Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Sep 2023, 336 pages
Paperback:
Jun 4, 2024, 336 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Valerie Morales
Buy This Book
Eleven years after The Twelve Tribes of Hattie became a global sensation, Ayana Mathis offers another domestic portrait. The Unsettled, set in the 1980s, is about a multi-generational black family who are estranged from one another and carry the painful freight of the past.
The story opens in an uncomfortable place. Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son Toussaint are forced to find residence in a Philadelphia homeless shelter after Ava's violent husband Abemi Reed kicks her out of the house. Shaken and feeling betrayed, Ava gropes through her new life while suffering from headaches, depression, and despair. The shelter's feeble attempts at normalcy fill her with distaste and contempt. They are a reminder of her mother, who she blames for her hardships.
Hundreds of miles away, Dutchess lives on a rutted red dirt road, fighting off developers from the Progress Corp who want her land, ...
BookBrowse's reviews and "beyond the book" articles are part of the many benefits of membership and, thus, are generally only available to subscribers, including individual members and patrons of libraries that subscribe.
Join Today
If you liked The Unsettled, try these:
by Barbara Kingsolver
Published 2024
From the New York Times bestselling author of Unsheltered and Flight Behavior, a brilliant novel which enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero's unforgettable journey to maturity.
by LaToya Watkins
Published 2023
From a stunning new voice, comes a powerful debut novel, Perish, about a Black Texan family, exploring the effects of inherited trauma and intergenerational violence as the family comes together to say goodbye to their matriarch on her deathbed.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
