The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0)

Oprah's Book Club 2.0

By: Ayana Mathis

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

The newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection.

The arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

A debut of extraordinary distinction: Ayana Mathis tells the story of the children of the Great Migration through the trials of one unforgettable family.

In 1923, fifteen-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, a world that will not be kind. Captured here in twelve 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 wondrous from first to last—glorious, harrowing, unexpectedly uplifting, and blazing with life. An emotionally transfixing novel, a searing portrait of striving in the face of insurmountable adversity, an indelible encounter with the resilience of the human spirit and the driving force of the American dream.

Loved the story

Where does The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

As far as the content of the book, I loved it. I found the reader quite distracting to the story, however.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hattie was the centerpiece, but I found her husband to be the most interesting. It was fascinating to see his perspective on their life and marriage in contrast to her's.

How could the performance have been better?

The reader had very awkward timing and phrasing. It wasn't smooth and consistent. She did well on dialogue, but the narrative was disjointed at times. The male reader was excellent. He had a magnificent voice and was absolutely believable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It was easy to listen in chapters.

Any additional comments?

Very seldom does a book make me cry, but this one really touched my heart. The author caught the emotion and drama of a struggling family with too many mouths to feed and too few resources. It's also a solidifies the fact that even imperfect parents can be loved by their children. A wonderful book.

Another disappointing Oprah recommendation -

I generally don't like Oprah's recommendations. But this one came highly recommended, so I gave it a try. The narration was great. Very well done. The book may have been well-written, but was really a series short stories about people at perhaps the most miserable stages of their lives. The book was about Hattie's children, but I never really got a sense of them as a family, since each story was self-contained. Unless you're a true devotee of Oprah's recommendations, I wouldn't suggest this as a read for anyone.

compelling powerful

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?

an oprah book..heavy duty but very very compelling and a powerfull look at a
african american household mid 20th century with too many kids and an
oppresive mother

great performance...book needed more

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

There was no redeeming character throughout the book... no positives in the picture of society it painted. I know their lives were very difficult but wish the author had more compassion for the characters.

This was a lovely and hard book to listen to.

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.