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The Truth About Awiti
by
2015 Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Finalist
It is undisputed many tropical storms and hurricanes start off the coast of West Africa. There is a commonly held belief these natural disasters are not natural at all. Rather, these massive storms and the damage and fatalities they cause are intentional -- retaliation by restless spirits impacted by the ...more
It is undisputed many tropical storms and hurricanes start off the coast of West Africa. There is a commonly held belief these natural disasters are not natural at all. Rather, these massive storms and the damage and fatalities they cause are intentional -- retaliation by restless spirits impacted by the ...more
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I didn't know what to think about this book after finishing it late last year, but the fact that I'm still thinking about it as of mid January makes it worth at least 4 stars. This is a take on the trans–Atlantic slave trade that is unlike anything I've read. The Truth About Awiti spans continents and decades and that alone is impressive because the author takes care to change the dialect of the characters as the stories move around the globe. I say stories because it seems to me this book is
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There are books and characters that stay with you, lingering long after the story is complete, you’ve closed the cover, and placed the book on your shelf. Then there are those that haunt you, finding a place in your bones, moving through your blood, inhabiting a piece of your soul.
The Truth About Awiti haunts.
Through a series of interconnected stories, CP Patrick brilliantly weaves her historical narrative of the slave trade and its continued effects on people, society, and the human spirit. An ...more
The Truth About Awiti haunts.
Through a series of interconnected stories, CP Patrick brilliantly weaves her historical narrative of the slave trade and its continued effects on people, society, and the human spirit. An ...more
WOW! Such a great book! I have never thought of myself as a fan of fantasy fiction, but this book has made me question that. The Truth about Awiti was captivating and such an easy read. I could not put the book down, thus finishing it in 3 days (business days). I don't want to give up too much about the book, but I must commend the author for being able to tie together actual events with fantasy fiction. This book brought awareness of many events surrounding enslavement of African Americans,
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I have been drawn to study the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade since college, when I read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave in conjunction with Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. My pursuits on the topic ranged from the academic to the emotional, and are driven by something I cannot name. From my first novel, Receive Me Falling, to my current, untitled work in progress, the division between races and class recurs in my themes, even when I do not deliberately
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The Truth About Awiti is a delightfully haunting book about unrequited peace and the effects of American slavery. Many books discuss the mental, emotional and physical demons of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the horrors it inflicted upon people, families and nations. However, few books dare to explore the spiritual aspect. And perhaps even fewer explore the spiritual ramifications of slavery within a fictional narrative. But there’s a twist, Patrick’s stories are based on real events. The
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A fresh voice! Intelligent and swift writing coupled with a passion for history and the people of its time. Not a single word wasted.
Jun 23, 2016
E. Mellyberry
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
life-changing-take-my-breath-away,
e-book
This book breaks me, and I don't know if I will ever be the same again. Some stories hunt you forever...
I picked this up knowing well what it would do to me. The author's writing style AMAZES me beyond words. It is unique and powerful. Nothing like what I've experienced before.
I'll be eagerly waiting for her next novels.
The Truth About Awiti is the first African American history book I read.
I picked this up knowing well what it would do to me. The author's writing style AMAZES me beyond words. It is unique and powerful. Nothing like what I've experienced before.
I'll be eagerly waiting for her next novels.
The Truth About Awiti is the first African American history book I read.
I found book this a little slow to start off, but once I got into the story, it turned out to be a very enthralling read. A nice collection of tales involving different times and different people, but central to these stories is the character of Awiti.
The Truth About Awiti is a powerful look into how slavery still affects people to this day.
It's weird, because the thing is written in the form of short fables, each linked together by Awiti's influence. There isn't too much characterization of Awiti as the girl, but there's a great deal of characterization of Awiti as the immortal. She's hellbent on avenging the deaths of her people, and believes that some sacrifices must be made in order to make her point.
What I really loved about this was ...more
It's weird, because the thing is written in the form of short fables, each linked together by Awiti's influence. There isn't too much characterization of Awiti as the girl, but there's a great deal of characterization of Awiti as the immortal. She's hellbent on avenging the deaths of her people, and believes that some sacrifices must be made in order to make her point.
What I really loved about this was ...more
Dec 02, 2015
A. Hunt
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Anyone
Recommended to A. by:
C. P. Patrick
I'm not even going to lie; this book startled me. I sat, pensive at my computer, seeking the right words to describe this book, for quite some time before reviewing. I started the weekend with three books under my belt and The Truth About Awiti, by CP Patrick dominated my reading schedule. I couldn't leave it, my heart aching from the bits of historical tragedies.
I finally came to realize, I'd developed a sort of 'Love/Hate' relationship with the book. I became entranced in what felt like a ...more
I finally came to realize, I'd developed a sort of 'Love/Hate' relationship with the book. I became entranced in what felt like a ...more
Very well-written rendering of an immortal spirit seeking revenge for the great suffering and tragedies so many experienced voyaging from West Africa to North America. Even so, the pervasive lore behind the destructive tropical storms following the same path kidnapped Africans sojourned, and suffered unspeakable horrors, was a hard but gravitating read.
Parts of the novel that resonated best was Seraphina’s attempt to explain “the process” of life via the Great One, and as well there was some ...more
Parts of the novel that resonated best was Seraphina’s attempt to explain “the process” of life via the Great One, and as well there was some ...more
A truly amazing novel. Will write a proper review once I can better organize my thoughts, but if you are on the fence about reading it, you should just go for it!
Unique book, not perfectly edited; using lots of real historical events (like Igbo landing Georgia 1803) a power made of love and anger at the complete devastation of many cultures engendered by the transAtlantic slave trade, in the form of a beautiful African (half Portuguese via the rape of her mother) Luo woman who becomes immortal, is told to play a controlling role in some of the events from the 16th to the 21st century.
Each chapter is a separate vignette, often horrifying, some just ...more
Each chapter is a separate vignette, often horrifying, some just ...more
I was planning to read this book over spring break, but I ended up staying up all night because I couldn't put it down. Excellently written historical fiction that captured such pain and the human experience of black folk. It was painful and haunting and a great read.
There are so many interesting and moving parts of this book that make the final masterpiece nothing short of an incredible novel. The way that C.P. Patrick was able to weave so many different perspectives together to tell one story helped to make the book multidimensional in that it caused me as the reader to become invested in the journey of Awiti as told by many people. Whether it be young, old, black, or white. Before reading the novel, I was under the impression that it would be another book
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A collection of powerful and angering stories about slavery all connected through Awiti. I found myself trying to find this connection at the beginning of each chapter. Each presents stories of destruction and love and the healing process that Awiti goes through. Her heart is capable of so much love but she still can't get past the hate. She spends centuries trying to seek retribution while also trying to find peace that will never come for her.
The stories are well written but at times the ...more
The stories are well written but at times the ...more
This was one of the best books i will read this year. This story will make you think about the pain and injustice of taking your mind beyond slavery and visiting the lives that were cut off brutally and what happened to the spirit of the slaves who died during the passage. What this book does is take you on a journey of a young African girl who's village was disrupted by the horrific slave captures. Her life weaves through this entire tale that makes you want her survive over and over again and
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Let me just say that normally any book that contains the word fantasy in the blurb, I immediately dismiss. This book was recommended by a friend, so I wanted to give it a go, and it was well worth it. It is not fantasy in the normal sense. This book is a chronicle of slavery spanning through the centuries from the 1600's to the present day. It looks at the spiritual idea that hurricanes and storms are revenge for the cruelty and savage treatment of slaves. Each chapter is a separate vignette of
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This book is deeply affecting in a way that I wasn't entirely prepared for. The story is very unconventional, following an African woman named Awiti over hundreds of years after she becomes immortal and discovers that she has the power to exact vengeance for all the wrongs wreaked over the centuries on her fellow Africans. Each chapter is from a different point-of-view as the book covers over two hundred years of very sad history. Patrick conveys through Awiti the fact that the enslavement of
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Written review forthcoming.
This book broke my heart on many levels. I actually had to stop reading it to allow myself to mend. Powerful, tragic, and beautifully composed. A life changing novel.
The Truth About Awiti was simply phenomenal. It's almost challenging to write a review on such a masterpiece except to just say BUY THE BOOK! and READ THE BOOK!
Author CP Patrick so masterfully blends the horrific accounts of those who suffered during the transatlantic slave trade with fictional characters - both physical and spiritual - who seem so real that I made them be so in my mind while reading. By the time I reached the end of the book, I was reaching for more pages to turn to continue ...more
Author CP Patrick so masterfully blends the horrific accounts of those who suffered during the transatlantic slave trade with fictional characters - both physical and spiritual - who seem so real that I made them be so in my mind while reading. By the time I reached the end of the book, I was reaching for more pages to turn to continue ...more
This book was amazing. Mini review to come.
I like the premise of this book. The writing is very solid. I felt the large number of short stories, interlinked with the common element of Awiti, began to dilute the impact of the book. I think the book needed to be tightened up so that the impact would be stronger. There was also a lot of unnecessary repetition that bogged down the pacing and the effect of the overall work.
An interesting concept of a wounded but undying African female spirit endowed with the power to wreck havoc on the white world over centuries through her embodiment of a Yemoja-type goddess force. But instead of fully developing this idea with a coherent story, and missing out on the opportunity to be a nice meditation on the nature of vengeance, the book seemed to me to settle into a pattern of playing a few variations of the same story in different time/place settings repetitiously, exploiting
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Review : The Truth About Awiti is such an amazing book! I can’t put it down. CP Patrick’s writing got my heart and respect!
This book is such an awesome historical fantasy. Yet, it felt so real! All the time reading, I kept feeling like the things in the book really happened. But then, I had to remind myself that it’s a work of fiction! However, some (a lot) of the occurrence have happened to real life individuals.
Reading The Truth About Awiti, will make you realise that discrimination is cruel ...more
This book is such an awesome historical fantasy. Yet, it felt so real! All the time reading, I kept feeling like the things in the book really happened. But then, I had to remind myself that it’s a work of fiction! However, some (a lot) of the occurrence have happened to real life individuals.
Reading The Truth About Awiti, will make you realise that discrimination is cruel ...more
This was a very different book in that is was kind of short stories but wit the link of Awiti going through each of them. Some were quite disturbing stories while others extremely sad and others sort of fantasy/spiritual.
The author based all her stories on real life events and built characters and detail into and around the event.
Awiti started as a young baby in an African village born to African parents but obviously conceived when her mother was caught by a slave catcher before she managed to ...more
The author based all her stories on real life events and built characters and detail into and around the event.
Awiti started as a young baby in an African village born to African parents but obviously conceived when her mother was caught by a slave catcher before she managed to ...more
4.5 stars
This book started off slow for me. But after a few chapters I couldn't put it down. This was the first time in a while that I felt so many emotions while reading a book. The book begins with Awiti as a young girl. She is not her fathers. Although he loves her as much as if she was his own. Slave traders once captured her parents and raped her mother. Awiti was the result. Her parents escaped to a another village and had more children. But, that village is also raided. Awiti never sees ...more
This book started off slow for me. But after a few chapters I couldn't put it down. This was the first time in a while that I felt so many emotions while reading a book. The book begins with Awiti as a young girl. She is not her fathers. Although he loves her as much as if she was his own. Slave traders once captured her parents and raped her mother. Awiti was the result. Her parents escaped to a another village and had more children. But, that village is also raided. Awiti never sees ...more
Breathtaking. Captivating. Enlightening. There are not enough words to fully encompass the range of emotions for and love of The Truth About Awiti. Author CP Patrick masterfully weaves dark moments in history with elements of the spiritual and supernatural to transport the reader into the world of Awiti, and the destruction she creates.
Awiti is one of the most rich, complex and profound characters I have ever encountered. She not only transcends time, moving from century to century, she is able ...more
Awiti is one of the most rich, complex and profound characters I have ever encountered. She not only transcends time, moving from century to century, she is able ...more
This book is truly one I couldn't put down when I read it a few months ago. I have to admit that I waited a little bit after I purchased the book because my preferences really aren't in science fiction. But, if you're like me and just curious about it like I was (the cover reeled me in!), I say you NEED to pick it up and read it IMMEDIATELY. You won't regret it.
The imagery is vivid. The language is fluid and really captures a major part of history that's often watered down in textbooks.
While ...more
The imagery is vivid. The language is fluid and really captures a major part of history that's often watered down in textbooks.
While ...more
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Christine A. Platt is a historian and storyteller of the African diaspora. She holds a B.A. in Africana Studies from the University of South Florida, M.A. in African Studies from The Ohio State University and received her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law.
Her debut novel, The Truth About Awiti, was published under the penname CP Patrick and won the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards ...more
Her debut novel, The Truth About Awiti, was published under the penname CP Patrick and won the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards ...more
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“There are many repercussions directly linked to the trans–Atlantic slave trade, including the destruction of sacred land boundaries and familial ties, as well as the systemic racism people of the African diaspora presently experience throughout the world.”
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“When you staring death in the face, it makes you think about life. Not just your own life, but the lives of those around you. Lives you touched or hurt. The lives you value most. And lives you almost forgot until death looked you straight in the eyes and said, “Remember.” Death is not kind or patient with its memories. They come flooding. Suffocating and drowning you until it is difficult to breathe. Filling you up with recollections as you gasp for a few more moments. More time. That’s what looking at death feels like. Death is watching the phases of your life tick away. Whether fast or slow, easy or difficult. Don’t matter. Anyone about to die wants more time.”
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