ended up escaping slavery and the slave states.
A really hard book to read. This author took two woman in history and combined their stories into a work of fiction. First Dessa is a slave who lead a revolt and was waiting to birth a slave baby and then she was to be put to death. The second woman Ruth, was a woman in history that lived on an isolated farm that took in runaway slaves. Combine these two women and events and you have a work of fiction,and what if they had met, how would their stories have changed. A really good fiction book. It was kinda hard to keep up with what all was going on or who was speaking or telling the story at times. It is a book that I am glad I read and gives one a lot to think about. Wish their was another book about their trip west and how they ended up escaping slavery and the slave states.
January 11, 2018
Once upon a time, I entered a bookshop and was immediately bowled over by how white-centric it was: white, heterosexual authors writing about white, heterosexual people stuffed every single shelf, no matter the genre. I glared, rolled up my sleeves, and dug through the stacks until I found & purchased the treasure that is DESSA ROSE by Sherley Anne Williams.
DESSA ROSE follows the journey of the title character as she fights against slavery, racism, and her own prejudices to win her freedom and a fulfilling, happy life. Though set in the 1830s and before slavery was made illegal, this book was very reminiscent of THE COLOR PURPLE and THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, which are two of my favorite books ever. Like Walker and Hurston, Williams preserved the accent and dialect of black communities whenever the POV was a black person. Men were supporting characters, and the story focused on femininity and womanhood. The structure of the novel mirrored Dessa's growth into a free individual, free of society's (literal) shackles.
Though the works are similar, Williams adds a dimension that Hurston and Walker chose not too: the white perspective. While Dessa's journey is obviously central, chunks of the book are told from the perspective of Nemi, a white man writing a book on rebellious slaves, and Ruth Elizabeth, a white plantation owner who harbors runaway slaves. Their sections seemed like an intentional call back and reversal of Glenn Ligon's PRISONER OF LOVE #1 (SECOND VERSION): "We are the ink that gives the white page meaning." Both characters illuminate the toxicity of slavery and play out various typical Southern white reactions to it. It was nice that I, as a white person, could cheer on Ruth's dismantling of her own prejudices.
I don't want to give too much else away because it's a novel to discover on your own, but rest assured that my English major/writer brain was left in a tizzy of delight analyzing this work. While the content is intense enough that I understand why people are hesitant to teach it, this book packs a whole lot of punch for 240 pages, and should be taught in every mature classroom. I'm shocked I haven't seen it on more "Must Read" lists, that I only came upon this masterwork by chance. I recommend this book to all human beings.
DESSA ROSE follows the journey of the title character as she fights against slavery, racism, and her own prejudices to win her freedom and a fulfilling, happy life. Though set in the 1830s and before slavery was made illegal, this book was very reminiscent of THE COLOR PURPLE and THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, which are two of my favorite books ever. Like Walker and Hurston, Williams preserved the accent and dialect of black communities whenever the POV was a black person. Men were supporting characters, and the story focused on femininity and womanhood. The structure of the novel mirrored Dessa's growth into a free individual, free of society's (literal) shackles.
Though the works are similar, Williams adds a dimension that Hurston and Walker chose not too: the white perspective. While Dessa's journey is obviously central, chunks of the book are told from the perspective of Nemi, a white man writing a book on rebellious slaves, and Ruth Elizabeth, a white plantation owner who harbors runaway slaves. Their sections seemed like an intentional call back and reversal of Glenn Ligon's PRISONER OF LOVE #1 (SECOND VERSION): "We are the ink that gives the white page meaning." Both characters illuminate the toxicity of slavery and play out various typical Southern white reactions to it. It was nice that I, as a white person, could cheer on Ruth's dismantling of her own prejudices.
I don't want to give too much else away because it's a novel to discover on your own, but rest assured that my English major/writer brain was left in a tizzy of delight analyzing this work. While the content is intense enough that I understand why people are hesitant to teach it, this book packs a whole lot of punch for 240 pages, and should be taught in every mature classroom. I'm shocked I haven't seen it on more "Must Read" lists, that I only came upon this masterwork by chance. I recommend this book to all human beings.
July 4, 2020
Sherley Anne Williams a poet and novelist who wrote Dessa Rose was admired by Toni Morrison among others. Dessa Rose was critically acclaimed and adapted as a play which premiered in 2005.
I was intrigued by the books description of a friendship between two women one white and one black in the antebellum south. To call it a friendship is to simplify the complicated relationship between these two women. It is an interesting story which is much more than a story about friendship. The two main characters whose eyes the story is told through are Dessa Rose and escaped slave and Ruth Sutton who owns the plantation in Alabama called The Glen.
We see the misunderstandings which can easily develop across racial and social barriers. We also see how difficult it can be to rise above these barriers.
When, Dessa Rose ended, I wanted a sequel about what happened in these characters lives.
One question, I had was how likely life that was described in the plantation The Glen was. I think that Toni Morrison answered it by saying:
"Do you think that in a way Sherley’s novel is a fantasy? TM: No, I don’t. I’m sure those situations and those relationships existed, because there’s so much effort to erase them—they must have existed a lot. Or people were fearful that they might.
I was intrigued by the books description of a friendship between two women one white and one black in the antebellum south. To call it a friendship is to simplify the complicated relationship between these two women. It is an interesting story which is much more than a story about friendship. The two main characters whose eyes the story is told through are Dessa Rose and escaped slave and Ruth Sutton who owns the plantation in Alabama called The Glen.
We see the misunderstandings which can easily develop across racial and social barriers. We also see how difficult it can be to rise above these barriers.
When, Dessa Rose ended, I wanted a sequel about what happened in these characters lives.
One question, I had was how likely life that was described in the plantation The Glen was. I think that Toni Morrison answered it by saying:
"Do you think that in a way Sherley’s novel is a fantasy? TM: No, I don’t. I’m sure those situations and those relationships existed, because there’s so much effort to erase them—they must have existed a lot. Or people were fearful that they might.
February 1, 2008
Periodic African American novels are my cheese cake...yum
October 24, 2017
i'm all about the white man being Roasted at the end
July 25, 2016
Didn't finish it. I was t feeling it. Will probably try reading it again at a later date.
March 3, 2018
I would like to thank the William Morrow Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.
The premises of the book is fascinating. It is based on two separate historical incidents the author altered to make one story. The additional material (e.g. About the Author) this edition has added give a nice insight and context to the book.
The book is broken into three parts; The Darky, The Wench, and The Negress. In the additional material it states this was originally a short story titled "Meditations on History". As much as love (but horrified) by the main thread of the story of this novel I don't feel I can honestly give it more than 3 stars.
To me it felt like a short story that had been stretch. When I read the postface material and found out this was the case I was not surprised. The the parts don't really fit together well. It seems like they were written at different times and cobbled together. I person of the story is wildly different in each part as well as the character dialogue.
My intent is not to defame a celebrated writer. This is simply my honest review. I applaud the story originality and research.
I won this book in a GoodReads Give-away and this is my honest review left under no obligation.
The premises of the book is fascinating. It is based on two separate historical incidents the author altered to make one story. The additional material (e.g. About the Author) this edition has added give a nice insight and context to the book.
The book is broken into three parts; The Darky, The Wench, and The Negress. In the additional material it states this was originally a short story titled "Meditations on History". As much as love (but horrified) by the main thread of the story of this novel I don't feel I can honestly give it more than 3 stars.
To me it felt like a short story that had been stretch. When I read the postface material and found out this was the case I was not surprised. The the parts don't really fit together well. It seems like they were written at different times and cobbled together. I person of the story is wildly different in each part as well as the character dialogue.
My intent is not to defame a celebrated writer. This is simply my honest review. I applaud the story originality and research.
I won this book in a GoodReads Give-away and this is my honest review left under no obligation.
October 21, 2018
Absolutely beautiful book. I loved every second of it. The genuine writing style mixed with the compelling story of Dessa Rose makes for a truly compelling read. I'm always on the look out for books that are centered around African American's that really show the struggles they went through. I feel it's important for people like me to know history and try to identify with our countries past.
I really enjoyed the fact that this book centered around woman and men were just supporting characters. Dessa was such a strong character and I loved her growth throughout the book. One thing Williams did was add different perspectives. The different perspectives were from white folks but as a white person I feel those perspectives are needed. I think they show the compassion needed in the fight for civil rights or vise versa the lack of compassion that we need to fight against.
As far as civil rights novels go I think I would put this one up around the top of the list. It's a fairly quick read, just over two hundred pages and every word keeps you engaged.
I really enjoyed the fact that this book centered around woman and men were just supporting characters. Dessa was such a strong character and I loved her growth throughout the book. One thing Williams did was add different perspectives. The different perspectives were from white folks but as a white person I feel those perspectives are needed. I think they show the compassion needed in the fight for civil rights or vise versa the lack of compassion that we need to fight against.
As far as civil rights novels go I think I would put this one up around the top of the list. It's a fairly quick read, just over two hundred pages and every word keeps you engaged.
November 4, 2021
This 1986 novel is set in the late 1840s in the south. Dessa is a slave who participated in a rebellion against traders in which whites were killed. Over the course of the novel, told from various points of view, we learn of her past love for her family and a man who was killed by their master, of her time as a prisoner waiting to give birth before they hang her, of her escape to a farm run by a white woman who has many runaway slaves working for her, and of her participation in a scheme to escape to an imaginary western place where there is no slavery. The story is harsh, but filled with moments of grace and humor. When the white people take over the narrative, it is so clear how little they understand, even when they are sympathetic. Ultimately, though, the book is Dessa's, the one who does the most growing and changing throughout. A thoroughly compelling novel.
March 24, 2022
This book was moving and interesting. I admired the writing style and also deeply appreciated the focus on female main characters. (The emphasis on the treatment of women of all races by white men was intriguing.) The three sections of the book all have a different tone; I was extremely surprised when Odessa was revealed to be so young in the second section of the book, as the first section gave me a mental image of a middle aged woman. I found the presentation of the relationship between Odessa and Rufel to be interesting - I personally felt that Rufel did not necessarily deserve the postscript describing her kindness. However, I admired Odessa individually greatly. Moreover, the skillfulness with which the author switched between different points of view while still focusing on Odessa was impressive.
December 9, 2017
I was familiar with the musical adaptation of this novel, and I loved getting to know the rich, beautiful source material. The language was sometimes challenging, the dialect so prevalent it was sometimes difficult to understand, but there is real poetry to it as well. And the themes of the novel, particularly the gradual, messy, but ultimately deep friendship between the two female characters, are so powerful. It was also very interesting, knowing the musical, to see how Lynn Ahrens adapted it; what she changed, what she invented, what she kept, sometimes word for word.
August 28, 2019
I'm sure I stumbled across this book while working as a page at my local library in my teens. Just now, looking it up on Wikipedia, it seems that Williams wrote it in response, at least in part, to William Styron receiving so much acclaim for writing "The Confessions of Nat Turner." Many in the African American community were outraged that a white man's book about a slave revolt was getting so much praise and thought these stories were better told by black folks. I will have to put this on my re-read list because now I'm really intrigued!
December 6, 2019
At times, the book felt Faulkner like in theme and style. I suppose it may be because it explores the same issues of time, place, and race. Is the outcome the same for both: no matter how intertwined Blacks and Whites might be, in the end one must go west, the other east?
It is well worth the read, if only as a vivid depiction of the American original sin of slavery for which we remain divided which would be to ignore the artistry of the story which made me feel a constant state of tension, a tiny bit of what Dessa Rose experienced every moment.
It is well worth the read, if only as a vivid depiction of the American original sin of slavery for which we remain divided which would be to ignore the artistry of the story which made me feel a constant state of tension, a tiny bit of what Dessa Rose experienced every moment.
July 24, 2020
I enjoyed this book very much. Some parts were a bit confusing in terms of what was happening but it was eventually made clear. I recently read bell hook's Ain't I A Woman and several narratives on race and it got me thinking of what separates the experience of women of color from white women and what brings women together from all groups. This book does a good job in putting you there in that time period and the evolution in the relationship between the two women.
October 9, 2020
This book's last pages make for one of the most engrossing finales I've read in some time. By the time this novel reaches its climax, you're so immersed in the stories of Dessa (a young black woman who has escaped slavery) and Ruth (the white mistress who isn't her mistress) that you're equally hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Since the color line is such a definitive aspect of American culture, Williams' novel should be celebrated for showing how far we must go to bridge it.
October 2, 2021
A Beautiful Story of Survival and Umderstanding between a Black and White woman
Very descriptive and beautifully written. Slavery was not just an institution but a collection of shattered lives, told through the voices of two courageous women, during a time where women did not count Black or White
Very descriptive and beautifully written. Slavery was not just an institution but a collection of shattered lives, told through the voices of two courageous women, during a time where women did not count Black or White
January 6, 2020
This was a fascinating novel about slavery. The author combined two stories, one about a young woman who led a slave revolt and the other about a white woman who harbored escaped slaves. It had an upbeat ending which is often hard to find in pre-civil war stories about the South and slavery.
February 16, 2020
Very interesting book a different take on slavery from a young woman story of murder, escape and survival worth the read
April 22, 2020
A classic
August 7, 2020
Timely
I enjoyed Dessa Rose. The struggle of slavery, the depth of feeling from the runaways is all there. As a white reader, this opened my eyes further.
I enjoyed Dessa Rose. The struggle of slavery, the depth of feeling from the runaways is all there. As a white reader, this opened my eyes further.
August 26, 2020
Great read!
Great book! The author takes you through a fragile time period makes you feel like you lived through it. I love history.
Great book! The author takes you through a fragile time period makes you feel like you lived through it. I love history.
September 3, 2020
A very memorable book I will not soon forget.
September 28, 2020
I loved this book. I loved the characters and the story and the images.
February 12, 2021
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