Ayana Mathis

A Novel

Unsettled

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'I can’t remember when I read anything that moved me quite this way, besides the work of Toni Morrison.’ Oprah Winfrey 'Mathis traces the fates of Hattie’s 12 children and grandchildren over the course of the 20th century . . . [it] is remarkable.' Sunday Times 'Ms. Mathis has a gift for imbuing her characters’ stories with an epic dimension that recalls Toni Morrison’s writing.' New York Times Fifteen years old and blazing with the hope of a better life, Hattie Shepherd fled the horror of the American South on a dawn train bound for Philadelphia. Hattie’s is a tale of strength, of resilience and heartbreak that spans six decades. Her American dream is shattered time and again: a husband who lies and cheats and nine children raised in a cramped little house that was only ever supposed to be temporary. She keeps the children alive with sheer will and not an ounce of the affection they crave. She knows they don’t think her a kind woman — but how could they understand that all the love she had was used up in feeding them and clothing them. How do you prepare your children for a world you know is cruel? The lives of this unforgettable family form a searing portrait of twentieth century America. From the revivalist tents of Alabama to Vietnam, to the black middle-class enclave in the heart of the city, to a filthy bar in the ghetto, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is an extraordinary, distinctive novel about the guilt, sacrifice, responsibility and heartbreak that are an intrinsic part of ferocious love.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

A Violent Woman

The newest Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 selection: this special eBook edition of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis features exclusive content, including Oprah’s personal notes highlighted within the text, and a reading group guide. The arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction. A debut of extraordinary distinction: Ayana Mathis tells the story of the children of the Great Migration through the trials of one unforgettable family. In 1923, fifteen-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia and settles in Philadelphia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. She vows to prepare them for the calamitous difficulty they are sure to face in their later lives, to meet a world that will not love them, a world that will not be kind. Captured here in twelve luminous narrative threads, their lives tell the story of a mother’s monumental courage and the journey of a nation. Beautiful and devastating, Ayana Mathis’s The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is wondrous from first to last—glorious, harrowing, unexpectedly uplifting, and blazing with life. An emotionally transfixing page-turner, a searing portrait of striving in the face of insurmountable adversity, an indelible encounter with the resilience of the human spirit and the driving force of the American dream.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Digital Edition)

Fylld av hopp om ett bättre liv, är femtonåriga Hattie en av de många miljoner svarta som åren efter första världskriget flyr den amerikanska Södern. Men i Philadelphia i norr möter hon samma rasism som i söder. Hon drabbas av en svår sorg när hon förlorar sina två första barn och föder sedan ytterligare nio barn. Hon älskar dem alla högt och försöker förbereda dem för en en värld hon vet kommer att vara grym och krävande. "Hatties liv" tecknar ett djupt gripande och inspirerande porträtt av en kvinna med okuvlig vilja och stort mod. I tolv skimrande kapitel, spunna mellan 1923 och 1980, berättas historien om en svart familj i 1900-talets USA. Från väckelserörelsens tält i Alabama till slagfälten i Vietnam. Sällan har en debutroman så lyckats beröra en hel kontinent. Ayana Mathis gripande berättelse vittnar om en ny stor röst i den amerikanska litteraturen.

Hatties liv

Viiltävä kertomus orjuuden ja rotusyrjinnän perinnöstä. Ayana Mathisin kiitetty esikoisromaani kulkee Toni Morrisonin jalanjäljissä.

Huonetta ja sukua

Philadelphie, 1923. La jeune Hattie arrive de Géorgie pour fuir le Sud rural et la ségrégation. Aspirant à une vie nouvelle, forte de l’énergie de ses seize ans, Hattie épouse August. Au fil des années, cinq fils, six filles et une petite-fille naîtront de ce mariage. Douze enfants qui égrèneront, au fil de l’histoire américaine du xxe siècle, leur parcours marqué par le fort tempérament de leur mère, sa froide combativité et ses failles secrètes. Les Douze Tribus d’Hattie, premier roman éblouissant, a bouleversé l’Amérique et conquis les lecteurs français. Telles les pièces d’un puzzle, ces douze tribus dessinent en creux le portrait d’une mère insaisissable et le parcours d’une nation en devenir.

Les Douze Tribus d'Hattie

Hvordan forbereder du dine børn på at møde verden og et liv, du ved bliver barskt? 15 år gammel flygter Hattie fra Sydens grusomheder og begiver sig nordpå til Philadelphia til en tilværelse, hun kun kan håbe på bliver bedre. Hatties tolv stammer er en roman om styrke, ukuelighed oghjertesorg, der strækker sig over 60 år. Hatties amerikanske drøm bliver knust igen og igen; en løgnagtig og utro ægtemand, en børneflok som vokser op under trange kår i et lille bitte hus. Hun formår at holde børnene i live ved ren og skær vilje.

Ayana Mathis

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