Tara M. Stringfellow - Memphis

 

Tara M. Stringfellow - Memphis 

5 ⭐

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Race, Literary Fiction.

Pages: 258

Format: Paperback ARC

Publisher: John Murray Press 

Date Published: 7th April 2022 (UK)

Big thanks to John Murray Press for the ARC and for TandemCollectiveUK for having me on their #MemphisReadalong #TandemReadalong.

Book Blurb: 

In the summer of 1995, ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father's violence, seeking refuge at her mother's ancestral home in Memphis. Half a century ago, Joan's grandfather built this majestic house in the historic Black neighbourhood of Douglass--only to be lynched days after becoming the first Black detective in Memphis. This wasn't the first time violence altered the course of Joan's family's trajectory, and she knows it won't be the last. Longing to become an artist, Joan pours her rage and grief into sketching portraits of the women of North Memphis--including their enigmatic neighbour Miss Dawn, who seems to know something about curses.

Unfolding over seventy years through a chorus of voices, Memphis weaves back and forth in time to show how the past and future are forever intertwined. It is only when Joan comes to see herself as a continuation of a long matrilineal tradition--and the women in her family as her guides to healing--that she understands that her life does not have to be defined by vengeance. That the sole weapon she needs is her paintbrush.

Inspired by the author's own family history, Memphis--the Black fairy tale she always wanted to read--explores the complexity of what we pass down, not only in our families but in our country: police brutality and justice, powerlessness and freedom, fate and forgiveness, doubt and faith, sacrifice and love.

My Review: 

Wow, just wow! What a debut by Tara M. Stringfellow! I cried and I laughed and cried again…and then went through so many other emotions….Honestly, it is such a beautifully written book about the lives of three generations of women in the North family. This book gripped me from the very first chapter and the truth is I wanted to read it all in one sitting, but since I was a part of #TandemCollectiveUK #MemphisReadalong I couldn’t read it all at once.

The book follows three generations of women in North Family over 70 years. Chapters are multiple POVs and jump the timeline, but this is what made me intrigued and gripped me even more. The chapters and their non-linearity tell a story in a way that shows how each of the lives of these women are interlinked, not only because these women are related but also by the things, they all had to live through – the traumas, hurt, pain, loss…

The trauma that Southern black women have been and are experiencing, such as racism, domestic abuse, discrimination, rape, and brutality of police was heart-breaking to read. I loved how the author displayed how all of that made the North family and their neighbours resilient, strong, ambitious and determined to fight for what is right, for their rights and voices to be heard.

For me, the characters that stood out the most are Hazel and Joan, by are so similar to each other, although they haven’t met each other and lived in a very different version of Memphis. There is that fire in both of them that fuels their ambition, their determination and their love for their family and their love for Memphis.

Overall: At times this book didn’t feel like I was reading a piece of fiction, as everything that happened in the book felt so raw and real. It is that well and beautifully written. I honestly could’ve read more and more about the North family, and would’ve loved it if there were any chapters from Mya’s POV.

I am usually quite critical of books but I couldn’t even find one negative thing about this book. It is one of the best, if not the best, books that I have read this year. I truly think it should be on everyone’s TRB because this book will not disappoint.

I really can’t wait for what the talented Tara M. Stringfellow writes next as I will be definitely reading that.

About the Author: 

Former attorney, Northwestern University MFA graduate, and Pushcart Prize nominee Tara M. Stringfellow’s debut novel Memphis (Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House) is a multi-generational bildungsroman based on the author’s rich Civil Rights history.

A recent winner of the Book Pipeline Fiction Contest, Memphis was recognized for its clear path to film or TV series adaptation and is due out in 2022. Third World Press published her first collection of poetry entitled More than Dancing in 2008.

A cross-genre artist, the author was Northwestern University’s first MFA graduate in both poetry and prose and has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes, as well as Best of the Net.

Her poems have appeared in Collective Unrest, Jet Fuel Review, Minerva Rising, Women’s Arts Quarterly, Transitions and Apogee Journal, among others.

If she isn’t writing, she’s gardening. If she isn’t in Memphis, she’s in Italy.

https://www.instagram.com/tarastringfellow/