After listening to/reading The Help I was disappointed in this book. It just seemed to go on and on with one life story after another - somewhat like a soap opera. Performance was excellent, however!

The story was very entertaining, an easy read, the story kept you engaged throughout.

The ending when Hattie realize that the cycle of hardships that surrounded her family had to be broken with her grand daughter.

The scene when she lost her twins, most memorable and sad. this was the catalyst of Hattie's depth of sadness.

Yes, I had all sorts of feelings, sadness, mostly, for what her children experienced as a result of Hattie's issues.

Great book, it give you a lot to think about, how people internalize deep rooted feelings that have a fundamental impact on others lives.

This book was really good. Definitely worth the listen.

When Hattie left her husband.

When she came back from leaving here husband

What a remarkable story by first time author Anaya Mathis. We journey with Hattie Shepherd and her disconnected family as they fight for a connection with her.The story opens with her newborn twins Philadelphia and Jubilee’s death from pneumonia.

As if the death of her children weren't enough Hattie’s comes to realize that her husband August, reveals himself to be a cheat and a piss poor provider. So Hattie finds happiness with another and leaves August and goes to Baltimore,but as fast as she leaves she returns, memories from her past quickly begin to prick her heart. You see, when a sick heart is longing for another it’s hard to love the ones you’re with, but it’s easier to become cold. Hattie’s children began to feel that coldness which moved into her heart, and they began to resent her.

Will they come to terms with the fact that their mom cannot love them? Is it too much to ask children to understand that you are preparing them for the hurt in the world that is sure to come?

Mathis writes a beautiful but sometimes heart wrenching story of overcoming life’s challenges. Very interesting story of family crisis, love and pain.

A plot.

The Great Gatsby

The narrator's performance was the only enjoyable thing about this book.

If I were an editor, I would have sent the book back.

This book was beautifully performed but the book itself failed to develop any one character enough to engage me. I did finish the read but, overall, it failed to intertwine the stories of the children enough to develop enough depth to hold my interest. At times, I wasn't sure who was who and why I cared. I admired Hattie's struggle and thought the story did portray the difficult and tragic lives of the times and the people.

The characters-- They were so well developed and so lively. I was sad to get to the end of the book because I wanted to know what was happening with some of the characters.

Surprisingly, it was Hattie. In the beginning of the book, I could not understand her or relate to her choices. However, by the end of it, I was not only compassionate toward her, I was rooting for her. This progression showed me that when we encounter "seniors" we have no idea what complexities and traumas they had to navigate to get to the relative peace of their golden years.

There were several narrators, but I like the way the main narrator could change intonation in such a way to evoke the feeling of the character.

No. Because it was so good, I wanted to savor it. In fact, I read it on long walks and enjoyed the combination so much, I listened to it a second time.

When Oprah talked about how talented this writer was, she was not overstating things. I did a book review on my blog because I wanted other people to get this book!!!!!

Fair warning, this is not an uplifting book. However, the characters are rich and their storylines are complex and messy, in the way that families often are. This was one that I could not turn off. It is definitely worth your credit.

I enjoyed the history of the characters, however the transition from one story to the next left alot to be unanswered. It took a minute to figure each new story was relative to one of the main characters descendants.

Better transitioning from one story to the next.

Nothing

Yes

The performance was stellar, the narrator really brought a lot life and distinction to each character, and as the characters were rich, deep and unique that was important. The author was able to create such varied characters, make them sympathetic, compelling and shows them struggling against such dire circumstances, yet keeps it fresh and new for the reader.

Hard to pick one--but Floyd really stands out, maybe because he was one of the first.

As I said above, the ability to make each voice as distinct and deep as each character was, whether man, woman, child...

It was hard to put down (turn off). I was listening to this on two long drives, so it was very pleasant/engaging and the destination came too soon!

Sad, sad, sad, but in the end, promise and redemption and the spark of hope.