The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois Paperback – 5 September 2021

This came with bubble wrap, which I appreciated. Good packaging.

Books with a hefty page count have a very daunting task. They have to be brilliant and keep your undivided attention or be mediocre. Jeffers manages to keep you engaged page after page with her beautifully written characters. This is historical fiction at its best. The impact of the brutal exploitation of the native Indians and the black people on the mindsets of the current generation is well documented. It is not a easy task to write a synopsis of this book as there are several characters. At times it got confusing for me and I had to keep going to and fro between the pages. Though the cast of characters is giving before the first chapter I would suggest making your own notes or chart them out according to your sensibilities.Do not be daunted by its size, take a deep breath and dive in!

"Let everything happen to you.Beauty and terror.Just keep going.No feeling is final" is what Rainer Maria Rilke writes, and exactly what the women in this novel resonate with. And the readers spectate it all.The universality of feeling and experience transcends time and generations with such finesse that The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois will leave an indelible mark in your heart.This is a book I took my time to read, measuring each expression closely. And, with worldly pursuits to take care of, The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois gave me a space to react spontaneously to everything that was happening in the course of the novel. Whether it was joy, anger, frustration, shock, denial, or sorrow, The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois helped me restore faith on myself. The unfathomable power of this novel to communicate with you via language and language only is as much awe-inspiring as its cast. The characters and in turn the plot, inadvertently welcome the readers to eavesdrop and spectate what happens in their lifetime. This intimacy of the reader with the fictional setting is what makes The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois one of the most riveting books to release this year. It's all praises from my side, because I am yet to recover from the sheer depth of thought that permeates the storyline with unparalleled simplicity and candor.

Before I say anything else, I must thank Haper Collins for getting me a review copy, because clearly, I am in love with this book. It is definitely one among the top 5 reads of the year.The book circles around the life of an African American, Ailey Pearl Garfield, who understands herself better through the lives of her ancestors. Her story is not just her own, past references and influences has shaped who she is. Her journey is a learning experience for the readers as well. The author has very beautifully intertwined with this multi-generational family saga, the themes of feminism, love, sexual abuse, coming of age, friendships, racism, oppression and most importantly, history. I learnt a lot while reading this book about indigenous, black, white African Americans in different parts of the country.The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois is Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’ debut novel, and while the topic of the book is informative and educational, the prose is lyrical and poetic that it consumes the reader. That there is nothing else but this world right in front of you that you would not want to exit. The author has not only added layers to her characters and story, her writing is equally layered. Further, the book is well researched, which adds to the list of reasons as to why everyone should read it.At the end, I would say read this book for sure. Length of the book might intimidate some, but it is totally worth the time. Pure magic, as they say.

What does one write about a book that has everything written in it? How does one express the multitudes of emotions felt through a book spanning across 200 years in just under 800 pages? How does one thank the author who invested 11 years of her life to bring to you this mammoth of a family saga to represent millions of families in the United States?Anything I write about this book will not do justice to it, so instead I emphasize that you ABSOLUTELY MUST read it.You ask me why?The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois is an ode to women - specifically Black women, to mothers, to survivors, to those in pain, to those recovering. It's an ode to their loss, their grief, their strength, their sacrifices, their resilience, their conviction and their will to never stop moving forward.I had the most profound time reading this book. I am neither Black nor Native American and yet I felt seen, I was also educated throughout. I have invested a month in this book, not only on the tale being told but also researching the history brought to light by the author in the most lyrical format.I appreciated the Songs and chapter format which ran in parallel to narrate the tale. The Songs told the tale of the ancestors while the chapters put light on the life of Ailey Pearl Garfield. I waited with bated breath for the two storylines to merge and had my fingers crossed hoping that the transition would be smooth, I'm glad to say it was even better!I knew I was reading a perfect work of historical fiction because the author skillfully leads you to exactly that event in history which she'd like you to read up and learn about. This is the exact reason why I had the most fun researching (you can find all of it in my highlights) and this is why learning felt natural.Through her debut novel, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers has established herself a historian masquerading as a masterful storyteller. @honoree_jeffers ma'am, I thank you for bringing this story out into the world. There aren't enough words to express how this book has impacted the life of a woman sitting half way across the globe. 🙏🏻