A few years ago I read an entire book before realizing I had already read it. I looked back at my Goodreads read list and realized I had no memory of about half of the books on there. So I built a new habit – (almost) every time I finish a book, I word-vomit my thoughts and emotions into a note on my phone. Sometimes they’re brief, sometimes they’re long-longwinded, sometimes they just ramble…and now I’m putting them here. Please enjoy the madness.
I devoured this book. And I’m so glad I chose to read it in conjunction with The Water Dancer because the juxtaposition was very interesting to see. What stood out in both is the theme of privileged white slave owners as petulant children. Maynard didn’t grow up in TWD and Rufus didn’t grow up in Kindred. One idea explored in the book is the concept of adaptability and how we can so easily melt into the situation we find ourselves in. And the ways we can’t. Dana was not from slavery times so she was always either not blending enough or blending too much. The other slaves were either warning her to watch her defiance or ridiculing her for the way she submitted.
I can’t tell if we are meant to find redeeming qualities in Rufus. Was he better or worse than his father? He seemed to think he was better and sometimes acted “better” but did that make him better? And do all people have to end up a product of their times? There were other people who did things like free their slaves in their wills so what would it have taken for Rufus to be like that if not the relationship he has with Dana? I also thought a lot about the ways we search for redemption in others and how Dana was continually surprised when Rufus was cruel. No matter how much he betrayed her she still believed he wouldn’t cross the next line. There is a commentary on inevitability in all of that.