The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

Oprah told me to read this, actually oprah told me a while ago but this first novel by ayana mathis hadn't been released here so I waited. And I waited. And then I waited a little more until the happy moment I spotted it in waterstones last Saturday. Alas the wait still was not over as I hadn't finished crime and punishment but eventually I did. I hurtled through this book. I couldn't read it quick enough, I'd come in from work throw my stuff down, feed the guinea pig thelma and then sit enraptured on my sofa with this for hours. So was the wait worth it? Absolutely. This book is about Hattie, a woman originally from Georgia who moves to north Philadelphia as a teenager. It is her story told via the lives of her children, all eleven of them. Each chapter deals with one or in some cases two of them and from the adults they become and the references about their mother we learn all about Hattie. It doesn't sound that exciting and I suppose it isn't exciting but it's something better than that. If a book could ever break your heart there's chapters in this that completely do, a lot of it is terribly sad but kind of hopefully at the same time. It's by no means a long book but the amount of subjects it deals with is quite incredible, there's death, madness, homosexuality, suicide, alcoholism, racism, poverty, adultery and even though mathis might only write about them through her characters for a couple of pages it never feels like she's skimping or throwing them in for the sake of it, she writes so clearly you understand everything about these topics grasp on the characters, its really pretty powerful stuff. This book kind of gets right to the core of you, it did me anyway and you don't come across writing this good often. I hope I come across another book as good as this one but it'll take some doing. People always say in reviews 'if you read one book this year make it this one' but I genuinely mean it this is a top read, if you know me i'll lend it to you but you have to return it, it's my new favourite.