Monday, September 9, 2013

Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis was our August Book.  When we start our discussion, we share our name and whether we like the book or not.  This book was pretty split in opinion of "liked" and "not sure."  One person was in the "did not like" category.  Someone shared that Hattie wanted hope and in this book, they didn't see much hope.  Another said, "Hattie survived, that was the hope."  We need to remember the good times.  Someone stated  "It was like reading short stories," about each of the 'tribes.'  "Excellent writing, grabbed me instantly.  It propelled me forward to see if something good happens."  "Didn't think I'd like it, it was depressing, but liked how written.  Don't know why it had such dysfunctional lives."

Our leader had a handout that shared the timeline of the twelve tribes (Hattie's eleven children and her granddaughter).  She asked our favorite character and why.  I think most of us liked Hattie, and a comment was she did the very best she could with not a lot to go on.  She was building emotional protection around herself after losing her twins.  She tried to meet her children's physical needs.  She went on the "dole," didn't want to, but she didn't want her kids to go hungry.  She developed a softness to be sympathetic, which she did at the end with her granddaughter.  She wasn't when her own children were young.  Floyd, when he encountered problems, called Hattie for comfort and peace.  We didn't see that with the other children.  Did she do this so that she felt she was preparing them for the world because the world won't love you.  Someone said they couldn't hate her, she had so much disappointment in her life.

In the beginning of the book, we noted that August stroked the fire before he went to work, so he tried to be a good husband at first.  Maybe life was too painful for him.  When Hattie leaves, August tries to do right.  Didn't she know he was heartbroken, too?  He was good with the children, gave hugs.  We felt the affairs didn't mean much, that he never felt like leaving.  She had, though.  We liked, at the end, that he found the Lord.

We talked a bit about some of their children.  We felt that there was a lot of dysfunction in the children and mental illness.  We talked about migration, broken up families, disconnection.  At the end of the book, Hattie had her house that she had tried so hard to get and would share it with her granddaughter.


 Click HERE for the Amazon link for the book.

No comments:

Post a Comment