By Esther Callens
Reserved with a January 7, 2014 release date, is a compelling novel that is set against the backdrop of historical fiction. The Invention Of Wings is the title of this absorbing read. Written by the award winning bestselling author Sue Monk Kidd (The Secret Life Of The Bees and The Mermaid Chair), her latest offers the fictional narrative of two strong women bound by the limitations that society bestows upon them.
The Invention Of Wings takes readers back to a time in America’s history that equality was a liberty only bestowed upon a select few. It is here that Hetty “Handful” Grimke and Sarah Grimke form an unlikely and forbidden bond. Hetty is a 10-year-old slave, property of the Grimke family, the crème of Charleston elitists. Hetty lives up to the moniker “Handful” (name given to her by her mother). She is a dreamer and she longs for a life without the constraints that slavery brings. Sarah, who happens to be a year older than Handful, is one of the Grimke’s 14 children. Sarah, unlike her parents, is a nonconformist. She is bright and wants more out of life than the prim and proper education that southern women are allowed.
On Sarah’s 11th birthday, against her wishes, she is given Handful as a waiting maid. This sets wheels in motion where the girls develop a relationship that defies the laws and forever changes both of their lives. Loosely inspired by the life story of Sarah Grimke, Kidd’s latest is a moving tale with momentous layers. Sue Monk Kidd is a prolific writer whose titles have done well. In fact, her novel The Secret Life Of Bees was made into a major motion movie that acquired numerous awards. She lives in Florida.
On January 25, 2014 Sue Monk Kidd will have a book signing in Birmingham at Books-A-Million in Brookwood Village. Please verify with the venue for the time this event will take place.
