Memphis A Novel

oh my god, the trauma. I read this book as a part of my reading road trip. I figured, what better place to start than my hometown? I was not prepared for the immense pain the characters would go through in these pages. If not for the reading challenge, I may have stopped reading this altogether for that reason. However, pushing past that, the book was still enjoyable, fast-paced, and well-written. The prose was very beautiful. I enjoyed the rotating perspectives but still felt like I didn't get to actually know Joan as much as I thought I would be based on the blurb. The southern imagery made me miss home so much.

Beautiful generational story. Lots of different kinds of love (and trauma) between sisters, mothers and daughters, and good and bad men. Would’ve liked more about the grandma and Mya.

I enjoy this book but I had higher expectations.

• loved the interweaving timelines and just vivid, wonderful, deep characters highlighting and honoring a multitude of Black life with such an iconic city as a backdrop

i loved reading about this loving family living in the city i’ve always called home. despite all the hardships that these women face they stick together and show each other love. i liked the multiple povs and how that let me get to know each character a little better.

A stunning debut - very excited to read more by Stringfellow. She embodies the word storyteller in its purest form.

A gorgeous and mesmerizing story of mothers and daughters, love and loss, joy and anger. I fell in love with Memphis and the four strong women leading this story. This debut had some of the most beautiful writing I’ve had the pleasure of reading and I can’t wait to see what the author does next!

Exquisite. And big oooff

"As my mother helped undress me with a gentleness that only increased my fear, I understood then why the first sin on this earth had been a murder. Among kin." Thank you, NetGalley and John Murray Press for the chance to read and review Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow! Memphis is an absolutely wonderful book! It's the story of 4 women and how they work to protect each other and their families from the violence that is never too far from their home. The story starts with Miriam moving back to her home in Memphis to live with her sister, August, and her son, in their mother Hazel's old home, after Jax, her army husband takes his anger out on her in front of their children. It's early on that we realize that Joan (Miriam's older daughter) was assaulted by her cousin at the age of 3. While action was taken then, they're all living under the same roof which doesn't make things any easier on Joan and her little sister My. Honestly, one wouldn't be able to tell that this was a debut novel. Tara M. Stringfellow put together a beautiful book on how complicated family can be. This is not to say that Derek is ever forgiven by his mother or family, he is taken from his family for some time as well, but the entire situation makes you feel really incredibly helpless. As family what do you do?

Spanning the time period between 1937 & 2003, Memphis is the story of three generations of the North family's women. Moving back & forth through past & present, Memphis depicts how, though their experiences are years apart, these women's lives are not so different. The obstacles they must face are created through similar tragedies, social or political constructs, or domestic pressures. From the eldest, Hazel, suddenly providing a hub for civil rights organizations, to her daughters Miriam & August struggling to live up to the futures they dreamt of, to Miriam's daughters Joan & Mya, still - in 2003 - trying to pull their family toward a future of happiness & success. Memphis tells of their experiences dealing with racial tensions, domestic & sexual abuse, societal obstacles that make them work twice as hard to live a comfortable life, and their use of community & personal strength to rise from the tensions and push forward. Memphis paints a vivid picture of the pain felt while living in the South as a member of the black community: the pain of giving everything they had to fight racial tensions decades ago and yet their families are still dealing with the repercussions & lack of change even today. Memphis was a wonderful read, beautifully written & full of beautiful, strong female characters. Each woman's story was unique with the writing changing to depict their individuality - each woman with her own voice, each female experience as significant as the last. While reading, I felt the love and the hope so ardently that the disappointment was felt twice as much when the inevitable ups and downs continued. There were numerous passages that I highlighted where the description, metaphor, or revelation was written so masterfully that I read it twice or three times over to prolong the immersion that our author created. Memphis is the story of barriers, heartbreak, pain, and their perpetual hold on a community struggling for change - a struggle that continues from generation to generation as they work to support those who can finally break the cycle. Please note: this review is based on an advanced copy received from NetGalley and The Dial Press