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Sandy's Reviews > The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
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I heard an interview with Oprah and Ayana Mathis and was intrigued. Although I've given this book 4 stars, I would have liked to see more connectivity between the characters. The book read more like a collection of separate short stories rather than a novel. Each of the characters are sadly flawed, with troubled lives, different yet similar to their mother's. I loved the picture the author painted of each of them.
Some of Oprah's comments were insightful, but many were along the lines of "oh, I loved that paragraph." So what? Why is her name part of the title? Ayana Mathis's talent as a writer stands on her own merit.
Some of Oprah's comments were insightful, but many were along the lines of "oh, I loved that paragraph." So what? Why is her name part of the title? Ayana Mathis's talent as a writer stands on her own merit.
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Reading Progress
December 18, 2012
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Started Reading
December 18, 2012
– Shelved
December 24, 2012
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Finished Reading
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Barbara
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rated it 4 stars
Dec 29, 2012 01:05PM
I agree. I had to go back and check the title of each chapter to re-track her children.
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Totally agree with your comment about wanting more connection between the characters.
Just finished this book and am glad to see my thoughts reflected in other reviews. I had the same thoughts of the book reading like a collection of short stories and kept waiting for all of them to come together somehow.
just read it. I couldn't agree more. I felt so lost.
Martha wrote: "Totally agree with your comment about wanting more connection between the characters."Yes I wanted to know how the older children turned out. They were so interesting but then they disappeared.
Janet wrote: "Martha wrote: "Totally agree with your comment about wanting more connection between the characters."Yes I wanted to know how the older children turned out. They were so interesting but then they..."
That's exactly the point of each chapter: each child is dealing with the effects of a seemingly non-caring mother. The connection between each character is apparent when considering how each child felt disconnected and lost as adults, or even as children, because of Hattie's callousness. While we might wish that fiction can represent a reality that would be ideal, sometimes, a fiction which represents a reality of those who exist in those conditions is what is needed.
The older children, I'd argue, received the brunt of the harshness that Hattie enacted upon each of her children. Only in the final chapter when Hattie's granddaughter (whose mother was likely living through regular episodes of schizophrenia) was about to re-create the traumas for a third generation did Hattie realize the errs of her ways and in a way, the book ends on a happy note with Hattie attempting to be comforting to a child of hers (albeit a grandchild).
