Enjoy LHistoire Très Ordinaire De Rachel Dupree (ROMAN) Author Ann Weisgarber Publication

have I experienced a historical novel such as this one, Ms Weisgarber has chosen to champion black women in the undeveloped and barren wilds of the Badlands, and she does it with a sensitivity that will break your heart, sparking feelings you didn't know you possessed.
"The Personal History of Rachel DuPree" is a mightily rendered novel, it left me wondering how I could have held my breath such a long time.



One thing was certain and universal throughout this book and that was the pushpull of relationship between man and woman, So many have experienced this expectation of the "bargain" for a marriage that hinges upon love and trust often weighed heavily on the woman's side, only to feel that "hinge" rusting away over years of hardship and childbearing.
It is particularly present in this novel, handled in profound and bittersweet passages that show the anxieties of a mother's love and protective lifeblood vrs.
a man's drive to save his land and work, I felt Rachel's heartaches, her loneliness at times, and her isolation in choosing to do what was the best for her children and, ultimately, for herself.
While she, too, believed in working and culling out their stretch of land, it was secondary to her children,

Rachel is a character so perfectly described and drawn that she's sure to be remembered in the vein of all great heroines, She's the epitome of not just black Negro women, but the best in the feminine spirit that causes us to rise above hardship and strife to claim our rights as women of valour, and mothers who make a difference in the world.
She makes us proud to be women,


That Ms Weisgarber chose this time period and these characters to write her book shines in its originality, I believe it's a gift that will keep living in the hearts and minds of many, Actually, I expect it will end up in the classrooms and colleges that reach for exceptional reading material of this period and of women who exempify those who made our country what it was meant to be.


"The Personal History of Rachel DuPree" makes me ashamed in a way that we haven't explored and honored black womens' contributions in opening our frontiers before this!



welldeserved



This is the story of Rachel Dupree, wife of one of the few African American ranchers in the South Dakota Badlands in.
As the story opens, Isaac is lowering their six year old daughter Liz into the well to fetch water in the midst of a terrible drought.
Rachel knows it must be done, yet at that moment, she questions her loyalty to Isaac, whose ambitions to own more land seems to come ahead of the needs of his family.
Rachel, who is pregnant with her eighth child, has to decide whether to staying with Isaac is best for her and the children, or if she should take them back to her hometown of Chicago.


I really enjoyed this book, The story is told from Rachel's point of view, and the writing makes you feel like you are right in that place and time with her.
The descriptions of the hardships of the drought made me feel thankful that I do not live in a place where I have to worry about not having enough water.


I just wish the book had been a little longer, an epilogue would have been nice telling of the repercussions of the decision that Rachel finally made.

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber is an awardwinning fictional book taking place in the Badlands of South Dakota, The book follows the tough life in that area,

Sixteen year old Chicago resident Rachel Reeves works as a cook and experiences discrimination not only from whites, but from the élite AfricanAmericans as well.
However, Rachel is a proud woman who idolizes Ida B, WellsBarnett, a fearless crusader and antilynching activate, When her boss son, Isaac, returns from the army Rachel agrees to marry him and move with the ambitious and charismatic man to the Badlands of South Dakota.
Isaac and Rachel, taking advantage of the Homestead Act ofwill getacres of land,

Eight kids and fourteen years later Rachel realizes everyday how the Badlands got their name as she experiences drought, storms, thirst, hunger, loneliness and many other hardships.


The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber is a unique work, well written and an excellent first effort by the author.


There are many themes in this book, racism, hardships, pioneering, work ethic and American form of capitalism among others social themes, The story about living in a harsh environment was gripping and compelling, The “Personal History” of a black wife to a South Dakota rancher is fascinating,

The racism aspect of the book, to me, was the more pronounced hardship which Rachel experienced, Not only from the whites in Chicago, but also from the betteroff AfricanAmericans as well as some whites in the Badlands, a place where one would think people will stick together.
The racism and discrimination towards NativeAmericans was also touched in the book and certainly made some sour points on several occasions, The only character in this book who isnt racist or discriminatory is the harsh land which treats everyone as equals,

For a few years, what seems a lifetime ago, I worked in agriculture, Thinking back it seemed like a fine time great guys, the smell of the land, hard work, appreciation and a feeling of accomplishment making something grow.
However, looking back with a bit more criticism than nostalgia, I remember how difficult it was getting up before the birds, dealing with stinky manure, chemicals and the back breaking labor.
This book is not a romanticized version of pioneering, it tells of the difficulties out west, the hard work which can be wiped out in one day with nothing to show for it.

No subsidies.
No insurance.
Nothing!

This book, strong on characters and themes is a worthwhile read and an excellent choice for book clubs there is much to discuss.


For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: sitelink ManOfLaBook. com I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator is excellent, I LOVE this novel for giving me a glimpse into the life of a black woman married to a rancher who made use of the Homestead Act.
Not only did we get to see what it was like for her in the Badlands, but we also saw pieces of her life in Chicago when she worked at a boardinghouse.
The protagonist, Rachel, has a strong and vivid firstperson voice, and her thoughts and reactions to her circumstances seem heartbreakingly realistic, Not only is she navigating a marriage of convenience, but she's a mother of five, with no neighbors in the Badlands, and must reconcile her husband's hatred of "Agency Indians" with her own experience with Mrs.
FillsthePipe.

The story kept me fully engaged, but it felt to me like it got cut off in the middle! I need a sequel.
There was so much left unresolved, I don't need novels to all have happy, tidy endings all tied

up in a bow, but this ending was not satisfying to me, I can use my imagination to wrap up Rachel's story in my mind, but I really wanted at least an epilogue, This is my great disappointment with The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, It feels unfinished.

However, having said that, I'm still glad I read it and appreciate gaining the perspective of a black family trying to ranch in the West in the earlys.
I'd never read about this before, and I'm sure the character of Rachel will stick with me for a long time, I loved her.

I'll be reading more from this author, This story was filled with a variety of dynamics not usually combined together, It is what makes this book so interesting! Weisgarber sets the stage of a Negro woman/family's life owning a cattle ranch in the Badlands of South Dakota in.
A far cry from the Historical Fiction books from the Civil Rights or Slavery era I find myself reading a lot, Based on the Homestead Act, Weisgarber combines fact and fiction is this wonderful enlightening story of Rachel DuPree's life, I thoroughly enjoy it!! Really great writing and storytelling about an African American couple who see a promising future in the Homestead Act, I deeply felt Rachel's struggles as a young wife and mother in the Dakota Badlands, But what does a woman do when her husband insists on being her Lord and Master It's a captivating tale as old as time, especially when written by someone as accomplished as Weisgarber, who is being compared with other great authors for good reason.
I so want a sequel to this moreover, I'm very eager to see the film being made by Viola Davis, Rachel has married up. She used to be a hired girl working in the kitchen at Mrs, Duprees boarding house. Mrs. Dupree was forced into taking in boarders when she was widowed, but she has done quite nicely for herself, She is among the cream of Chicagos Negro community, and the women she entertains are lightskinned and at least four generations removed from slavery, Imagine her tremendous dismay when her only son, Isaac, comes home from fighting the Indian wars and announces that he is moving out to the Western territories to stake a claim and become a common farmer.
“Rancher,” he reminds her. And if he marries a single woman who has also staked a claim, he will have twice as much land once they marry,

And so he stakes a claim on Rachels behalf, and she gets her hearts desire: she gets to marry that handsome young officer.
She becomes Rachel Dupree.

Roll the film forward aboutyears, Rachel is pregnant with her eighth child, The Badlands, “a country so backward and harsh that even Indians didnt want it”, has had no rain for a long, long time, To get a little water, they have to tie one of their children to a plank and lower her on a rope to the bottom of the well.
Liz doesnt want to do it anymore, She has nightmares. Theres a snake down there, she says,

But their tongues are thick from lack of water, There is grit between their teeth, And they will lose the horses and their only milk cow if they dont water them,

So at bedtime, Rachel tells her five surviving children to take just one sip of the water Liz brings up,

Are you spellbound, or are you horrified I confess I was both, I live in the land of water, In Seattle there is moss growing on everyones front steps or porch, and if we arent careful, it will grow on our fences and our homes! Most of us dont bother with umbrellas.
Were used to the fine mist that generally falls during the day, Most of the good hard rain falls at night, and it lulls us to sleep better than a lullaby, And yet, we send the kids to school carrying a water bottle anyway, because hydration is so important,

“Only a sip, ”

Im not the only one that doesnt care for that, Rachel has about had enough of it, too, For one thing, there are no Negro families anywhere nearby, Isaac had told her that plenty of the men with whom hed been enlisted had filed for homestead claims, but any that may have been nearby have gone on home.
They cant take it here, And actually The white folk cant stand it either, Every time someone goes home, Isaac buys their land, Every time there is a spare dollar, it does not go for a coat for the child whos outgrowing hers not even for fabric for Rachel to sew some new clothes.
Rachel herself has a patched dress and a pair of work boots, What a contrast she makes from the finery she wore on her wedding day! And she is worried about their eldest daughter, Mary, who will be the right age to start dating soon.


The final straw is broken when Isaac buys out yet another departing neighborRachels closest friend, too, as luck would have itand there is no money at all.
There is no money for winter provisions, even, and the kitchen garden died when the rain didnt come, There is nothing, nothing, nothing, And his game plan is to work the gold mine in Lead, South Dakota, which is far enough away that he will be gone all winter, and she and the children will be left with a brand new baby and thousands of miles to ranch unassisted.
And no food.

But hey, he believes in her, Hell go hunting, maybe bag a bear together with his son, and between that and Rachels amazing knowhow and steely determination, everything will turn out fine!

Not so much.


A strong subplot involves the local American Indian population, Homesteaders who are hungry, thirsty, and have almost nothing but the land on which they live and try to ranch are sometimes resentful of the “reservation Indians”, who have been stripped of their dignity and culture in exchange for free food, rent, and clothing “free” being a relative term, of course.
Isaac was one of the soldiers that subjugated those same Indians when Rachel is alone on the ranch for days on end and Mrs, Fills the Pipe and her children pass by, Rachel craves company so desperately that she invites them to rest on her porch, She makes the very dead last of her chokeberry tea and serves it to Mrs, Fills the Pipe and her daughter,

“Our water” said Liz, “Youre giving them our water”

Liz had a point there she was the one went down the well to get it, And yet, the good turn, though it upsets Isaac when he hears of it later, is not misplaced, and does not go unrewarded, And eventually Rachel thinks back to the things her hero, Ida B, WellsBarnett, said in the Negro press I use the term as the writer does, for historical purposes, she does not regret the gesture, except for the fact that she served them on the front porch when she should have invited them into her precious parlor.


I didnt read this book as a galley, I got it at the local library, A galley led me to Weisberger, though, I read The Promise a year or two ago and decided that this writer was going on my toread list, This makes two winners out of the two I have read, And on top of it all, Weisberger is a Caucasian writer or appears to be at any rate, she isnt Black, This is only the second writer I have encountered that could write a firstperson fictional narrative in which she provides the voice of a Black woman, and does it creditably and with great dignity.
I bow in awe.

And although I was already sold on the book and its author, the mention of Lead, South Dakota, nearly made me jump out of my skin.
That is the tiny town where my late father was born, and its mine gold but also iron ore is where my late grandfather contracted the black lung disease that would eventually kill him.
For those interested, it is pronounced “leed”, Maybe its too embarrassing to admit your home town is named after the mineral it produces, or maybe its a positive connotation, like leadership, My only visit there took place when I was a preschooler, and I have very few memories of it, all of them related to family rather than place.


Forgive the digression, All told, this is really strong historical fiction, If you want to read something a little different from most of the stuff thats for sale if you like stories of the homesteading movement or if you want a story that features AfricanAmericans in a positive light, this is your book.
If you just want a great book to curl up with at night while the spring rains pass, this is your book too,

In short, highly recommended, .