Yellow Crocus in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 14, 2017 Keksisbaby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned-series, read-2017, kindle-unlimited

Hattie genießt die letzten Momente mit ihrem Sohn, denn schon bald wird sie als Amme ins Herrenhaus geholt und muss die kleine Miss Elizabeth versorgen. Wider erwartend schließt sie das kleine Mädchen in ihr Herz. Als sie getrennt werden sollen, wird Lizbeth so krank, dass die Familie ein Einsehen hat und Hattie weiterhin den Kontakt zu ihrem Schützling erlaubt. Dadurch entsteht eine ungewöhnliche Freundschaft, denn Hattie ist Elizabeth näher als ihre eigene Mutter. Als Jahre später Hatties Sohn Hattie genießt die letzten Momente mit ihrem Sohn, denn schon bald wird sie als Amme ins Herrenhaus geholt und muss die kleine Miss Elizabeth versorgen. Wider erwartend schließt sie das kleine Mädchen in ihr Herz. Als sie getrennt werden sollen, wird Lizbeth so krank, dass die Familie ein Einsehen hat und Hattie weiterhin den Kontakt zu ihrem Schützling erlaubt. Dadurch entsteht eine ungewöhnliche Freundschaft, denn Hattie ist Elizabeth näher als ihre eigene Mutter. Als Jahre später Hatties Sohn an andere Sklavenbesitzer verkauft wird und fliehen konnte, hält auch Hattie nichts mehr und sie flieht mit ihrem zweiten Kind. Lizbeth bleibt allein zurück und soll durch Heirat das Vermögen des Vaters vermehren. Dann erwischt sie jedoch ihren Zukünftigen, wie er eine Sklavin missbraucht und in ihr weckt sich der Widerspruchsgeist.

Eine wundervolle Geschichte um eine Freundschaft zwischen Sklavin und Plantagenerbin. Es hat Spaß gemacht mich in diese Zeit zu vertiefen, auch wenn das Buch an einigen Stellen erzählerische Lücken aufweist. Manchmal verläuft alles zu glatt. Hatties Flucht, das unerlaubte Lernen unter der Trauerweide, die Rebellion von Lizbeth und am Ende ist für alle alles gut. Mit Miss Elizabeth hatte ich ohnehin so meine Schwierigkeiten. Als Teenager erscheint sie mir recht angepasst. Sie ist viel zu sehr damit beschäftigt den richtigen Beau zu finden und dass sie sich unbeaufsichtigt bei den Sklavenunterkünften aufhalten kann, finde ich auch eher fragwürdig. Der seichte Schreibstil bewirkt, dass die Dramatik des Themas ein bisschen auf der Strecke bleibt und auch Hatties Leiden nicht wirklich in den Vordergrund treten kann. Zumal Hattie ja stellvertretend für die Menschenverachtung steht, mit der Sklaven damals behandelt wurden. Für meinen Geschmack blieb auch der Südstaatenflair, den ich in Büchern wie „Vom Winde verweht“, „Scarlett“ oder „Fackeln im Sturm“ fand, auf der Strecke. Dem ganzen Werk fehlt es meiner Meinung nach an Authentizität. Spaß gemacht hat es ab dem Teil, an dem Lizbeth ihren Eltern die Zähne zeigt und gegen deren Willen jemand anderen heiratet, da kam endlich mal ein bisschen Leben in die Story-

Alles in allem bietet das Werk ein paar vergnügliche Lesestunden, aber ich würde „The Help“ von Kathryn Stockett vorziehen wenn es um gemischtrassige Frauenfreundschaften geht. ...more

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Aug 26, 2013 Jan rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, zz-finished-in-2013

I don’t usually start my reviews with a quote from the book but I feel it is necessary in this case:

From the Prologue: Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned' her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her someday.

This is how the story of Mattie and Lisbeth begins and it truly se I don’t usually start my reviews with a quote from the book but I feel it is necessary in this case:

From the Prologue: Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned' her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her someday.

This is how the story of Mattie and Lisbeth begins and it truly sets the scene for the entire book. Lisbeth is the daughter of a plantation owner in Virginia and Mattie was the slave woman who was forced to leave her own child in order to become her wet nurse. As Lisbeth grows she becomes more and more attached to Mattie, depending on her for the love she needs and does not really receive from her own mother. As their relationship grows, Lisbeth begins to see the slaves on the plantation through new eyes.

But as the opening lines of the book mention, she ends up losing the physical presence of Mattie in her life although the lessons and love that Mattie shared with her stay with her forever and help her grow into a strong courageous woman.

(view spoiler)

Well worth taking the time to read. It made me contemplate an aspect of slavery that I had never really thought about: the close relationships formed between the white children and the black women who virtually raised them and all the difficulties that came with those relationships.
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Apr 09, 2012 Gina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: marriage, kindle, mothers, books-i-own-read, friendship, relationships, rape, 5-00-rating, death, family

Goodreads Description- Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned’ her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her some day. This is our story...

So begins Lisbeth Wainwright’s compelling tale of coming-of-age in antebellum Virginia. Born to white plantation owners but raised by her ensla Goodreads Description- Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family ‘owned’ her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her some day. This is our story...

So begins Lisbeth Wainwright’s compelling tale of coming-of-age in antebellum Virginia. Born to white plantation owners but raised by her enslaved black wet nurse, Mattie, Lisbeth’s childhood unfolds on the line between two very different worlds. Growing up under the tender care of Mattie, Lisbeth adopts her surrogate mother’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring. In time, Lisbeth realizes she has freedoms and opportunities that Mattie does not have, though she’s confined by the societal expectations placed on women born to privilege. As Lisbeth grows up, she struggles to reconcile her love for her caregiver with her parents’ expectations, a task made all the more difficult as she becomes increasingly aware of the ugly realities of the American slavery system. When Lisbeth bears witness to a shockingly brutal act, the final vestiges of her naiveté crumble around her. Lisbeth realizes she must make a choice, one that will require every ounce of the courage she learned from her beloved Mattie. This compelling historical novel is a richly evocative tale of love, loss, and redemption set during one of the most sinister chapters of American history.

This book was gripping from the word go. A freebie on Kindle a few weeks ago, I thought this might just be another book following the theme of the popular 'The Help' published a book and a made into a hit movie. What I didn't expect was to be dragged into the story until I couldn't help but keep turning the pages until the end. This wonderful debut novel, Yellow Crocus, follows the story of Mattie, a slave in pre-Civil War Virginia who is taken away from her young baby in order to act as wet nurse to Lisbeth, the daughter of the couple who owns her. Mattie must trust the care of her own newborn to the other field slaves while she spends her time in the Big House raising another woman's child. I was amazed and saddened at the same time that Lisbeth bonded with Mattie, a field hand, than she ever did with her own mother, Anne. Amazed at the irony that these so called "non-humans" were good enough to nurse a white baby from their "negro" breasts and to care for them through childhood and then that same child would grow up to learn the ugly racism of society. I was saddened that Lisbeth never did bond with her real mother and that her real mother was just fine with that. I was shocked during a scene in the book when Lizbeth's mother saw what nursing was and grimaced and stated it was "unseemly" Mattie eventually has another baby and is returned to the fields and not a day goes by that Lisbeth desperately misses her nurse. As Lisbeth grows and learns the ways of being a proper young woman of the South, she realizes that she feels different than most of her friends about the issue of slavery and finds herself troubled by the tug of war between her true feelings and what society deems appropriate.

Ultimately this is a story of heartbreak and loss, love and loyalty. Above all, it is a story of slavery. Laila Ibrahim works hard to stay true to the characters she has created without letting it turn into yet another story of a white lady swooping down and fixing the problem of racism (bookstores and movie theatres are already overflowing with that story, told a hundred ways). She has been compared to Kathryn Stockett (The Help) but, frankly, Kathryn Stockett wishes. Laila Ibrahim does not turn her black characters into caricatures and her white characters into heroes. If I do have a criticism, however, it is that she does not go far enough into the grim reality of slavery and racism. She loses her nerve, wishes too much for her characters to all have resolutions that leave the reader feeling comforted and comfortable. However, even now in the 21st century, maybe society still isn't ready to hear or be reminded of our country's terrible past. I don't want to reveal too much, but I do think the story would have been even more powerful than it was if some of the characters, particularly Lisbeth, hadn't turned out to be quite so sympathetic so easily. I am certain that in the late 1800's, Lisbeth's sympathy would be met with much more bitterness than what was told. But either way, I do urge you to decide for yourself and read Yellow Crocus. If this is the first work of Ibrahim, I can only imagine what other wonderful treasures she will provide readers with in her future writings! 5 stars!

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Dec 10, 2012 Terri rated it it was amazing

Awesome book! Loved it. I felt like I knew every character personally and I felt their emotions. Having a book hangover now! Highly recommend it!

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Jun 01, 2014 Chrystal rated it really liked it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written with a story that developed well but at the same time was not cumbersome. It was a very delightful and inspiring book, one that reminds us of human caring and emotions, no matter our outward appearances.

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