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A review by nuhafariha
To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul by Tracy K. Smith
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the Advanced Reader's Copy!
Now available!
Truly there is no word for to describe the beautiful, painful, and haunting way Tracy K Smith excavates her family's history, starting in the Antebellum South to the current day. In lyrical and prosaic style, each chapter builds upon the last until we return with Smith to her native land in Alabama. In this book, the personal is political and Smith spares no detail in the precise way she maps the brutal history of slavery and racism on her own family tree. Yet, there are moments of levity, of joy - particularly in the chapters where Smith describes her own experience of motherhood. I could sense Smith's struggle in writing such a deeply personal work and felt vulnerable alongside her. An absolutely stellar, urgent read!
Now available!
Truly there is no word for to describe the beautiful, painful, and haunting way Tracy K Smith excavates her family's history, starting in the Antebellum South to the current day. In lyrical and prosaic style, each chapter builds upon the last until we return with Smith to her native land in Alabama. In this book, the personal is political and Smith spares no detail in the precise way she maps the brutal history of slavery and racism on her own family tree. Yet, there are moments of levity, of joy - particularly in the chapters where Smith describes her own experience of motherhood. I could sense Smith's struggle in writing such a deeply personal work and felt vulnerable alongside her. An absolutely stellar, urgent read!