![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Perkins-Valdez has done a fine job of building a structure and scaffolding that will not only endure but also bear the weight of future writers yearning to bring the past to readers afresh. Take My Hand - by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Hardcover) 14. Take My Hand reminds us that truly extraordinary fiction is rarely written merely to entertain. In exploring unexplored events involving Black American women, Perkins-Valdez gives us a fuller, richer view of our nation’s history while also reminding readers that Black girls’ bodies and futures have never been protected in the American experiment. ![]() And in a novel that is steeped in the stew and issues of womanhood, Perkins-Valdez manages to get even the male characters on point. Not every reader will recognize the careful detail, but those who do will feel rewarded to finally behold a book that centers their experience. Perkins-Valdez paints Montgomery in such rich strokes, you can feel history breathing down your neck. As always, the author has clearly spent a great deal of time researching to ensure depth and accuracy. That's the question that protagonist Civil Townsend, a Black nurse in 1970s Alabama, has to grapple with when the federally funded clinic she works for causes irreparable harm to two of her young. In a perfectly orchestrated symphony of specificity, nuance, Jim Crow history and memory, Perkins-Valdez brings the events and images of Montgomery 1973 whizzing back like an unscheduled train rushing past a platform. ![]()
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