Memphis

Memphis is a wonderful debut novel. I hesitate to say it’s a joy to read because there’s some serious pain and suffering experienced by the character, but I really enjoyed reading about the generations of women of the North family. It goes back and forth in time, celebrating the wins of each woman and sharing the pain and suffering they experience as Black women in times of trouble. I loved all the characters, from the people to the city and the house where they all reside.

The story opens as Joan and her family are returning to Memphis. Why isn’t explained initially, but the reader knows something is off when Joan physically reacts to the sight of her cousin. It’s something everyone said she wouldn’t remember, she was too show more young, but she does. It’s an uneasy setup as Joan and her sister Mya get used to living in Memphis on one side of the house built by their grandfather. Their aunt August and her son Derek live on the other side. Each person in the house has their own secrets and pain, and gradually these are revealed in chapters alternating between time and character, starting with grandmother Hazel, then mother Miriam and on to August and Joan. (Mya was robbed – she needs her own book as she’s a fun character, questioning everything). While parts of the story are set away from Memphis and the house, the house and the city of Memphis are also main characters. As the story moves across time, the reader discovers how the city has changed to gunshots being normal and Joan and Mya being escorted to school under weapon protection. The gang lifestyle contrasts sharply to the dancing in Beale Street in Miriam and Hazel’s days. Yet the brutality is still there as Black people are killed for their colour and made to stand in the coloured section of the local corner shop.

For Miriam, the reader follows as she falls in and out of love with Jax backwards. We read of the end of their relationship first, followed by their courtship and then what drove them apart on multiple levels. August’s story of how she became the neighbourhood hairdresser is also explained back and forth, as well as her complex story with her son Derek. Threading through it is Joan’s story as she grows up in Memphis, ready to chase her dream. It’s nicely contrasted with Hazel, Miriam and August’s gifts and how they held back on their own dreams. August chose not to chase her gift, while Miriam tries again as a single parent. Perhaps Hazel was the closest, but her prime was destroyed by tragedy secondary to racism. Joan wants her dream to come true as an artist, but she is limited by Miriam’s opposition. Can she convince her mother with August’s help?

Every single word of Memphis is beautifully constructed, just like Joan’s drawings and paintings. Utmost care has been taken with the plot, the placing of each chapter and what is revealed and when. It makes for a wonderful gift to the reader. What I did find unsettling was the racism that each character experiences, particularly from people in positions of authority and the author’s afterword, which specifically mentions cafes that weren’t horrible to her as she was writing alone at their tables. The themes of poverty, love and trauma also run through the novel, exploring sacrifices and battling through trauma for those you love. It’s a brilliant story, and I look forward to more from Tara M. Stringfellow.

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Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow epitomizes #BlackGirlMagic as it tells the story of three generations of North women in the city of Memphis. Told in short sections, the story jumps around from woman to woman and year to year, but Stringfellow manages the characters very well so the shifts are never confusing — if anything each section only clarifies as she reveals their histories little by little. Along with this deft control of the narrative, intriguing but genuine characters and beautiful writing work together to make Memphis a real standout for 2022, and a must-read for fans of Britt Bennett, Kiley Reid, Tayari Jones, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and others looking for an excellent book that champions Black women, family, surviving trauma, show more and finding your passion. show less

A multi-generational family novel primarily about the women who live in one house in Memphis, and their mothers and daughters. It moves back and forth through many periods between the 1920s and 2000s, but most heavily centers on the 1940s through the 1990s. As the book follows the North family, it also charts the state of the civil rights movement, and the shifting causes and lines of violence within a primarily Black neighborhood in Memphis, and in the country. A story about resiliance, family, talent, sacrifice and love. Be forewarned, it's clear something terrible has happened to a very young child really early in this book, and as more details are revealed they are all really, really awful. But the book is beautiful.

Once in a while, there's a story that is told so well, that you want to pass it along to everyone you know.

This book starts with a family tree chart. Della had a daughter, Hazel. Then, Hazel had daughters: Miriam and August. Miriam had daughters: Joan and Mya. And, August had a son, Derek. Three generations of single Black women had to find ways to survive in the south from 1937 to 2003. Some parts were gut wrenching when I read in the beginning about a three-year-old child that was raped by her cousin. Other parts made me smile. In a home beauty shop, a sign said, "no children, no men and we eat white folk here." I also wish I had my hands on the classic Shelby Mustang GT 350. Not only would it be a rush to drive it, but it would show more fetch a pretty penny now.

Going to school wasn't easy for Joan, Mya and Derek. They were "escorted by boys with pistols in the most dangerous block of North Memphis." She said the gangs made the city Black as the white folks moved to the countryside -- much like what also happened in Detroit. She said it was so bad, "they shoot children walking to school." The colored signs in the south were finally removed in 1968 -- only five decades ago.

The story reveals a lot about relationships and how single women had to make a living with trades like sewing, beauty services and nursing. Joan had good grades and yet against her mom's wishes, she kept following her passion -- sketching people as an escape. Her mother wanted her to be a doctor. She said it was a difficult for a Black woman to make a living as an artist. But Joan didn't give up her passion. She said, "I owed it to my creator."

Tara Stringfellow is also following her gift of writing. She tells the story which flips back and forth with different years through blessings and heart breaks of one family. It's an art to make a story flow seamlessly so the reader doesn't have to struggle to understand the whole picture. The dialogue makes the characters come alive playing a realistic role at every part with a glimpse of this southern history. The bonus was a satisfying ending.

My thanks to Tara M. Stringfellow, The Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with the expected release date of April 5, 2022. show less

Multi-generational family saga featuring three generations of women living in one house in Memphis in a primarily Black neighborhood. It moves back and forth to portray the family history from the 1920s through 2000s. The storyline follows the family, while also tracking the social changes taking place with respect to civil rights. It is a story of family, whose members provide a source of both comfort and conflict. A primary focus is on perseverance. One of the family members shows artistic talent, and she eventually uses it as a springboard to a better life.

As the title indicates, Memphis is an integral part of the story. The city’s history and culture provide the backdrop. The history is dark and troubling in its racial strife and show more violence, but the culture is rich in musical, artistic, and literary influences. The primary drawback is the shifting timelines that are not handled smoothly. Multiple timelines can be difficult to execute well, and here they interrupt the flow of the narrative. The technique works well in portraying the generational relationships among the women, and the way it is interwoven with history and culture is compelling, but the abrupt time shifts often jump many years and do not seem to be organized in any particular sequence.

Overall, it is a promising debut. The author clearly possesses strong writing skills, and I look forward to seeing what she does next. Sensitive readers should be forewarned that it includes a horrible abusive act toward a young child as well as spousal abuse and other graphic violence. show less

"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 show more 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? show less

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow is a 2022 The Dial Press publication.

In 1995, Miriam North heads back home to Memphis with her two daughters- Joan and Mya- in tow, running from her abusive husband, Jax. She moves back in with her sister, August, and her nephew, Derek, despite a very disturbing and complicated history between them…

From here, the reader is taken on a somewhat jumbled journey through the North family history, with Joan representing the future of the North women.

Memphis itself is an intricate part of the story, creating the atmosphere and a point of reference for the experiences this family absorbed. The history is dark, but the author alludes to the strong musical and literary influences, proving the strong show more contributions of the city, as well.

Multiple timelines can be tricky under the best of circumstances- at least for me. Unfortunately, these time shifts were not smooth transitions. It was a bumpy ride on that front and interrupted the flow of the story for me. At times it was a heavy and laborious read...

That said, I love a good family saga, and while the presentation was uneven, I liked the mother/daughter/sister dynamics and the historical aspects of the book, and the way Joan takes charge of her own destiny.

A word of warning, though-

This is a trigger-happy book. The material here is often hard to digest- and it can be quite graphic. In fact, I felt so uncomfortable initially I couldn’t decide if I wanted to continue with the novel.

I’m glad I saw it through, as I feel it was rewarding in the long run-

I didn’t know what to expect going in, and so I’m giving you a heads up because you will need to brace yourself for some passages.

My understanding is that this is a debut novel- and it is a strong one, overall. I do think it was an ambitious undertaking and there were some warbles here and there, but despite that, I think this is a book I’d recommend, and Tara M. Stringfellow is an author I’ll be keeping my eye on.

3.5 stars show less