So at the end of the novel, when she makes her final decision, I know she didn’t turn back. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find itfor herself and for generations to come.

Libertie didn’t know what freedom was, but she knew she deserved more than what was given her. When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. The beauty of this novel is in that realization. She’s someone I saw myself in, and like most historical novels written about Black women, thanked God I would never be. When mourning the loss of another character, Libertie adjusts her perspective: “Care, I decided, was monstrous.” Although she never shares that realization with another character, I doubt a single reader would disagree.Īt times, I could predict how she would react because I felt I knew her so well. She keeps so much of the way she thinks hidden from other characters (for a myriad of reasons), that it’s an intimate joy to get a glimpse into her logical, sympathetic mind. The words are plain and then she asks, “Was freedom worth it if you still ached like that? If you were still bound to this earth by desire?” I had to pause, reading once, twice again, before pouring back into the book.īecause the book is written in the first person, readers are allowed to get intimate with Libertie’s thoughts. I saw my mother raise a man from the dead. Libertie’s most intimate moments happen when she’s alone, lost in thought. Kaitlyn Greenidge‘s debut novel is WE LOVE YOU, CHARLIE FREMAN (Algonquin Books), one of the New York Times Critics’ Top 10 Books of 2016. LIBERTIE by Kaitlyn Greenidge RELEASE DATE: MaA young Black woman travels from Brooklyn to Haiti in search of herself in this historical novel by the author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman (2016). “Libertie’' is an easy page turner - its simple prose makes the plot digestible and the lyrical sentences sing louder.

Libertie a novel by kaitlyn greenidge