Twelve Tribes Of Hattie

Product Description

The opening pages of Ayana's debut took my breath away. I can't remember when I read anything that moved me quite this way besides the work of Toni Morrison". (Oprah Winfrey). Fifteen years old & blazing with the hope of a better life Hattie Shepherd fled the horror of the American South on a dawn train bound for Philadelphia. Hattie's is a tale of strength of resilience & heartbreak that spans six decades. Her American dream is shattered time & again: a husband who lies & cheats & nine children raised in a cramped little house that was only ever supposed to be temporary. She keeps the children alive with sheer will & not an ounce of the affection they crave. She knows they don't think her a kind woman
- but how could they understand that all the love she had was used up in feeding them & clothing them. How do you prepare your children for a world you know is cruel? The lives of this unforgettable family form a searing portrait of twentieth century America. From the revivalist tents of Alabama to Vietnam to the black middle-class enclave in the heart of the city to a filthy bar in the ghetto " The Twelve Tribes of Hattie" is an extraordinary distinctive novel about the guilt sacrifice responsibility & heartbreak that are an intrinsic part of ferocious love."