Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now the newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection.

Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.

Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.

As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.

Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.

This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.

Reader Reviews

Dorie - Cats&Books :)

(5/5)

105

Nov 21, 2024

***Just listened to this in audiobook format and it's really good. The message is still as strong as it was 7 years agoThis novel takes place in the early 1800's and the story starts in Charleston. The Grimke's were a wealthy family, the father was a judge and very highly regarded. One of the sisters, Sara, never really feels as though she fits in the household.At the age of 11, she is given a girl slave, 10 years old, named Hetty, given to her as a birthday present! She intuitively knows that s...

Britany

100

I was not expecting this book to grab my heartstrings and pull the way that it did. It was unexpected, fresh, and interesting. I literally read this book in two sittings, and wasn't ready for it to end when it did. In fact, I actually thought I had more to read, but quickly found out that the author's note was stuck in there!!Sue Monk Kidd outdid herself with the amount of research she had to do to keep this novel accurate, and taking liberties with telling the story of Hetty Handful and Sarah G...

Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽

(4/5)

$1.99 Kindle sale, Sept. 6, 2018. A strong 4 stars. This is a semi-factual novelization of the life of Sarah Grimke, an actual abolitionist and women's rights advocate born in Charleston, S.C. in the early 1800s. It's also a tales of slavery, as the novel alternates each chapter between the voices of Sarah and her slave Hetty, or Handful (who was very loosely based on an actual person). Angelina and Sarah Grimke, southern ladies, sisters and early abolitionists.Sarah, an intelligent, introspecti...

B the BookAddict

This is a book whose topic is one which makes me feel supremely uncomfortable; slavery. Usually, I avoid books like this, they make me feel wretched and sad; tethered as I am here in 2014 and utterly powerless to change history. Before this novel, I knew nothing of Sarah Grimke and her sister Nina and I'm grateful to Sue Monk Kidd for enlightening me.Sarah Grimke was the eighth child of fourteen children, Nina the twelfth, their father was a plantation owner but the family lived in Charleston an...

Mandy

Unforgettable. This book was completely and utterly dynamic. From the first word to the last I was enthralled with Sarah and Handful. From the beginning they had a bond that couldn't be bought or broken. Sarah promised Handful's mama she would free her and she did in so many ways. What a beautiful book, it has definitely opened up new doors for me in what I am choosing to read. The Invention of Wings was so powerful that it even made me rethink my opinions on slavery and how awful and degrading

Dolors

The invention of wings is a fictional recreation of the life of Sarah Grimké, one of the first American feminists and abolitionist who spent her prime years touring the United States giving speeches in favor of equality in gender and race.Born into an aristocratic family of the South and raised up in the culture of pro-slavery, she became an unusual woman who defied not only his family but also public opinion, societal norms and general belief and faced ostracism and permanent banishment because...

PattyMacDotComma

4.5★“Their laughter would ring out abruptly, a sound Mother welcomed. ‘Our slaves are happy,’ she would boast. It never occurred to her their gaiety wasn’t contentment, but survival.”Based on the true story of two sisters who grew up to become prominent abolitionists in the American South in the early 1800s. Sarah, the elder of the two, narrates some chapters while Handful, the slave who was given to her on her 11th birthday, narrates the others. I preferred the fictional Handful’s story to the

Sally

(1/5)

245

I don't know how the book I read can be the same that has received 4 and 5 stars. I found the book to be mediocre at best. With very little character development the book is shallow. I felt nothing for anyone with the possible exception of Handful. Even Charleston, a character herself, especially in the slave trade, was poorly developed. This is a missed opportunity as the history coupled with the fictionalized account could have been very good. I was sadly disappointed.

Debra (semi-hiatus)

142

Such an amazing book. I loved every page of it! This book was amazing. I love books that make one think and feel and this book did both. Parts were inspiring, parts were devastating, disturbing, etc. This is the story of mainly 2 women but also more women of note are also in this book as minor characters. The novel really begins when an 11 year old daughter of a plantation owner is given a slave for her 11th birthday. Well, actually the novel begins when Sarah experiences speaking difficulties a...

Donna

136

Audiobooks have been my preferred reading format for about 5 years now, and I probably listen to at least 30 audiobooks a year, but it is rare that I come across an audio so beautifully narrated and a story so deeply stirring that it leaves me feeling like anything I can say about it will be inadequate. The Invention of Wings was a powerful story of a turbulent time in history and that was conveyed in the brilliant narration by Jenna Lamia and Adepero Oduye. The story alternates points of view f...

PorshaJo

A new trend over the years is to take a small piece of history and create a story around it. I enjoy this concept, especially when it is done well. This time, was no exception. I have wanted to read this for years and always pushed it to the bottom of the pile. I finally decided to pick this up just for the audio. One of the narrators is one that I really enjoy and when I saw she was narrating this one, I moved it to the top of my list.The story is told from two points of view, alternating betwe...

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The Invention of Wings

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The Invention of Wings

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Reader Reviews