"Remembrance" by Rita Woods

Title: Remembrance

Author: Rita Woods
Publisher: Forge
Year: 2019
Genre(s): historical fiction, supernatural
Part of a Series: No.
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Abigail has everything taken from her – her freedom, her real name, her husband and her children. In New Orleans, she discovers a power deep inside her that could give her back at least some of what she’s lost. She creates a safe place for Black people called Remembrance, which becomes home to Winter and eventually Margot, who runs away when her master’s death costs her her promised freedom. Together, they fight to preserve their way of life in Remembrance and as the 21st century continues on, another person may be called to continue their legacy.

Review: This was on my list to read for a while since getting it and I was hoping to have it finished by Black History Month. That didn’t quite work out – after all I didn’t finish the Christmas book until February, so finishing this book in May seemed to be on track.

Woods has created an intriguing story, rooted in the history and experiences of Black America. While I as a white woman will never fully understand those experiences and how they shaped the worldviews of a large portion of our country’s population. But I feel I got a window into those experiences and injustices. I feel I understood just a tiny bit better.

And that says a lot about the power of the written word, especially fiction – and historical fiction.

So I want to get the one weak point I found with the book so I could go onto all the book’s strong points. Like with most books I’ve read that juggle multiple POVs, I find there is one character who usually suffers. In this case, I feel Gaelle was pushed to the backburner a little too much. I often forgot about her until we went back to the modern day. So while she ultimately had some connection to the rest of the plot, I think it might’ve been better to introduce her later and really focus on her in the last few chapters.

(I also feel Margot started strong and I had the impression she would be a bigger player than she ultimately was. It felt like she got lost in the mix as well).

But that’s just my opinion.

Moving on to the strong points other than the emotional connection I mentioned earlier.

Our main characters are Abigail and Winter and both have compelling storylines. Abigail’s is the most heartbreaking and she probably is the one who loses the most due to slavery. She gains powers and goes on a quest to protect others from the heartbreak she suffered and to give them a place where they can be free. She will do anything to protect them but she is also still driven by the anger of what happened to her.

Winter, though, has only known life in the safe haven Abigail has created and doesn’t carry the same anger as the woman who raised her – Abigail. She tends to be more scatterbrained and is disliked by many in Remembrance but she has a great power inside her as well. Her journey to finding a way to channel the power and experiencing the injustice she had only ever heard about was truly a compelling read. I probably could’ve read a whole novel focused on her.

Woods also is wordsmith when it comes to description. I felt as if I was transported to the different places from a plantation on Haiti to New Orleans to Remembrance. Everything was so vivid and I applaud Woods for how she crafted those settings and made them characters in her novel as well.

Bottom line: An engaging novel about power and empowerment.

Sex: None

Moonlight Musing

What would you do for freedom?