Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Joan can't change her family's past.
 But she can create her future.

Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn't remember the bustle of Beale Street on a summer's night. She doesn't know she's as likely to hear a gunshot ring out as the sound of children playing. How the smell of honeysuckle is almost overwhelming as she climbs the porch steps to the house where her mother grew up. But when the front door opens, she does remember Derek.

This house full of history is home to the women of the North family. They are no strangers to adversity; resilience runs in their blood. Fifty years ago, Hazel's husband was lynched by his all-white police squad, yet she made a life for herself and her daughters in the majestic house he built for them. August lives there still, running a salon where the neighbourhood women gather. And now this house is the only place Joan has left. It is in sketching portraits of the women in her life, her aunt and her mother, the women who come to have their hair done, the women who come to chat and gossip, that Joan begins laughing again, begins living.

Memphis is a celebration of the enduring strength of female bonds, of what we pass down, from mother to daughter. Epic in scope yet intimate in detail, it is a vivid portrait of three generations of a Southern black family, as well as an ode to the city they call home.


There’s a point in this book where Miriam remembers her mother Hazel waking her up, leaving her little sister August asleep and how one day she fixed her a breakfast fit for a king. There were green tomatoes and grits, spicy pork and scrambled eggs, chatting like a normal day. Miriam was distracted by the delicious meal and didn’t notice her mother filling the jug. Then suddenly threw the whole jug of cold water over her daughter. Miriam thought her mother had lost her mind. All she said was ‘you ready’ and that afternoon took her to her first activist’s sit in. Miriam’s experience is similar to the one I had reading this incredible book. I’d just settle into the story when suddenly something was revealed that was so momentous I would have to take a moment, blind-sided by what had just happened. Memphis is the home of three generations of African-American women from grandmother Hazel, her two daughters Miriam and August, and Miriam’s daughters Myra and Joan. Their personal lives are set against a backdrop of American history from the early 1950s through to the 2000s, taking in world-changing events like the Kennedy assassinations and 9/11. Told in sections from each woman’s viewpoint, Stringfellow takes us back and forth across the 20th Century. Each step back in time informs the present, showing us where Joan has come from and each day forward moves Joan into her future.

I loved the earliest years where grandmother Hazel meets Myron and they fall in love. Their courtship is so sweet and has an innocence about it and I think that’s what makes later events such a shock. The fact that Myron has come so far and become part of law enforcement in those times feels like such an incredible achievement. Your fellow officers are supposed to be your brothers, but despite working alongside him, this all white squad don’t count him as one of them. We don’t see the lynching, but we don’t need to. Our place is with the women of this story. Hazel is nine months pregnant, filled with grief, anger and a frustration borne from knowing that whatever you achieve, however loud you scream, your achievement and voice mean nothing. The author managed to deeply touch me with that sense of powerlessness. There’s such a maelstrom of emotions when she gives birth: knowing this little girl will never know her daddy; wishing Myron was there to support her; the fear of knowing she’s alone as a parent and her girls depend on her; the joy of this new life coming into the world. These women feel so real because Stringfellow cleverly evokes the complexity of human emotions, it’s rare that we only feel one at a time. In grief we can still feel moments of joy and even if we are happy, there can be moments of doubt or fear. Such moments of inner conflict follow us into the second generation of women, sisters Miriam and August. When Miriam escapes domestic violence, returning to the house Myron built in Memphis, she’s torn in two directions. She really has nowhere else to go and she longs for home and the consolation and support of her sister, but Joan has a moment of recognition. Have they been here before? The truth is they have,

The women in this family are strong and they need to be. Some of what happens to them over their three generations is terrible and you will probably have a good cry like I did. I was touched by what Hazel, Miriam and Joan go through, but there were also quieter struggles that touched me such as August’s decision to care for her mother, the loneliness she must feel with both her mum and sister gone, the fear she feels for her son Derek, growing up as a black man in a place where shootings and gangs are commonplace. Her mixed feelings of guilt, anger and love that come with being a mother of a son who does things that are unforgivable. I also loved the camaraderie of her salon and the strength she gets from the women who are her customers and her community. I was touched by her ability to take pleasure and solace when it’s offered, despite it not being the love and companionship she craves - that comes from the women in her life. The pain these women go through makes the good times even more enjoyable and I really felt the joy and relief when they came out of a tough time. The author manages to capture that sense of peace I have seen in my counselling room, when the long held fear, anger and shame that comes from trauma is finally let go. That need for revenge finally silenced. The chance for joy and celebration to fill the void left behind and communing with others who know your journey.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴. 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘈 𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

For three generations the women of the North family have lived in the house that Myron built for his wife. Myron, a black police officer, was murdered by his white colleagues, leaving his wife to bring up the family. Miriam married to a Chicago man whose successful Army career hides the trauma of war, August left with a son who she fears is bad. Joan, attacked as a toddler, looking for an escape and her sister, Mya, the brains for the family learn the value of family and the link to Memphis
At its heart this is a family saga, but one with the veins of BLM pulsing through it. Whilst there is some positive in the tale I did find it rather depressing but the tales of the individuals are woven cleverly and it is a good read.

"As my mother helped undress me with a gentleness that only increased my fear, I understood then why the first sin on this earth had been a murder. Among kin."

Thank you, NetGalley and John Murray Press for the chance to read and review Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow!

Memphis is an absolutely wonderful book! It's the story of 4 women and how they work to protect each other and their families from the violence that is never too far from their home.

The story starts with Miriam moving back to her home in Memphis to live with her sister, August, and her son, in their mother Hazel's old home, after Jax, her army husband takes his anger out on her in front of their children. It's early on that we realize that Joan (Miriam's older daughter) was assaulted by her cousin at the age of 3. While action was taken then, they're all living under the same roof which doesn't make things any easier on Joan and her little sister My.

Honestly, one wouldn't be able to tell that this was a debut novel. Tara M. Stringfellow put together a beautiful book on how complicated family can be. This is not to say that Derek is ever forgiven by his mother or family, he is taken from his family for some time as well, but the entire situation makes you feel really incredibly helpless. As family what do you do?

This is such a beautiful book. I could have kept on reading about these interesting individuals forever. Their stories were so poignant. Each women had different forms of hardship and heartache yet their humour and high spirits rang out. I felt I was there in Memphis with them. I would encourage everyone to read it

I am a massive fan of multi-generational stories, particularly ones that feature strong female characters, so I was delighted to be approved to read Stringfellow’s debut.

Hazel was nine months pregnant when her husband was lynched by his Memphis police squad. Miriam had to flee her violent marriage for the safety of her two girls, Joan & Mya. August had to turn her back on her dreams to provide for her family.

I loved this book! Memphis spans over 70 years, from World War 2 to the civil rights movement to 9/11.

Stringfellow does a great job weaving each character’s narrative together, making it incredibly seamless. I’m still thinking about these characters deeply and it’s been a few days now since I’ve read it. Her writing is so emotive and it had me in tears on several occasions. There are definitely trigger warnings to this book so please do the research before reading it.

Memphis is a book about overcoming adversity in its essence. It is about resilience, strength and courage. It is such a heart-wrenching and powerful read. Definitely one I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

Anyone who loves a good multi-generational saga, historical fiction and books that focus on strong female characters will certainly enjoy this one.

Massive thank you to John Murray Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Memphis is a wide-ranging story focusing on the fate of one Black family (made up mostly of women) in the last 70 years of American history. Undercurrents of racism, domestic violence and mental health flow through the story, but the characters of Miriam, August, Joan and Hazel are shining beacons that pull you through. Despite their misfortunes, the Norths are a family you would want to be part of. Stringfellow has written a powerful ode to Black femininity and humanity that deserves to be read everywhere.

WOW!! MEMPHIS is absolutely one of those books that will stay with you, it is a captivating story that elegantly showcases the resilience, courage and tenacity of Black women.

Filled with a beautiful lyrical language, Stringfellow writes a story inspired by her own family history. It follows, Hazel, Miriam, August and Joan, three generations of North women living in Memphis, Tennessee. I loved the family dynamics, the community solidarity and seeing how each woman adjusted and dealt with all the challenges that came their way.

After the first chapter I thought it would be an extremely trauma heavy focused read, but as I read on, it became clear that while the book mentions several awful events, ones that affect the lives of these women and the men around them. The story as a whole explores the consequences of living through abuse, poverty, the civil rights movement, racism and police brutality. It’s about how problem's get passed down the generations, to continue to affect people’s lives and the hope and love that can be a constant driving force.

A stunning debut from an author I’m excited to read more from in the future.

5🌟

CW: Mentions of rape, violence, abuse, death

Memphis tells the story of the women of the North family - Hazel, Miriam, August and Joan. It tells the story of a neighbourhood in North Memphis, and the people who live there. Celebrating joyous moments but also not shying away from the brutalities of life, Memphis does feature some events that are upsetting. If you need content warnings please seek them out.

Memphis honours black women. Stringfellow lovingly imbues her characters with strengths and flaws, representing them as rounded individuals that leap off the page.

There are many instances of stunning, poetic prose throughout this story. Music is a strong through-line as it nurtures the soul, and food which nurtures the body.

I recommend this read. If anything I wish it had been longer and we'd spent more time with the family. I did wonder about the placement of some of the sections we read and if these could have been arranged chronologically.

A strong 🌟🌟🌟🌟 read for me. I look forward to reading more from this author. my thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a joy, and a powerhouse of a book. The story of one family- three generations - told primarily through the voices of Hazel, Miriam and Joan. All 3 have gone through, and survived traumatic events - and this is the story of their resilience, their strength and their talents to survive, against a charismatic Memphis backdrop. All three are terrifically drawn characters, and whilst so many books with multiple characters you end up favouring one or two of the narratives - this was a total pleasure to read all of the voices. As it jumped timelines or voices I never felt the flow was disrupted and a truly satisfying read as a result.

🌿BOOK REVIEW🌿

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

“Men and death. Men and death. How on earth y’all run the world when all y’all have ever done is kill each other?”

In this striking debut novel we follow three generations of women who live in the town of Douglass, in South-West America. To summarise, the three generations are:
- Hazel: the eldest of the women
- Miriam and August: the children of Hazel
- Joan and Mya: the children of Miriam

This was a difficult story to read, with acts of such violence and hatred, but we are left with the undeniable power of sisterhood. Throughout the years we see the women of this family support each other through some incredibly traumatic periods as they come out the other side to flourish in their own way. A huge theme in this book is dealing with trauma and how to find yourself within that. The women all make some incredibly difficult decisions, but support one another through them.

They are all such incredibly strong female characters that are truly inspiring- finding love after the brutal murder of her husband, leaving an abusive partner, following a passion for the arts, and maintaining true love for their family.

I honestly cannot believe that this is a debut novel, the writing is so breathtaking and lyrical that it pulls you in to feel every single emotion that these characters are feeling. Throughout the 70 years that this novel spans, the chapters jump between character perspective and timezone. This is a very difficult writing style to pull off and I can honestly say that Stringfellow does this incredibly well.

This will be in my 2022 favourites for sure, happy publication day Tara!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

⚠️CW// rape, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic abuse, gun violence, racism

[ad-gifted book]

I found this a difficult story to read, not because the writing was poor, on the contrary, but the because the saga is unrelentingly grim. There is very little light relief in it. It is powerful, jaw dropping in places and touching in its forgiveness.

I got Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow, from NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Memphis is the story of three generations of black women, in the American southern state of Tennessee, from the 1930’s to the early 21st century.

While the novel covers a 70-year period it is not done in a sequential order so starting in the 1930’s and going forward. Instead, Memphis jumps around going forwards and backwards in time.
While this allows the novel to reveal the reason why someone gets a pie because of an earlier event, it sometimes can add to the difficulty of following the novel.
In addition to this having 3 main characters in the story also lead to some confusion in reading the story, as the novel changed both individual and timeline change.
Having said all that once I got into the story the book flowed in a way that as I was reading the book it seemed that this is the only way that it could be written.
Memphis is a story of issues that affected the individual characters of the novel, however the story never seemed to show a a pity story as all the characters were strong woman.
This makes Memphis by Tara M Stringfellow a great read.

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

This is a strong contender for my book of the year, it was so beautiful ❤️

Memphis tells the story of three generations of women growing up in Memphis: Hazel just as America joins WW2, her daughters Miriam and August and Miriam's daughters Joan and Mya at the turn of the century. Between them they experience 9/11, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, WW2, lynching of black police officers, and their own personal tragedies. Without giving the ending away, I cried with tears of happiness at the end, it was like seeing off my own daughter as she starts a new life.

There is one topic that the novel deals with which I will mention at the end of my review in case you'd like a warning. Although shocking, it brought up so many questions at the end of the novel. Joan is faced with the possibility of revenge and the burden of unforgiveness and it poses a real dilemma for the reader. I thought this was tackled so brilliantly by Stringfellow. The question of belief in a God who takes away our most precious people was brought up again and again in the novel and again Joan seems to have the final say. She leads the novel so well though I loved reading all of the stories from all three generations of women.

Such a powerful, beautiful book I will be recommending to everyone. Thank you for my advanced copy!
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Content warnings:
Child rape, lynching.

This novel has a powerful grip on me. Stringfellow weaves together the memories of multiple generations of African women, moving back and forth in time and hopping from one person to the next. I'm not sure I could say anything about this book that would do it justice. It was wonderful; it was immediately engaging and well-written, and as I read it, it took me on an emotional rollercoaster. This is a story of tenacity, courage, and strength in the face of adversity.
Because the characters are so well-developed, I have completely adopted them and will keep them in my heart. It was amazing, and I want to read more by Tara Stringfellow in the future.

Memphis gives voice to three generations of females from the North family. All struggling to escape the past and the destiny assigned to them by their race, culture and the men in their lives. They suffer loss, love, violence and success, taking diverging paths in opposition to societal expectations. These are self-made women striving to better themselves in a world where they are at the bottom of the ladder. Brimming with the sounds of the southern city of Memphis, Stringfellow brings to life a vibrant world full of possibility that is there for the taking and which can not quash the narrators' drive to overcome.

Published this week, Memphis has been chosen by Eason (Irish booksellers) as one of their recommended spring reads. It’s an engrossing tale of three generations of Black women from Douglass, Memphis.

We meet matriarch Hazel, her daughters Miriam and August, and Miriam’s daughter Joan, who has within her grasp the power to change her family’s legacy.

Spanning seventy years, we get a sense of what these women have had to endure and sacrifice over the course of their lives: injustice, police brutality, racism, domestic abuse, rape, single parenting, the fight for civil liberties, access to education, PTSD of a spouse, 9/11, and the ties that bind families together in spite of trauma and past recriminations.

The story is told in a non-linear narrative which I usually like but on this occasion I felt the timeline was a little too disjointed and distracted from the story. There wasn’t a big reveal at the end that warranted the choppy timeline. There’s a decision that Miriam makes early on in the book that I struggled with too but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book.

I loved the sisterly bond between Miriam and August, and between Joan and her little sister Mya and I’d definitely recommend it. An immersive debut, beautifully written with some brilliant female characters. 3.5-4/5 ⭐️

*Content warning ⚠️: there is a harrowing scene concerning the rape of a child. There isn’t a graphic description but it is disturbing and I felt it warranted a warning.

Sincere thanks to the author, the publisher John Murray Press and @netgalley for an advance copy of this book. Memphis will be published this Thursday 7 April.

Tara M. Stringfellow’s debut novel focusing on three generations of a family living in Memphis could only have been written by a poet. There’s a voluptuousness to her words, a richness in description, an over-ripeness which beautifully conveys Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1995 Miriam returns in her battered car with daughters Joan and Mya and Wolf the dog to the house she grew up in and to her sister August and her son Derek. Joan’s unexpected reaction to her cousin shows that there is a history to this family. We jump around a fair bit incorporating Miriam and August’s upbringing and their parents, especially mother Hazel, but the focus is on the eight years after Joan’s return to Memphis. She is given a first-person narrative which is interspersed by third-person narratives which focus on the other characters. The women are central, the male characters are little under-realised which is no doubt the author’s intention. It is time to let these impressive women have their say away from the troubles that these men cause for the family.
At times it was hard not to be reminded of another “return home” Southern Black American saga I read recently, the critically acclaimed “The Love Songs Of W E B DuBois” by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers. Both are debuts by women who have made their name in poetry and whereas I felt that Fanonne Jeffers’ novel was too long “Memphis” is too short. I wanted more from the lives of these women, especially August, who is a terrific character and who I felt could have been further fleshed out through her own narrative. But every author knows the importance of leaving their readers wanting more and that is why I would give “Memphis” the slight edge. The importance of carving out one’s own route is emphasised in both books and this can be found through education. There’s enough autobiographical clues in the author’s acknowledgements to indicate that Tara M. Stringfellow was really writing what she knows with elements of plot and characterisation overlapping her own life.
This is a very strong contemporary saga which deserves a wide readership.
“Memphis” is published by John Murray in the UK on April 7th 2022. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

What a heart-soaring, gut-punching read Memphis is! Yes, named for the place it’s set, this is a generational tale of a family of charismatic women: Hazel, Miriam, August, Joan and Mya. You feel the warmth and pain of America’s deep south coming from the pages and get completely engrossed in the lives of these remarkable women.

The chapters move between each woman across a range of 20th century timeframes spanning around 70 years. Joan felt like more of a lead character to me, from childhood trauma we see her grow into a character that you genuinely care about. There are some high-drama moments as the family face racism, violence and a tragic event within the confines of their own family home.

But, there is also happiness, loyalty and dreams. What Memphis does so well is capture the volatile nature of life and scatter both sides of the emotional spectrum through the read to make sure you keep turning those pages. The strong family ties are the heart of this book. I was rooting for Joan and loved discovering more of her history and what made her who she is.

At times Memphis was a hard-hitting read but overall it had such a lyrical feel that you were hooked. It sets its generational story against the backdrop of key moments in American history and when novels do this, I find it really helps to add authenticity to the story and make the characters seem so real. I mean, the excellent writing also plays a part in that – and the words just flow wonderfully from the page here.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

Wow, this was a heartbreaking book but also full of hope. I almost stopped reading when we got to know why Joan hated Derek so much. I felt physical ill but I powered through. It's a very strong book and I'm gonna need some time to digest it. The writing was impeccable.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as John Murray Press for providing me with an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Debut novels get better every year.

"Memphis," Tara M. Stringfellow's beautifully written debut, follows the lives of three generations of North women living in the city for which the eponymous book is named. Hazel meets Myron North in 1937 and marries him six years later; her daughters Miriam and August grow up together in the house Myron built them, until Miriam marries Jax and moves out to Chicago; she returns in 1995 with her young daughters Joan and Mya, running away from the man she thought was her soulmate. All these women face more than their fair share of hardships—poverty, racism, the destructive actions of men—but they, much like Hazel when confronted with a white man who called her "girl" and acted affronted that she was in the white people's section of a store, looked straight at their problems "without bent head or lowered gaze or blinking eye."

Despite—or perhaps because of—all they went through, these women found a way to love their families even harder. They'd argue and come back together, make mistakes and apologize, forgive and forget and have faith that as long as they were together, they'd make life work. It was inspiring, really, seeing them figure out the present and aim for better futures, each and every single one of them. The recurring characters in every woman's story, like Miss Dawn and Stanley, helped them in their own ways and were essentially some of my favorite characters to see engaging with the main ones.

The narrative did, however, get a bit confusing at times. It was bound to: when a story twists its way from the present to six different points in the past, it becomes difficult to keep track of what happens when, even when each chapter begins with the year carefully printed under the name of the character whose perspective is being presented. I would often get lost in these pathways through time, and it would take me a couple of pages to figure out where in the narrative the current plot resided.

This is also an extremely difficult book to read. Not because of the writing, which is elegant and clear, but because of the violence inflicted on certain members and described in graphic detail. The scenes don't leave one's mind easy. There is a point to this description, though: it stands as a reminder to readers that the future can't be made better without confronting the past head-on, acknowledging the cruelty and inhuman nature that shaped a whole history of people. One can't just ignore the past; one shouldn't, if genuinely intent on ending its brutality and creating a different future.

"Memphis" releases officially on April 7. If interested in historical fiction spanning several decades, and intrigued by the descriptor of this being a "Black fairy tale," then consider picking it up whenever you get the chance. It'll be worth your while.