Review: Jubilee

Jubilee by Margaret Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Completely heart-wrenching. I am still so much under the effect of this book that I can hardly verbalize what makes it so powerful.

The heroine, Vyry, is one of those who stays with you forever. I feel like I lived through all of Vyry's horrors and joys with her and she will always be someone whose example of fortitude I will remind myself of when I experience horror of my own.

The writing is not ornate, not overly complex. It's written in a style completely appropriate for the subject matter and characters. The colloquial language ascribed to the characters seems authentic to me, who did not live in that time. But it added to the overall flavor of the book.

Honestly, I feel like it's one of those books that can hardly be critiqued. The subject matter and heroine are so utterly harrowing that pointing out any flaws outside of that would appears very petty.

Unequivocally one of my favorite books of all time, I think. I will buy a beautiful hardbound copy one day and read it again and again.