A wonderful saga that introduces you to seven generations of the Mayfield family. It starts just after African Americans were being emancipated through 2 World Wars, The Depression, Prohibition, Vietnam.... Through the death of Michael Jackson. It's a long read but if you go for the audible version narrated by Robin Miles you will enjoy the varying voices, accents, and songs she brings to life. You will travel through the years with one generation after another as they overlap, expand, and keep secrets. It's well worth the time. You'll move from the South to the North overseas and back again.

3.5 stars.

This is a good book; however, with some many characters having their stories told at the same time, it gets hard to keep track of everyone. Also, the last third of the book feels very rushed. The early characters get chapter after chapter detailing their lives, while the later generations may receive only a few pages.

Still, a good read if you have time.

took a ehile for me to get into it. there were some good parts, but i didn't really like it. the beginning was kind of confusing. i was ready for it to be over.

This one was a book club pick, chosen by my friend’s mom who found several copies of it at the dollar store. Yep. Well, turns out, this book was a good choice for me, because I was able to read it and pretend that these people were my relatives (or at least *like* my relatives). Treating it as a personal journey was interesting and much more enriching than if I had just tried to slog my way through it. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the surprising similarities between this family and my own ancestry were fascinating. I do think that the story had some issues with pacing and consistency, mostly because the two sisters wrote differently and didn’t go back and try to make the story completely cohesive. I can respect that, but some of the issues still bothered me (like Jesse sometimes being spelled Jessie, or Betty being called like 8 different names throughout the book). In the end, I was the only one in my book club to finish the book, and I was glad I did.

An incredibly interesting chronicle of the Mayfield family spanning from post Reconstruction era Charleston to 1920's Harlem to the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama/Chicago and ending with modern music. I loved the strong themes of art and music in each decade and generation of the Mayfield women. I am woefully ignorant to the time Harlem music time period and scene. I found it fascinating and plan to read more information on it. The stronger theme throughout this book is the legacy the women of the Mayfield create and try to pass on to their children. The legacy of roots, family, home, and ultimately cultivating a passion. For some that passion was found in the arms of another, in land ownership, business entrepreneurship, music, claiming respect that was stolen from them simply because of the color of their skin, in identity and yearning for a mother's love, or in a way of life seen rapidly changing. A rich, beautiful story of a family that contributed to the changing social and art scene in America.

Of course, I choose this book because of the name recognition as I have been a fan of Ntozake Shange's work for years. I knew reading this book would be a long process as it is not just another book made for easy reading and ebook consumption. Rather, this book is proof that literature is alive and well and those who still enjoy settling with a good book that does more than entertain still have options.

This sweeping tale does more than chronicle the life of a family. What Bayeza and Shange do here is tell the story of American music and its inextricable link to social events and culture. As a devoted fan, I love how music was more than just personal to the seven generations presented in the Mayfield family; music was a way of life, inseparable from the personal and political.

The authors draw from many iconic figures throughout 20th century music including Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker and Billie Holiday among countless others. I not only enjoyed the story unfolding about the family from the end of slavery to the late 20th century but also testing my own knowledge of music to find the parallels between these iconic figures and their fictional counterparts.

As someone who often gets lower reviews for things such as print being too small, I was glad to see not only does this book have a much smaller print but also is much more epic than anything I could ever write. This is the kind of good writing authors should aspire to in our electronic age. A lot of love and labor went into this and it shows. Even though it was released last year, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time and commend the sisters for their beautiful, engrossing work. I can hear the music in your words and appreciate every note.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a multi-generational story, about a family that has music in the blood. Some of the themes in this book are abandonment, challenging mother and daughter relationships, rape, and civil rights.