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A review by booklane
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Outstanding #historicalnovel set in the self-sufficient #Weeksville free Black community, established in 1838 in Brooklyn.
Libertie is the daughter of Doctor Cathy Samson, a homeopath and physician, inspired by the first African-American female doctor in NY state, whom we meet the as she “raises” Ben from the coffin in which he has escaped slavery. She is determined that her daughter, who grows up helping in the practice, should go to college and become a doctor herself, and all her efforts are directed toward this goal, but Libertie challenges this notion and her adventurous quest for self-determination continues as she gets married and moves to Haiti, where she will be confronted with a patricarchal system and abusive characters.
Greenidge scrutinizes the values of the emerging African American bourgeoisie and the notion of the Talented Tenth, according to which African Americans of talent have an obligation to pursue an education for the greater good of society. This tenet dominates the tense mother and daughter relationship as Libertie’s character, complex, stubborn, inquisitive and flawed in several ways (she defines herself as lazy), defies this notion.
The quest for freedom and self-determination is indeed the propulsive force behind this marvellous book and is explored in different domains, in the family/domestic realm and at a wider societal and historical level, by looking at places that were promising freedom and equality, i.e. progressive post Civil War New York and Haiti, which in the nineteenth century had become a “model” for independence and emancipation. The author’s multifaceted analysis highlights the constraints that black women faced: despite apparent progressivism, episodes of racism, segregationism, sexism, classism and colourism still abound.
Truly complex, thought-provoking and captivating, occasionally slow.
Libertie is the daughter of Doctor Cathy Samson, a homeopath and physician, inspired by the first African-American female doctor in NY state, whom we meet the as she “raises” Ben from the coffin in which he has escaped slavery. She is determined that her daughter, who grows up helping in the practice, should go to college and become a doctor herself, and all her efforts are directed toward this goal, but Libertie challenges this notion and her adventurous quest for self-determination continues as she gets married and moves to Haiti, where she will be confronted with a patricarchal system and abusive characters.
Greenidge scrutinizes the values of the emerging African American bourgeoisie and the notion of the Talented Tenth, according to which African Americans of talent have an obligation to pursue an education for the greater good of society. This tenet dominates the tense mother and daughter relationship as Libertie’s character, complex, stubborn, inquisitive and flawed in several ways (she defines herself as lazy), defies this notion.
The quest for freedom and self-determination is indeed the propulsive force behind this marvellous book and is explored in different domains, in the family/domestic realm and at a wider societal and historical level, by looking at places that were promising freedom and equality, i.e. progressive post Civil War New York and Haiti, which in the nineteenth century had become a “model” for independence and emancipation. The author’s multifaceted analysis highlights the constraints that black women faced: despite apparent progressivism, episodes of racism, segregationism, sexism, classism and colourism still abound.
Truly complex, thought-provoking and captivating, occasionally slow.