Wench: A Novel

Dolen Perkins-Valdez delivers the gripping tale of primary characters, Lizzy, Reenie, Sweet and Mawu's, lives as slave maids and mistresses during the mid-19th century. Although from separate southern plantations, the mistresses vacation with their white masters to a free-state resort in Ohio each summer, forming a sisterly bond and developing relationships with each other.

Suffering emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their "owners," the women grow weary, often dreaming of their and their children's freedom. While each of the women has a unique relationship with her respective master, Lizzy, Reenie, Sweet and Mawu share the bond of slavery and mistreatment. Despite the seeming perks each wench receives over all the other slaves at their home plantations, each woman still finds herself living in misery. This story brings readers into the heart-wrenching decisions, painstaking moments and emotional turmoil endured by each of the women as they struggle to save themselves spiritually, physically and emotionally. They walk a fine line of favor with their masters. Should the women stay, or should they run, when the opportunity is staring them right in the face?

This story is unlike any other story I've read about slave women and children. Yes, I've heard the stories and knew these type things happened but never have I been drawn into the minds of the women that have lived this life. Themes of particular interest to me while reading this story were the relationship between the master's wife, Fran, and Lizzy. Lizzy's character is also of the most interest to me in that she was quite indecisive. I understood her indecision. I felt these women's pain and suffering. I also acknowledge the author's underlying message of the possible cause and evolvement of black-on-black prejudices.

After reading this story, I am even more deeply appreciative of the women before me. They suffered tremendously and if it weren't for them I would not be living the life I am today. Any time you read a story and you feel the emotions jumping from the pages, you've got a page turner. The history behind the Tawawa House and what the land is actually used for today is also quite interesting. I would have never known had I not read this book.

Based on this novel, I would read a second offering from Ms. Perkins-Valdez.

I could not put this book down. Rarely does a book capture my attention the way Wench did. After I started reading this book I left my chores undone, ignored the work on my desk and stayed up late at night reading. I have such mixed feelings about the pleasure I took in this book because it covers a horrible topic. Yet the author took such care telling the stories of four slave women forced into sexual relationships with their master. You must not miss the stories of Lizzie, Sugar, Reenie and Mawu. They share their lives with the reader and you come to care deeply about them before the reading is done. What the white masters did to these women is terrible yet the women handle it grace and strength that I myself do not have. My only hope is that the author plans a sequel because the story is just too good to end.

Dr. Dolen Perkins-Valdez does a great job portraying the setting and the characters - providing details that bring the story to life, without being superlative. As I was reading, I shed several tears. I smiled some too - and, many times, I felt a host of mixed emotions concurrently. Perkins-Valdez does a great job of showing the complexity of humanity in her characters - allowing her readers to think about themselves in a very real manner. The novel compelled me to think about several issues in more intricate ways. The words led me to think about history and slavery, but also love and strength, in subtle yet powerful ways. I read a lot, and I have written a good deal too. I know that this much vitality in a novel is hard to find. I found Wench to be very well-done. I had a hard time putting it down. My only complaint is that I wasn't ready for it to end.

The premise of novel about slave women set in resort with this history was wonderful - the writing was just a shame. Characters black and white were poorly sketched and the author did nothing to explore the vast class system among slaves.

A favored mistress from Louisiana would have likely been French-speaking and likely well schooled in fashion and flirtation. A slave owned by a Tennessee farmer, would have had a completely different background. It would have been wonderful to see these differences explored - or at least acknowledged by the author. Instead we just get cardboard cutouts.

This is Alice Walker meets Harlequin.

For truly wonderful books that explore black culture in the same time period, read Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series for fully fleshed out and historically rich stories of slave era black Americans both male and female

Is it possible to love a book that explores the difficult issues of slavery, violence, dehumanization, and loss? Yes! Reading this book was very timely for me. I just finished teaching a US History class in which one of my students was adamant that there were slaves and their masters who fell in love and that their masters didn't exploit them because they loved each other. I tried to explain that such a relationship would be a lot more complicated than that--that issues of power and powerlessness, of social acceptability, and so on would make things a lot more difficult than anything we could imagine in our lives today. This book portrays the master-slave relationship in a realistic and very believable way that truly took my breath away.

Wench explores the emotional and psychological complexities that slave mistresses faced during the Antebellum period in the American South. They were given favored status, sometimes their children were given special treatment by their fathers/masters, and there were probably some who even believed that they loved their masters, as main character Lizzie did. But they also occupied a position on the plantation that could be quite lonely. They didn't quite fit in with the other slaves because they received special treatment, and they were not on the same level as their white masters.

Much of this story takes place at Tawawa House, an Ohio resort where a number of slave owners vacationed with their slave mistresses (a location that actually existed). It is in this place that these women finally feel like they fit in somewhere because they can relate to each other and are able to bond based on their shared experience. But even their shared experience varies as each woman is not treated the same way by their master. Being on holiday in a free state of course brings thoughts of escape and freedom closer to the surface. And that was the second struggle the women faced--the decision of whether to run away or not. For some that decision was easy to make. For others, the decision was a difficult one, as it would mean leaving their children behind and risking their lives in the process.

Although the reader gets to know the four women and their struggles, the story mainly revolves around Lizzie and her remarkable transformation. In the beginning, she doesn't even want to consider escape because of the love she feels for her master and for her children. She hopes one day to convince him to free their children from slavery. But as time passes, she becomes disillusioned with the life she and her children are living. She sees the evils that other masters perpetrate on their slaves and she starts to wonder if she has been wrong. Eventually, she begins to consider escape, but you'll have to read the book to find out if she actually does or not.

This is an excellent book. Ms. Perkins-Valdez has done a superb job in her research. The historical period and the people portrayed in it feel authentic. The writing is beautifully descriptive. I don't know what else I can say--I liked everything about this book. I highly recommend it.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book by the author to review for a virtual book tour stop at my blog.