between 2 and 2.5 stars. i really, really liked this at the beginning. it was captivating and interesting and i was interested in both of the stories. i was unsure of feeling this way when i looked up the author and found she (at least) appears to be white.

toward the end of the book it was definitely not as compelling to me as the way it wrapped up (and leading to the end) seemed a little easy and unlikely. but i like the idea and the early execution, for sure. ( )

I've tried to get into this book twice now but no dice. I'm not sure why I can't keep with it but it just feels like a chore going back to the book. ( )

Good, but a fairly superficial handling of all the weighty topics the author decided to take on. Slavery, addiction, abandonment, suicide... The list goes on. I can't help but feel as though this book was written by someone privileged, for someone privileged. (I happen to be that someone, so I guess it worked.) A solid novel, but I'm not tripping over myself to recommend it. ( )

Although I normally do not like books that switch between characters and/or time frames, this author did an excellent job of it because I actually looked forward to finding out what was happening in each person's life. The idea of trying to win a case for the long ago relatives of slaves seems wrong to me but liked the thinking that there should be more done to remember the efforts of people wanting to help slaves get a better life. This makes you think of present day versions of "slave" work as the lawyer Lina realized her life both at work and at home was more similar to Josephine the house slave. ( )

In the mid-19th century house slave Josephine is planning to escape. Current day, Lina is a lawyer. Her law firm wants to file a reparations lawsuit, but needs to find a descendant to represent. While Lina looks for such a descendant, she is drawn into Josephine’s story. Josephine is thought to be the real artist behind the art supposedly created by a white woman, the woman Josephine serves.

I may have that summary a bit “off”. I listened to the audio, but I’m not going to fault the narrator for my loss of focus. I have listened to this narrator before and rated those books 4 and 5 stars (for the 5 star book, she as one of a few narrators). So, unfortunately, I did lose focus many times in this book, so I never really cared about the characters and I wasn’t all that interested in the story. ( )