And so begins my course-readings for Spring semester, 2017! This short book crosses genres of fiction and nonfiction, allowing Brodber to write on her experiences while
I’m reading this and several other books by black women for my literature course, Contemporary Black Women Writers. The course is focused on black girlhood and coming of age, a bildungsroman through the black girlhood lens. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on the weekly reads as far as complete books go.
Brodber wrote this novel through internal sociological perspective. She’s well respected in her field, and is an excellent writer to boot. This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read, written in vignettes with a timeline that is rarely linear. Nellie, the protagonist, struggles with the trauma that is coming from a culture that has been shattered by imperialism and attempting to rebuild it and find herself.
Brodber’s writing style in this novel is often compared to that of a prose poem, a comparison that I find to be well-founded. Her writing is lyrical, stunning in its unique imagery and style.
I give it a 9/10.
Jane and Louisa Will Soon Come Home
Happy reading,
Scarlett
The Feminist Lens 