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livsliterarynook 's review for:
Red at the Bone
by Jacqueline Woodson
Red at the Bone was an emotional and immersive read. It feels quite poetic at times which is helped with the short paragraphs and dialogue in italics to keep the flow going. The book examines how two families come together with a teenage pregnancy and the birth of baby Melody. It jumps between the narratives of Melody, her parents Iris and Aubrey, and grandparents Sabe and Po'Boy. It weaves a history of the family together through the different narratives dating back to 1921 and the Tulsa race massacre, but mostly centres on Iris's teenage years and melodies sixteenth birthday in 2001 Brooklyn.
The novel excels in the family relationships it builds as we see from multiple sides the bonds between grandparents and grandchild, father and daughter. We see the distance that exists between Melody and her mother Iris and how this came to be. It examines how a family comes to be formed and extended. It questions what it means to be a parent, grandparents and the sacrifices family make for each other.
The division and dysfunction in the Mother-Daughter relationship was particularly prominent. This was my second book recently that has focused on divisions within this relationship and how ideas of ambition, freedom and hope all tie into this relationship and can serve to sever it. The last one I read was Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena.
It's not only the bonds between family that are central to this novel though. Jacqueline Woodson also focuses heavily on class, race and sexuality. She uses the characters of Aubrey and Iris to contrast the hardships and opportunities that may come because of wealth and social class. She examines neighbourhoods, education, jobs and the change over time in these places and experiences because of class.
Particularly through the character of Iris she also explores sexuality of a young black women, examining at what point she becomes sexually active, how this breaks the mould of her Catholic upbringing, and how she comes to explore identity and sexual orientation.
This book is short, but offers a wealth of themes, emotions and most importantly strong characters and familial bonds. I enjoyed the prose and structural style immensely and will definitely be returning to Woodson's work.
The novel excels in the family relationships it builds as we see from multiple sides the bonds between grandparents and grandchild, father and daughter. We see the distance that exists between Melody and her mother Iris and how this came to be. It examines how a family comes to be formed and extended. It questions what it means to be a parent, grandparents and the sacrifices family make for each other.
The division and dysfunction in the Mother-Daughter relationship was particularly prominent. This was my second book recently that has focused on divisions within this relationship and how ideas of ambition, freedom and hope all tie into this relationship and can serve to sever it. The last one I read was Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena.
It's not only the bonds between family that are central to this novel though. Jacqueline Woodson also focuses heavily on class, race and sexuality. She uses the characters of Aubrey and Iris to contrast the hardships and opportunities that may come because of wealth and social class. She examines neighbourhoods, education, jobs and the change over time in these places and experiences because of class.
Particularly through the character of Iris she also explores sexuality of a young black women, examining at what point she becomes sexually active, how this breaks the mould of her Catholic upbringing, and how she comes to explore identity and sexual orientation.
This book is short, but offers a wealth of themes, emotions and most importantly strong characters and familial bonds. I enjoyed the prose and structural style immensely and will definitely be returning to Woodson's work.