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Reviews
Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Social Upheaval by Saidiya Hartman
lbjo's review against another edition
5.0
wow this book-- riotous and erotic and sensual all at once, a treatise on the everyday rebellion and the collective revolution, a haptic revelation of sound and story and a dance through the traces of the archive...terrible beauty and fullness and breadth...love and everything else too.......
betteena's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
thisblackgirlreads's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful portrayal of black women that left me with the profound feeling that there are more stories like these that are left to be told. I loved reading about the lives of the relatively unknown black female rebels from the early 20th century. This book covered quite a lot from race riots, prostitution, and lively dance halls, all with the underlying truth of radical thinking and other ways of living.
Hartman has created a poetic picture of the black woman and her fight for freedom and her steadfast courage; all magnified in the realities of the society. Each chapter is anchored by a photo that was taken between 1890 and 1935, and Hartman does an incredible job imagining the inner lives of her subjects in great detail. Woven together the stories give a clear picture of the struggles and courage of these women and their attempts to carve out a piece of freedom. A must read!
Hartman has created a poetic picture of the black woman and her fight for freedom and her steadfast courage; all magnified in the realities of the society. Each chapter is anchored by a photo that was taken between 1890 and 1935, and Hartman does an incredible job imagining the inner lives of her subjects in great detail. Woven together the stories give a clear picture of the struggles and courage of these women and their attempts to carve out a piece of freedom. A must read!
giddypony's review against another edition
4.0
Not that anyone should need my opinion but this book shook me to the core. Her well researched way of giving life to the women whom the central questions are framed around made these lives devastating in a way that the dry recitation of the facts could never do. ANd the central question really is how did black women make a way out of no way? If nothing else, you will realize that reparations are truly needed and deserved. How did we get to 2020? Hartman helps lay the ground for a deeper understanding of the post formally enslaving people world. And makes the sharp point that while enslaving people formerly ended - it still went on. (and who profited and continues to profit.)
itsbobbielee's review against another edition
3.0
Hartman's work has been intriguing to me. I first read excerpts of her work in my graduate program in a course examing early-American minority authors. There is something a bit disorienting if I think too deeply about the boundaries between what we perceive to be fact versus fiction and how the existing archives and ephemera we have are inherently exclusionary and thus not the full picture. It is important to give voice to the voiceless and to provide counter narratives to the canon or mainstream perceptions.
I listened to this book, which, in hindsight, was a mistake. It was difficult for me to recall the names, places, and times discussed and thus challenging to fully follow the stories crafted and the arguments being made through those speculative conversationsand inner monolgues. While Hartman may create from partial speculation, it is not difficult to imagine the experiences of those subjugated by slavery and its systemic extensions well beyond so-called abolition.
I listened to this book, which, in hindsight, was a mistake. It was difficult for me to recall the names, places, and times discussed and thus challenging to fully follow the stories crafted and the arguments being made through those speculative conversationsand inner monolgues. While Hartman may create from partial speculation, it is not difficult to imagine the experiences of those subjugated by slavery and its systemic extensions well beyond so-called abolition.
bababookmatt's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.25
The author provides very naturally flowing language to really, fully capture her subjects in a moment. What are they wanting? Fearing? Observing? Where are they? It was very eye opening to see the great migration and Harlem Renaissance from the inside looking out, as opposed to the white written, outside in.
It’s pretty common knowledge that massive prejudice “existed” in America in the early 20th century, but I really had no idea of how that actually looked for the African Americans experiencing it. Hartman pulls no punches with showing the routine and the historical, or the microagressions and the heinous. The African American was subject to every injustice short of shackled slavery, on a daily basis, as a way of life during this time. We see it in the disposition of the white community, as well as the laws and police force that always chose “discriminatory” to be the lesser evil to “disorderly”.
The abuses experienced were horrendous, those subjected to it (particularly women) still felt enslaved, and it greatly impacted the living and family lives of all around. Unfortunately, I felt that these three themes were repeated over and over again, at the expense of further character development. The women largely blended together for me, because they all had those 3 shared experiences with slightly varying details.
This added a lot of context to a piece of history that is frequently glossed over, but I had a hard time emotionally connecting to the characters, and found it somewhat unpleasant throughout.
It’s pretty common knowledge that massive prejudice “existed” in America in the early 20th century, but I really had no idea of how that actually looked for the African Americans experiencing it. Hartman pulls no punches with showing the routine and the historical, or the microagressions and the heinous. The African American was subject to every injustice short of shackled slavery, on a daily basis, as a way of life during this time. We see it in the disposition of the white community, as well as the laws and police force that always chose “discriminatory” to be the lesser evil to “disorderly”.
The abuses experienced were horrendous, those subjected to it (particularly women) still felt enslaved, and it greatly impacted the living and family lives of all around. Unfortunately, I felt that these three themes were repeated over and over again, at the expense of further character development. The women largely blended together for me, because they all had those 3 shared experiences with slightly varying details.
This added a lot of context to a piece of history that is frequently glossed over, but I had a hard time emotionally connecting to the characters, and found it somewhat unpleasant throughout.
jaselah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
I will most likely revisit this book simply because it is filled with so many references. It took me a while to actually read this book because I found it difficult to read the e-book and it is a book that is best read in its physical form. I love how informational it is and how it taught me a lot about a time and place that i’ve never really thought about. I don’t think this book is for everyone even if you do happen to be a black woman. While it’s not one of my favorite books ever, you can recognize the sheer amount of labor put into it and that alone is enough for me. It is a journey of a book and I did enjoy it.