BKMT READING GUIDES
Wench: A Novel
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Hardcover : 293 pages
26 clubs reading this now
24 members have read this book
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is startling and original fiction that raises provocative questions of power and freedom, love and dependence. An enchanting and unforgettable novel based on little-known fact, Wench combines the narrative allure of < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Cane River by Lalita Tademy and the moral ...
Introduction
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is startling and original fiction that raises provocative questions of power and freedom, love and dependence. An enchanting and unforgettable novel based on little-known fact, Wench combines the narrative allure of < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />
Excerpt
From Part 1, Chapter 6:The four women stacked the preserved fruit against the wall of the ice house. The ice house was thirteen feet long and twelve feet wide, a nearly perfect square. A ten-foot-deep hole was dug into the ground and filled with ice from the pond during the winter. After the ice was buried, the hole was covered with straw. The house remained cool throughout the summer. The resort used it for storing various foods such as fruit and eggs. Barrels of whiskey sat in the corner. ...
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Discussion Questions
From the Author:1. Why does Lizzie betray Mawu in Part I?
2. Does Drayle really love Lizzie? Does she really love him? Is it possible that real love could exist within such an imbalanced power dynamic?
3. By the end of the novel, Fran begins to see Lizzie in a new way. Discuss this change in Drayle's wife.
Suggested by Members
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
Wench is a great book club pick because it illuminates the unique difficulties of being a woman during slavery. The antebellum South was a culture led by men, therefore many women, both white and black, found themselves in difficult situations. Lizzie's attachment to her master, Drayle, is a complicated one. One might even refer to it as a kind of "Stockholm syndrome." Yet in this book there are no easy answers, for one might also argue that she and Drayle genuinely love each other. Because Wench offers no easy answers, it invites a wide range of reactions that will liven any book discussion.Book Club Recommendations
Recommended to book clubs by 31 of 31 members.
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