The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden

Poignant, heartbreaking, and unfortunately true.

THE WEDDING GIFT is beautiful in the sense of how the story is told in the author's marvelous prose and flowing style, but ugly in the harshness, cruelty, and reality of the events.

The characters will pull at your heart strings as you follow Emmeline, Belle, Sarah, and Theodora Allen through their day. The plantation owner's wife, Theodora Allen, is held under his thumb and must obey all his commands and put up with his physical and verbal abuse. 

All these women are very strong characters in their own right, but have no rights in this era.  This era seems to "own" the women whether they are free or enslaved.  Another character who is one of the main characters, Clarissa Allen, Sarah's half sister and Clarissa's maid, is a spoiled brat but a good person underneath it all.

You will hate Mr. Cornelius Allen as well as most of the male characters for their cruelty and their shallow, arrogant thinking.

THE WEDDING GIFT is beautifully written and brings to light the way of life on a plantation and how it is run both inside and outside of the main house. 

The book is told through Sarah and Theodora's voices.  THE WEDDING GIFT talks about women and how they bond as well as how they endure the suffering at the hands of males whether it be verbal abuse, physical abuse, or infidelity.  Infidelity on a plantation by the owner seemed to be something quite common. 

I didn't want to put the book down.  It was relayed so well and so smoothly that you felt as though you were there with all the characters crying with them and also helping them deal with what they had to endure whether they were the plantation's slaves or the owner's own family. 

Don't miss out on this book....you just have to read it.  You as a woman will want to share these experiences whether pleasant or unpleasant.  You will also learn a great deal about history which more often than not is an unpleasant story as well as learning about the horrors of slavery and its impact on society.

A positive lesson though is to never give up, follow your dreams, and work hard. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.