This was an interesting read. A slow burn but, the story was very. The characters were relatable. I would recommend this book.

"The Unsettled" by Ayana Mathis is a searing and multi-generational novel that delves into complex themes of family, race, love, and the struggle for survival. Set against the backdrop of racially and politically turbulent 1980s Philadelphia and the town of Bonaparte, Alabama, this novel presents a powerful narrative that resonates deeply with the reader.

The story primarily revolves around Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint, as they navigate the harsh realities of homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. From the moment they arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter, Ava is determined to find a way out of their dire circumstances. Mathis portrays the squalid conditions of the shelter, the challenges of their daily life, and the complex characters they encounter with unflinching realism.

Ava's character is a central focus, and her desire to protect her son and break free from the painful past that led them to this point is palpable. The strained relationship between Ava and her estranged mother, Dutchess, adds layers of emotional complexity to the narrative. Mathis skillfully explores the bonds and conflicts between mothers and daughters, as well as the enduring impact of generational trauma.

The novel also introduces Cass, Toussaint's father, a charismatic figure with radical beliefs about dismantling systems of racial injustice. Cass's presence in Ava and Toussaint's life brings both hope and turmoil, and the ideological struggle between his vision and Ava's desire for stability is a central conflict.

In parallel, the story unfolds in Bonaparte, Alabama, where Dutchess fights to preserve the town's history and land in the face of encroaching white developers. This subplot highlights the ongoing battle for Black self-determination and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Mathis's prose is evocative and emotionally charged, drawing readers into the hearts and minds of the characters. The narrative is not only a gripping exploration of personal struggles but also a reflection on the broader societal issues of race and inequality.

"The Unsettled" is a profound and thought-provoking work that tackles pressing social issues with empathy and insight. Ayana Mathis's storytelling prowess shines through in this poignant and vital novel, making it a must-read for those seeking a deep and impactful literary experience.

The premise of this book was super intriguing to me, but I’m doing what I never do and DNF’ing at 20%. I’m sure this is a great story, but I could feel the writing style would put me in a reading slump. I love multiple POV, but this felt very jarring. I found it hard to determine who we were talking to and about, I had a hard time keeping the characters straight.

"The Unsettled" is a powerful narrative set against the backdrop of 1985 Philadelphia that delves into themes of resilience, identity, and the enduring bonds between mother and child.

I was deeply moved by Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son Toussaint's journey in this story. After Ava and Toussaint are forced to move into a shelter after her abusive husband kicks them out, we watch as Ava desperately tries to provide a life for her son. This story does a brilliant job demonstrating the realities of living in poverty and how impossible it can be to come out of poverty when there is no support.

From the moment Ava and Toussaint arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter, the author vividly portrays their struggle for survival in poor conditions. Ava's desire to protect her son and distance him from the shelter's hardships is something readers who are parenting will deeply connect with. Ava's navigates motherhood along with her own complex relationship with her own estranged mother, Dutchess.

Mathis does a phenomenal job of helping the reader understand Dutchess's backstory in order to empathize with her character. Dutchess's struggle in Alabama to preserve her family's heritage and ancestral land in the face of encroaching white developers adds a rich layer of historical context to the story. The fight to maintain Bonaparte, a symbol of Black freedom and self-determination, serves as a poignant metaphor for the broader struggle for racial equality.

The introduction of Cass, Toussaint's father, brings a new dimension to the narrative that helps readers challenge misconceptions about absent fathers. Toussaint's perspective, as a young boy caught between the conflicting worlds of his mother's turmoil and his father's vision, is particularly moving. His yearning for a sense of belonging and his dreams of returning to Bonaparte provide a relatable lens through which readers can explore their own desires for connection and roots.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!

Rating: 2.75/5⭐️
Pub day: September 26, 2023

The title really sums up exactly how this book made me feel. Heartbreaking from the very beginning with an air of discomfort that stayed with me long after finishing the final page. The writing style is unique and it’s a gritty story that will make you feel every emotion possible. I think as a mother it affected me more but of course that’s hard to know for sure. Either way it was a rough ride.

While I think there were a lot of positive things in the book it was a tough one for me. The honesty and experiences of the characters were powerful but the delivery of the story was done in such a way that it felt like it detracted from the deeper message. From the very start It was an odd reading experience that continued to the end and left me feeling quite deflated.

I’m sure there will be plenty who love this book, it just wasn’t the right historical fiction fit for me. 2.75⭐️

Thank you Knopf for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son Toussaint have moved to a family shelter since she felt increasingly unsafe around her husband. She's disgusted by the shelter's condition and thinks she'll quickly get on her feet and get them both out of there, but it's more difficult than she imagined and she ends up trapped while Toussaint starts to skip school and wanders the city. Ava wants what's best for Toussaint but finds it difficult to move on and Toussaint does not understand his mother's actions. Just when Ava decides to move back to her mother Duchess's home in Bonaparte, Toussaint's father Cass comes back into their lives and they move into a communal living situation where Cass is the leader and everyone follows his rules. The longer they follow the rules, the more it becomes clear they can't live that way but they also don't know how to escape and it leads Ava to make a difficult decision. Overall, a generational saga following Toussaint, Ava, and Duchess and the vision each person has for their family's success. The story was hard to follow at times as it switched between many points of view, but it was well written and the characters are complex.

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this exceptional novel from Netgalley, author Ayana Mathis, and publisher Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Unsettled of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Ayana Mathis is a remarkable writer, with a story that will break your heart while it gives you perspective on hope and defines the harbor of family. I am pleased to recommend her work to friends and family.

We are with Ava Carson and her tween son Toussaint in Philadelphia in 1985 as they seek shelter after being tossed out penniless by her current husband because she can't seem to provide him with a child of his own and her old flame Cass has found her. Ava hasn't worked in the few years she has been married to Abemi and lived with him in New Jersey, though she was a hard worker the balance of her life, in her birthplace in the Negro Town of Bonaparte, Alabama, Incorporated 1868, and all of her son's life in Philadelphia as well after her lover Cass disappeared when she was pregnant. Men had a way of letting Ava down.

Ava was considering going home to her mother Dutchess Carson in Bonaparte once she found work and saved up enough to buy bus tickets. She didn't want to - she could already hear what Dutchess had to say about the mistakes she had made in her life, but Toussaint deserves security in his life. But finding work or going home will not be possible once Cass, Toussaint's father, locates them again in the homeless shelter. Cass is not only politically radical but also a crook and a confidence man. Though aware of this, Ava is immediately completely under his thumb again, and Toussaint is thrilled to finally meet the man who is his dad. Cass is heavily into the whole Black Panther Movement and has been for as long as Ava has known him. Before long she and her son were heavily involved in his efforts with the Panthers, and working hard in the co-operative home he has set up with some of his fellow members. But how long can it last? Philadelphia was a hotbed of unrest during those years of racial unrest. In what way lay safety? What choices does she have?

This aptly titled novel really is unsettling as we follow Ava’s tumultuous and unsettled life drifting from one existence to another as she drags her young son, Toussaint along with her. We also hear about Ava’s mother’s life in rural Alabama as well as some of Ava’s backstory of growing up with a mother who also couldn’t find stability in her life. But the star of the novel really is Toussaint who wants to settle down, spend time with his mother, keep friends, have a father figure and mainly have some stability and predictability in his life.

Ava’s choices really frustrated me and I really felt for Toussaint. The author did a fabulous job at conveying the complexities of each character. I also enjoyed her mother’s story and liked how it all came together at the end. But the ending did leave me wanting more. The ending felt unsettled too.

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this early review copy.

This book just did not work for me. Had it not been for receiving a free ARC in exchange for honest review I would have not finished it. Definitely a struggle, the story takes us to Ava and her son Touissant and their struggle of being homeless, then living with a rebel type doctor who is the father of her son. Also goes back to perspective of Ava’s mother in Bonaparte Alabama and does not flow well between perspectives at all. Felt there were numerous occasions of rambling, things that did not make sense and were not explained at all. One example I can give, Ava is watching a scene between security guard at homeless housing apartments and a woman having sex and with no explanation then she is the one having sex with him. It was so disconjointed and Ava while she may have mental health issues complains about any and every situation, even when people are trying to help her.

I do not recommend this read.

Thanks to Netgalley for my electronic advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

The Unsettled is one of those books that once you are finished and put the book down it will truly never leave. It's a story about how the decisions we make in life we can leave others down paths that put them in danger or someone that will have long term effects for the rest of their lives. The main characters invloved are Ava and her son Toussant. It goes back in time to show what life like was in Alabama and gives you a feeling of what life was like for previous generations and what it means to the same familial genrations today. There is so much to discuss about the book but I really don't want to give too much away. From the very first sentence of this book you just know you're entering something special. It would an excellent choice for bookclubs. Thank you to Knopf and Netgalley for the read.

What I loved about this book:
1. The title: it was so descriptive of the characters and how I felt reading the book.
2. The content: A number of issues are explored including complicated family relationships, intergenerational trauma, racism, abuse, and the dehumanizing impact of living in poverty. It is not a fast read, nor an easy one but so well written and so needed.
2. The complex characters: Real, raw and so well written.

What I wished were different:
1. I wanted the ending to give me more than it did.
2. I wanted to know more of the characters history.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf publishing for an advanced ARC. Book published: September 26, 2023

I was unfamiliar with Ayana Mathis' work but the synopsis intrigued me. I like to push my boundaries in my personal world as well as in my reading world. As a 65 year old, active white women, this book truly did. It is hard as well as soft, heartfelt love and bitter love. The author took me inside a world I only knew from an outsider's perspective. I will not pretend to walk in someone else's shoes but appreciate that someone has opened the door for a glimpse.

I am writing this review right after finishing the book. It will take me a while to digest the full impact. Ms. Mathis' book will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you net galley for an advanced copy.

Ayana Mathis’ second novel introduces us to an estranged mother-daughter pair, Dutchess and Ava, as they lead their lives separately but always bound together by their shared memories and traumas. Set primarily in the 1980s, Ava and her son struggle for some semblance of normalcy during a stretch of houselessness that lands them in a community living facility in Philly. All the while, Ava fights the ghosts of her past that threaten to uproot her present and future. Meanwhile, Dutchess and her small-town Alabama community members wage a continual battle against nearby white townspeople who have been terrorizing them for years.

Each of the characters in this book is plagued by a profound sense of disquiet, some of which is inflicted upon them by others, by themselves, and by a profusely anti-Black and anti-Black woman society. And both Ava and Dutchess in particular are painted as deeply flawed characters; Ava, with her derision of the other unhoused people in her vicinity, and Dutchess, a mother who failed her daughter in countless ways. Mathis shows us a family that at every turn contends with its painful past and uncertain future, striving for dignity and peace in a world so bent on withholding it. I was fascinated in particular by Mathis’ depiction of Ava’s struggle for dignity as dependent on chipping away at others’—she wades deeper and deeper into the waters of “respectability” until she finds herself in a highly undesirable position for both herself and her son Toussaint. Although I found the book a bit difficult to get into at first, once I was in, I was hooked. And the last 25%? Wowowowow.

This is a great novel for those who enjoy deeply flawed characters, books that examine mother-daughter and mother-son relationships, and who just to dive into a “recent history” historical novel. Thanks so much @aaknopf and @netgalley for the e-ARC! I’m excited for more people to read this one.

This was a good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were times that the story took a bit to pick up again and the Bonapart chapters I struggled getting into. But sorry wise and character wise it is an excellent story with so many messages. I will recommend it to anyone.

Title: The Unsettled
Author: Ayana Mathis
Publisher: Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
'The Unsettled' by Ayana Mathis

My Sentiments:

'The Unsettled' was quite an engaging powerful epic and pulsing read that the reader will have to keep up with all that will be going on in this story. "A searing multi-generational novel set in the 1980s in racially and politically turbulent Philadelphia and in the tiny town of Bonaparte, Alabama...about a mother [Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint] fighting for her sanity and survival." Be ready for a story about racism and misogyny.

We find Ava trying to make a better life for her son, but we also see the disruption of her dreams with characters coming in and out making it impossible for her dreams. What will happen when Ava's first love Cass and the three move on attempting to find a place to settle? You, the reader will have to pick up this read to see how that comes out.

The author gives us a read that is told through 'dual POV's, third person around Ava's lie, and first-person through her mother, Dutchess.' This was a good read if you can keep up with what is going on with who, 'especially with the main characters are all complex and believable as are the situations in which they find themselves and from which they may or may not be able to extricate themselves.'

Be ready for quite a heavy read with some of the topics that are covered in the read of multiple generations and themes that deal with the contrasts of 'mother/daughter, mother /son, and man/woman all giving us a story of family trauma of these unsettled lives.'

Thank you to Net Gallery for a free e-copy of this novel.

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis is not an easy, breezy read, but one you’ll find, perhaps a bit unsettling, and yet compelling. The story is told from various perspectives, mainly Ava, her young son Toussaint and her estranged mother, Duchess.

Ava is a struggling single mom who recently left her husband. She and Toussaint make their way back to Philadelphia and live in a shelter for a while. Duchess lives in Alabama on an island with a small group of Black neighbors who settled there years ago. While they are not in direct communication, each is in the other’s mind. Duchess is unaware that she has a grandson.

Ava and Toussaint eventually join a commune of sorts and just as things seem to be settling, trouble ensues. This part of the novel seems to be loosely based on events that happened in Philadelphia in 1985.

The writing is almost poetic and puts the reader in the story with its wonderful descriptions. The subject matter is not comfortable but certainly necessary if we are to learn from others experiences. I will definitely read the author’s prior novel as well as her future work.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Alfred A Knopf publishing company for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Breathtaking. Reading The Unsettled was an exercise in feeling unsettled - author Ayana Mathis created such vibrant characters that I felt this constant simmering tension throughout the book. This is the story of mother and son and grandmother told in different points of view across time and (capital T) trauma that affects the trajectory of each of their lives. The subject matter and the technique the author used to show trauma isn’t easy to read. At times I had to go back a few pages and reread to fully understand what the author wanted me to feel and experience with the words. It’s a fantastic book and one I recommend. (And if you haven’t read her previous work The Twelve Tribes of Hattie - go read that one too.)

It's not often that an author can make a reader feel the characters in the story. The UNSETTLED ceneters around three generations of a family whose lives have been hard, unsettled is a very accurate description. Ava Carson, the mother of 10 yr old Touussaint, and Ava's mother Dutchess, all share the emotional scars of having no place to call their own. Ayana Mathis has so skillfully built the characters and their communities you'll see them, hear the neighbors and smell the poverty of their lives. We follow Ava as she works to provide a better life for her son than she had. The highs and lows of her life will draw a response from your heart. This was no easy read. It requires attention and connection that few stand alone novels can grasp and hold on to. If you are looking for your next read, try this one, it's a 5 star winner.

I picked up this novel because I really loved the Twelve Tribes of Hattie. I found this novel a bit less of a smooth read. Unsettled focuses on Ava, her son Toussaint and her mother Dutchess. While Ava is trying to give her son a different, move loving childhood than she had; she ended up giving him a different type of unsettled childhood, one with abuse, poverty and uncertainty. Ava grew up in the hamlet of Bonaparte, Alabama, where her family had been for generations - very settled, but her somewhat detached mother and estrangement from her her left her unsettled and she left after high school and never came home. Ava spends her life constantly searching for something to settle her - continually looking for “home” for her and her son Toussaint. Unfortunately she looks for her identity in men and those men take advantage of her.

Ava, is a lost soul, and is trying to raise her son in the 80s, first in a failed marriage, then in a homeless shelter, and finally in a cult-like home. The entire time she is dragging Toussaint around to these unstable homes, her mother Dutchess is holding onto a land deed and money for her in Alabama - Ava has always had stability if she wanted it.

I found this novel a bit hard to read at times, both for the painful and frustrating character of Ava and the writing (which I found slow). I appreciated the themes and I enjoyed Toussaint and his scenes a lot. In the end I’m glad I read the book and the beautifully written descriptions throughout, this story will stick with me for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC to review

A beautifully written and tough book to read. It did not include my favorite historical time to read, but was inclusive enough to make the reader think.