The Invention of Wings in 2015 Reading Challenge

Jan 01, 2015 Julia rated it really liked it

The title The Invention of Wings is an apt title for this novel in that each character seems to find their own wings to escape their situation. My favorite quote of the book is when Handful, Sarah's gift of a slave, tells Sarah: "My body might be a slave, but not my mind. For you, it's the other way round." I believe by the end, each of them were able to free themselves. I loved how Kidd used the symbolism of birds to show how each of them were able to grow and fly their own path.

I admired Handf The title The Invention of Wings is an apt title for this novel in that each character seems to find their own wings to escape their situation. My favorite quote of the book is when Handful, Sarah's gift of a slave, tells Sarah: "My body might be a slave, but not my mind. For you, it's the other way round." I believe by the end, each of them were able to free themselves. I loved how Kidd used the symbolism of birds to show how each of them were able to grow and fly their own path.

I admired Handful for following her mother's goals to become free. I admired her for taking the initiative to be rebellious and stand her ground, even during the worst of times. I admired her for taking care of her sister, Sky, after her mother passed. I admired her for finally opening her heart to Goodis, who was indeed a good man. There's no way I could ever imagine being in her situation with her strength. She continued relentlessly to become free, even in the face of a brutal slavery system, and even with her deformity from the Work House, because of the strength that her mother passed on to her.

I felt very connected to Sarah. I was proud of how she represented women: intelligent and cunning, without the need of a man to define her. I know she longed for Israel, but I was proud that she decided to engage in the fight for slaves and women's rights and stuck to her guns. I felt bad for her though, that she was so dismissed from her hopes of becoming a lawyer like her father. Those crushed dreams and ideals of restricting women stuck with her throughout her life. I am so happy to have had women like her before me, to help women separate from that world. I loved Sarah's quote, which was actually said by her, which states: "How can you ask us to go back to our parlors? To turn our backs on ourselves and on our own sex? We don’t wish the movement to split, of course we don’t—it saddens me to think of it—but we can do little for the slave as long as we’re under the feet of men. Do what you have to do, censure us, withdraw your support, we’ll press on anyway. Now, sirs, kindly take your feet off our necks."

I'm glad that Sarah decided to follow her heart and go North, not solely for the abolitionist movement, but for herself, to be able to spread her wings. She needed to get out from under her family's thumb, and leaving was the only way to do it. I am so glad that Nina decided to follow in Sarah's footsteps.

The part of this book that shocked me the most was that Sarah and Angelina Grimké were actually abolitionists and fighters for women's rights. I wish I would have known about them before, and feel saddened that so many of women's achievements have been overlooked in history.

Sarah and Angelina have a very unusual bond, but like Sarah said, she was the thinker and Nina was the doer. They needed each other to become what they became. I feel like I understood them fully, as I have a sister of my own, and while we are very similar we are also very different. I love to hear stories of sisters defying the norm, and this book was one of those stories.

Of all the male characters, I found Sarah's father most compelling. It's easy to see where Sarah and Nina get their gumption from. But he was unable to free his mind, or too scared to do so. He had lived in the same world as Sarah initially did, and he was comforted by the security of it too much to take a real stand against slavery. His ideals were liberal, which showed when he allowed Sarah to read his novels, but he was too brainwashed to actually take things any further. I am glad that he was able to let Sarah know what she was capable of at the time of his death, and that she was able to find acceptance in him.

I sometimes hesitate to read books regarding slavery, because I feel that I've read and heard so much already that not much would enlighten me further. However, with this book, I'm glad I took the plunge. I liked that Kidd made these stories personal and really focused on their characters. It made me want to visit the Grimké house on East Bay Street in Charleston to see what they saw. It just made it more personal.

All in all, I gave this 4 stars because I wish I would have known what happened to Handful and Sarah. Kidd could have made this book 500 pages easily, and I would have continued. I felt the character development could have been a bit stronger. I wanted to hear more about Sarah as a young person, and as an old one. But still, this book made it's mark on me. I took away the fact that so many have fought for our rights, for me particularly identifying with the women's rights cause, and I definitely think those women paved the way for me to be where I am today. We need more Sarah and Angelina Grimkés in the world to push us to be truly equal to men, in every sense. ...more

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Feb 03, 2014 Lynnek rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014

I had heard vaguely of the Grimke sisters. But I loved how this story brought them to life. I really enjoyed the book and it was made even better by the author's note where she talked about what in the book was fact vs. fiction. A wonderful read! ...more

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Apr 06, 2021 Lindsey Miller rated it really liked it · review of another edition

“She was braver than I, she always had been. I cared too much for the opinion of others, she cared not a whit. I was cautious, she was brash. I was a thinker, she was a doer. I kindled fires, she spread them. And right then and even after, I saw how cunning the fates had been. (She) was one wing and I was the other.”

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