Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Upcoming Release 'Wench' Tells Emotional Story of Love, Motherhood and Rape with Four Slave Women

After many years and many books about African-American history, I started avoiding books about slavery. It's not that the topic is not significant in Black history, but the idea that someone could be idiotic enough to believe another human being was his property to treat worse than abused animals is beyond repulsive. Oftentimes when I read about slavery, I grow angry all over again that it lasted for several centuries so when Dolen Perkins-Valdez's book, "Wench," was introduced to me, I immediately passed.

"Wench" is a fiction book about four slave women with white slaveowners who have either raped them or proclaimed to love these women-sometimes both. Although this was a fiction book, I figured it would be based on a whole lot of facts from Civil War encounters.

After hearing a positive review from a reader named Gilda, I thought about "Wench" again and gave this book a shot. I couldn't be happier that I did because I went through quite the mix of emotions with this book and was disappointed when it ended.

"Wench" details the lives of four black slave women-Lizzie, Mawu, Reenie and Sweet. Lizzie and Phillip, slaves from Tennessee, came to the Tawawa House "vacation" resort for a second summer, with their slavemaster Nathan Drayle. Mawu was there with her slavemaster Tip. Sweet was there with her slavemaster, who was called "Sweet's man" but never given a name, and the father of five of her children, including the one she was pregnant with during that second summer. Reenie was there with her slavemaster, Sir, who was also her biological brother and the father of her only child.

On this trip to the Tawawa House, there is never a dull day. Mistrust roams the air with Mawu, who is from Louisiana and believes in herbs that will cure and create spells. Reenie is put in a very compromising situation after she "fixes" herself so she cannot get pregnant again by Sir. Sweet is the motherly type who appears to have settled into her life of slavery and baby-making. And Lizzie is in love with her slavemaster, who she claims treats her more like a wife than a mistress although he is married to a white woman named Fran.

After the four-week trip to Tawawa House and nonstop sexual encounters with Drake, Lizzie has new problems on her hands-in her slave quarters, with Fran and with the other slaves. She has to decide what is more important to her-her cloudy version of love, family or friendship. Her decision leads to a Domino effect that changes the lives of Mawu and Phillip.

Mawu, the most rebellious out of the crew, is determined to be free by any means necessary and she is the bridge that connects the slaves to Quakers. These anti-slavery Northerners detest slavery as is, especially one woman from the free state of Ohio. And anybody who can get Mawu, the red-headed, eternally rebellious slave's attention, is going to have an experience he (or she) won't forget.

In their travels, the four slave women take on the issues of abortion, runaways, rape, motherhood, brotherhood, sisterhood, murder, finger cutting and education. Tawawa House may be a vacation resort for slaveowners, but it's definitely all work and no play for these women fighting for their own humanity.

I have a mouthful to say about Lizzie's decisions throughout the read, but to become so emotional about a character means the author, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, did an outstanding job. I really wish the detailed account of killing chickens was left out of the story because as a vegetarian that added to the disturbing read.

But I loved this book, and it is an easy 5 out of 5 stars. "Wench" will be available for sale on January 5, 2010 and is published by Amistad Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.