The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

I’ve never read anything like The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.  The plotline was simple – told chronologically – but the characters and their amazing-but-human flaws are what make this such an intriguing read.  In her debut novel, Mathis brilliantly illuminates the toughest situations anyone could experience, chapter by chapter, character by character. 

The first chapter is unforgettable.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been as moved by the opening chapter in a novel before.  Hattie, the title character, finds herself (at age seventeen) in a new city, newly married, newly motherless, and a new mom – of sick twins.  With little money and absolutely no friends, Hattie is forced to take desperate measures to save her babies.  In this chapter Hattie is so likable, because I can identify with her situation—I too have had sick babies.  But the outcome of the chapter changes Hattie.  She turns into a different person.  And as a reader, I didn’t like her anymore.  Chapter two, which takes place about twenty years later, tells the story of Floyd, one of Hattie’s many children.  Chapter three was about Six, another son.  And the novel carried on in this structure—a different chapter narrated by a different child of Hattie’s.  But all the while, Hattie remains the main character, as she has played an important role in each of her children’s lives. 

Although I was much more engaged in some chapters more than others, I found myself completely in awe of the author’s craft.  Not only was the structure amazing (I often wondered if each chapter could stand alone as a short story) but the language the author pieced together was almost poetic.  I highlighted several similes, metaphors, parallel structure, personification, and imagery to share with my students.  I do think the author intended to make some kind of statement about race, religion, and relationships in this novel.  I like how she has woven those themes into her text.

I don’t think this critique could be complete if I failed to mention the other texts that I could see in Twelve Tribes.  I could clearly see that Mathis was a hardcore reader.  She obviously was a Toni Morrison fan, but I caught glimpses of Angela’s Ashes, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Color Purple, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in this novel.  Hattie struggled with poverty, racism, an unfaithful husband, mental health issues, loss, and many, many children—a tribe, in fact.  I’m not sure if I would call the ending happy or unhappy, but it certainly is deep. 

#readitinaweekend