The Invention of Wings

I really liked The Secret Life of Bees. So I read Mermaid Chair; I hated it. It basically endorsed adultery and I can't stand books like that.

When I saw that Sue Monk Kidd came out with a new book and the setting was Charleston in the early 1800s, I had a gut feeling this was going to be a stellar book. I had very high expectations for this book and they were exceeded.

If you read my blog, you know I love stories that weave the lives of two people together, alternating the narration of the chapters. This is one of those books and it was masterfully done. Hetty is one narrator, and is a slave. Sarah is the other narrator and is the white aristocracy of Charleston. The way their lives entwine and divorce throughout the book is wonderful. The voices of their characters (who actually existed - this is historical fiction, which I didn't learn until the end of the book but was hoping it was the whole way through) were so beautifully written and distinct.

The story itself was riveting and one I can't describe...the book is better when you have no idea who these people really were and what they did. So, do NOT research anything about it, just read it. And after you read the novel (being a little depressed that it's over), read the authors notes and then be ready to be awed and a little more depressed.

The language in Kidd's novel is just beautiful. To quote my husband, Matt: "I read a lot of books and every now and then I read literature." This is in the later category.

Just one of the many beautiful art written in this book:

"There's no pain on Earth that doesn't crave a benevolent witness."