The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

By: Ayana Mathis

Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo, Bahni Turpin, Adam Lazarre-White

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A debut of extraordinary distinction: through the trials of one unforgettable family, Ayana Mathis tells the story of the children of the Great Migration, a story of love and bitterness and the promise of a new America.

In 1923, 15-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settles in Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children, whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them for the calamitous difficulty they are sure to face in their later lives, to meet a world that will not love them.

Captured here in 12 luminous narrative threads, their lives tell the story of a mother’s monumental courage and the journey of a nation. Beautiful and devastating, Ayana Mathis’s The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is glorious, harrowing, unexpectedly uplifting, and blazing with life.

©2013 Ayana Mathis (P)2013 Random House Audio

True to Life but at What Cost ?

Would you consider the audio edition of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0) to be better than the print version?

N/A I have not "read" the print version

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0)?

Too numerous to single out one

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I suppose Hattie's granddaughter ...the only character that revealed hope for the future

If you could take any character from The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0) out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Hattie, because she was so true to life of a great many struggling,"great migration" African American women of her generation. My question would be ..why so many children ? was she in some way trying to replace the lost first borns and thus her ability to feel and express tenderness for her children ?

Any additional comments?

Difficult listen, very sad but no doubt excellently written. I've had a friend comment that it was also a difficult read. As a 60+ year old African- American daughter of working class "Great Migration"parents I can attest that the 30+ yr old author was so very " on target" with her knowledge of the language, cultural nuances and experiences.This was indeed gratifying. Nevertheless, I found myself feeling depressed in anticipation of the future for the vast majority of her characters. Thus, I'm Not sure if I'd want to revisit them. Yes, life can be/was a struggle for Hattie's generation and many of their offspring but there were/are positive moments that sustain and there were too few depicted in this collection of stories. Also, though they were all adequate I would have preferred that the multiple narrators narrate the characters by gender or for some apparent reason. Otherwise I'm not clear as to why three narrators were used.

You never know

What did you love best about The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0)?

I love this book. It just demonstates so much passion, and unconditional love. Hattie is an amazing strong woman who despite her wants and needs lives for her children.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0)?

The most memorable moment in the book was when Lawrence introduces Belle to Hattie. Later I saw a great love when Hattie took care of Belle when she was dying.

This one's a winner!

I read the hard copy when it was first released and had a hard time following the stories. In fact, I think I never finished. The audiobook was much better. I could relate to each character in one or more ways. I also saw traits of my own mother in Hattie. Knowing a person's history helps you to understand why they are the way they are. Hattie may not have been the best mother but she meant well.

I can't believe this is a first novel

I Have been a member for several years and this is probably the best book I have purchased. The author's use of the language is amazing. I have already started recommending it to my friends.

This book is like a warm bowl of soup with a big piece of bread.

This is a wonderful story about life and love. The book is about the trials and tribulations and every day families I didn’t particularly like the end of the book. I guess I wanted to full happy ending.

For me...So So

I have read many of Oprahs book club books so I was a little disappointed by this one. Don't get me wrong it was very well written and the narrators were great but the story itself wasn't as intriguing to me as other book club books have been. I usually find books written like this one a refreshing change (each chapter is its own little story adding to the 1 big story) but with this book I felt like I never really got invested in any one character which made me not invested in the overall big story. I finished listening, it was entertaining but it did not resound with me in the way I thought it would.

I believe that personally I am not in a place in my life to fully appreciate this book which is why I do not discourage anyone from giving this book a shot. I think there are tons of people out there who will really "get" this book.

The story was not complete

I totaly got into the book, but it ended with out completeing what happened to the
characters,were the decisions made good for them.

Like the baby Ella who went home with her Aunt was this good for Ella. Was Hatties sacrifice the right sacrifice. The gay son where did his life go. the wealthy daughter who was a witness to chld molestation what happened to her and her brother.

why was Hattie so angry, who did she blame for the loss of the twins. Why did she just seem to ebb and flow with out any emotion other than anger.

Iloved the book as far as it went but it left to much out .

Like a soap opera

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!

Wonderfully written

The depth of the storytelling was amazing. I hung on every word and longed for more when the book ended.

Its complicated!

A well-to-do story about complicated mother and her children whose lives were no less complicated.