Free Downloads Sister Of Mine: A Novel
When two Union soldiers stumble onto a plantation in northern Georgia on a warm May day in 1864, the last thing they expect is to see the Union flag flying high - or to be greeted by a group of freed slaves and their Jewish mistress. Little do they know that this place has an unusual history. Twelve years prior, Adelaide Mannheim - daughter of Mordecai, the only Jewish planter in the county - was given her own maid, a young slave named Rachel. The two became friends, and soon they discovered a secret: Mordecai was Rachel's father, too. As the country moved toward war, Adelaide and Rachel struggled to navigate their newfound sisterhood - from love and resentment to betrayal and, ultimately, forgiveness. Now, facing these Union soldiers as General Sherman advances nearer, their bond is put to the ultimate test. Will the plantation be spared? Or will everything they've lived for be lost?
Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 17 hours and 21 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Audible.com Release Date: May 24, 2016
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English
ASIN: B01EGL0JFE
Best Sellers Rank: #26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > African American > Historical #77 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Fiction & Literature > Historical Fiction #951 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical
As a former history teacher, I appreciate well-researched historical fiction. Since so many readers rely on Gone with the Wind as their template for slave owners, it's refreshing to find a book with multi-facetedcharacters among the planter class, the slaves, and non slaveholding whites. In addition, to discover a book thatembeds the particular dilemma for Jewish slaveholders is a true find. In Sabra Waldfogel's novel, history does not trump the story line and the rhythm of the book. She is able to contextualize the story with a newspaper reference or a tidbit of gossip heard in town. If you are knowledgable about the Civil War battles, you'll be able to track thecourse of the war through Henry's letters home to Rachel. The characters in the book are faced with the dilemmas of survival like every southern family during the Civil War but they also confront ethical dilemmas. We are privy to their deliberations and their thought process without any anachronistic rationales seeping into their 19th century minds.Jew or Christian, black or white, northerner or southerner, male or female--any reader will close this book with not just more knowledge, but with greater understanding of the chaos and traumas engendered by slavery in the US.
This book had me turning the page late into the night. I wanted to talk straight to the characters they were so real. I loved the many themes, twists, and relationships. I recommend this book to historical fiction readers and history buffs as well as anyone who loves a great plot with characters that come alive.Loved it!
I was prepared to go into this book because the American Civil War is something that interests me greatly. However, I wasn't entirely prepared.Myself, I'd be considered a Yankee, since I was born on the North side of the Mason-Dixon line. I may live in the south now, but at heart, I'm a yankee. I'm also bi-racial, so I know that I'd have either been picking cotton or I'd have been a house slave, like Rachel. Rachel is a slave but she is also the master of the house's daughter. Her sister, Adelaide, is the Mannheim's only child and is spoiled, pampered and is a southern belle though she is loathe to be one. She learns quickly that even though she's white, her father is looking to marry her off to someone for his own advantage. She is little more than a pawn and she sees that she is being sold as well.When Adelaide finally marries a neighboring planter, Henry Kaltenbach, she has everything that Rachel has been denied. It's a challenge for Adelaide; she is used to a house full of servants to do her bidding. With a skeleton crew, so to speak, Adelaide is forced to learn how to become mistress of her own house, thus leaving Rachel and another slave, Minnie, to run the house themselves, whilst the rest are out in the fields picking cotton. She is also not used to Henry's being so kind to the slaves. Prior to their marriage, he even sat at the same table and would eat with them. Things begin to change once Adelaide's husband falls in love with Rachel. The tension is strong between the sisters...will they be able to patch the wound between them? Will they lose the man that they love in the war? What will happen to the slaves once the Emancipation Proclamation is announced? There is a great deal on the line...and no matter the outcome, their lives will be forever altered.The book is full of strong characters, some likable, some not, but you'll be captivated from the first chapter to the last. I read it in one day (again, I'm a fast reader) but I took time to write my review as I wanted to fully process what I had read. It isn't to be taken lightly and I suggest that you do take your time in taking it all in. This book was surprising because not only did it speak of slavery, the war, but the family was Jewish. It was mentioned how the Jews were once slaves in Egypt and now, here they were in Georgia and were slaveholders. It was really thought provoking and I found myself quite fascinated. The touch of Jewish traditions and heritage was a fascinating twist on what I thought would be a somewhat straight forward Civil War-era book.My fedora is off to Ms. Waldfogel. I enjoyed this more than I can say and I look forward to seeing her next novel as well.
This will be one of my favorites for the year. A Goodreads friend recommended it to me. She said it was a self published book, and hadn't been advertised. The story is of 2 sisters, both daughters of the Master of a cotton plantation. One born to the mistress of the house, the other to a slave. The owners of the plantation are Jewish, and the story explores slavery in Egypt to slavery in the south. It's a beautiful tale of love and hardship, one that creates characters with depth. If you enjoyed The Kitchen House or The Invention Of Wings, you'll want to read this!
Overall Slave and Sister is ok. I was impressed by the historical accuracies in references to Georgia.What was lacking: a second (or third) editor to correct grammatical errors. There were a good number of them and it was distracting. Next some times - especially in the middle - it became a romance novel. Lastly, sometimes the writing style switched points of view without a clear transition so I would have to re-read to make sure who's view reading from.
I am from the south ,50 miles north of Macon GA. My family has lived in this part of the south since before the American Revolution and no at no time that I know of did we own slaves. We did have hired hands that worked on the family farm,not plantation. I thought it was ok for fiction but the word ain't and oh la??? The college she spoke of for males is actually UGA founded by the president of Yale in the early 1700's and the college for young ladies,not sure unless it's Agnes Scott outside of Atlanta. O la are we speaking spanish? I believe the author thinks that all southerners said ain't and o la regardless if they are educated,really? If we spoke ain't in my house and we never did,we were corrected I'm sure and I never heard this word used in conversation all the time even from my great grandparents and we were considered country but we did go to school as did my parents and at 60 yrs old I am sure I would have noticed. O la I believe should be oh lawd which I am aware as a term for our lord with an extreme southern accent both whites and blacks used way back in the day in the country. After seeing ain't for about the 20th time at page 88 I seriously questioned the author's biography,hmm.
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