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Publication
Viking (2014), Edition: First Edition, 384 pages
Description
"The story follows Hetty "Handful" Grimke, a Charleston slave, and Sarah, the daughter of the wealthy Grimke family. The novel begins on Sarah's eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership over Handful, who is to be her handmaid. "The Invention of Wings" follows the next thirty-five years of their lives. Inspired in part by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke (a feminist, suffragist and, importantly, an abolitionist), Kidd allows herself to go beyond the record to flesh out the inner lives of all the characters, both real and imagined"--
Media reviews
Both Handful and Sarah are admirable characters, though rather disappointingly so. Improbable allies are most engaging when they make life hard for each other and generally it takes them a while to find their common pulse. But Sarah empathizes so completely with Handful from the very beginning that
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we never get to doubt their innate sisterhood. While their identities as mistress and slave imply conflict, it’s not a conflict played out between them. Handful’s rich resentment is rarely directed at Sarah. How could it be? The actual Sarah Grimké may have been as earnest and honorable as she is here, but a little less righteousness might have furnished this story with a wider wingspan. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2016)
Audie Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2015)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Teen — 2017)
Maine Readers' Choice Award (Longlist — 2015)
Southern Book Prize (Winner — Fiction — 2015)
Florida Book Award (Gold Medal — General Fiction — 2014)
NCSLMA Battle of the Books (High School — 2018)
Christy Awards (Nominee — Historical — 2015)
Oprah's Book Club 2.0 (2014-01 — 2014)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2014)
Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection — 2015)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — Fiction — 2014)
RUSA CODES Listen List (Selection — 2015)
Language
Physical description
384 p.; 6.38 inches
ISBN
0670024783 / 9780670024780