Title: Coleman Hill
Author: Coleman Foote
Publisher: Zando Projects, SJP Lit
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Coleman Hill" by Coleman Foote

My Sentiments:

'Coleman Hill' was quite an interesting, emotionally powerful story that will keep one's attention until the end. It happens around the 1920s through the late 1980s. What will happen when these two families move north during the Great Migration, which went through over three generations that dealt with the story of Celia and Lucy [marriages, children & grandchildren]. as they settled in New Jersey? This author, Coleman Foote, a biomythography, gives the reader quite a story from complex friendships, some joys, racism, Jim Crow, alcoholism, abuse, domestic violence, lack of education, poverty, infidelities, intergenerational trauma, child neglect, sexism, love, betrayal, death, and forgiveness. And I don't want to leave out: a lot of what these people came from..."brutal slavery, Ku Klux Klan raping and lynching, misogyny, senseless assault, police brutality, redlining, and endless egregious and ingenious forms of segregation and subjugation." Now, I will say this read may not be for everyone. I will also tell you that you must have a good stomach for what went on in our country then. Yes, some of this happened! One may wonder, did these people get a better life after moving north? This is where I say, pick up "Coleman Hill" to see what happens.

We are presented with each chapter telling what happens in their family. One character, in particular, was Bertha... whom I felt sorry for in how she was treated. You must pick up this read to see how it all comes together.

The author also gives the readers bleak pictures of the various families of the family members being spoken of in the chapter that is presented at the beginning of each chapter.

Be ready for many attractive characters in the large multi-generational family, so you will have to keep up with this story that will have a lot of facts mixed with fiction.

At times, this was a difficult read in what was being presented. The story brings in historical events and figures...' the Great Migration, Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam War, and Martin Luther King Jr.,' which brings out the realness in how this author presented the story to the reader, as it is a mix of fiction and history.

Thank you, Net Gallery/Kim Coleman/Zando Project, SJP Lit/, for this eArc in advance for my honest review.

Coleman Hill is the story two families who move to New Jersey from the South during the 1916 Great Migration to escape the Klan and better their lives. Celia and Lucy become friends, and this story tells of their marriage, their children and their grandchildren in this generational saga three generations deep. Kim Coleman Foote has taken the details of her family history, along with some treasured photos, and woven a riveting story about two Black families and their ultimate quest to end the generational curses of abuse, neglect, poverty, and lack of education. Kim Coleman Foote has written us a Biomythography - a literary term that is a style of writing that weaves myth, history, and biography in epic narrative. The novel explores the impact of racism, sexism, and classism on the characters’ choices and destinies, as well as the themes of identity, belonging, friendship, love, and forgiveness.
Coleman Hill is a strong testament to the healing power of time.

Kim Coleman Foote has taken the details of her family history with some treasured photos and woven a riveting story about two Black families who migrated from the South to New Jersey (ie: the Promised Land) around 1916 to find factory jobs. They left the abuse of Southern racists behind but carried the memory of violence with them, taking it out on each other in myriad ways.

My favorite things about this story are the family photos and characterizations/relationships. Kim Coleman Foote has done what I would love to do with my own family memories and old photos and fleshed out their stories.

'Maybe the truth is somewhere in between
all that I'm told
and memory'
--Jacqueline Woodson. Brown Girl Dreaming

I received an arc of this new novel from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this excellent family historical memoir from Netgalley, author Kim Coleman Foote, and publisher Zando Projects, SJP Lit. I have read Coleman Hill of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to add Kim Coleman Foote to my favorite authors. She brings us a clear, bright view of family life from her side of the street. And family photos to go with the stories.

We follow the Coleman family, four or five generations who began in slavery before the Civil War, through the end of World War I and into the Depression era in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, then up to New Jersey and New York during the Depression and World War II, and into the current era. Ms. Foote holds no punches - some of her ancestors were wonderful and some were more cruel than I can imagine. All were feeling their way into a life based on equality. We aren't there yet, but with more insight like this, we can see daylight at the end of the tunnel. All women and Blacks still feel the pinch. But we also all get out and VOTE! Equality is coming, somewhere down the tracks.

I was absolutely intrigued by the idea of a bio-mythology as I love family sagas in general. A slow read for me personally because of the extensive names and mapping but a rewarding read nonetheless. A unique was to learn more about U.S. history from an under-voiced point of view. I am looking forward to Coleman Foote's next work.

This is quite the saga and generational tale. I love how it is part biographical and tells a true story. There is a lot of violence and trauma to the story, as well as a lot of characters and I was glad for the family tree in the beginning. There’s a lot of history, not only of the family but also America.

“We could have hands like the Lily-white ladies in the Sears Roebuck catalog - real soft and smooth, cuz we’d cream em every night. The only cotton we’d touch would be our dresses and gloves and the babies’ diapers.”

Coleman Hill comes out 9/5.

The compelling and grim story of a family told through first the women and then the men. Celia and Lucy both moved from Alabama to New Jersey to join their husbands who wanted a better life but those husbands die young and the women are left to support themselves and their children. Lucy's daughter Bertha and Celia's son Jebbie are at the heart of the second generation of this tale of cycles of physical and alcohol abuse and it is Bertha's children who carry on. Each shift of era is prefaced with a photograph of family members, each chapter is narrated by a different family member. You might be tempted to put this down- it's unrelenting - but keep reading for the thoughtful exploration of their experiences. It's a brave thing Kim Coleman Foote has done. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A valuable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of "Coleman Hill" by Kim Coleman Foote. It was my first fore into reading a biomythography-i had to look that word up to see what it means. I wish I hadn't looked the word up first, and just read it. I realized as i read with the mindset of a biography, or more specifically a written family history. It was a gripping and engaging story. I love multi-generational stories and this did not disappoint. I am sorry that i waited so long to read it. The hype is real and I will recommend this to my friends.

An unflinching look at several generations a black family who emigrated from the South and is trying to make ends meet in New Jersey.

Thanks for the review copy. I can see why Sarah Jessica Parker is publishing this book. I learned a lot from this biomythography. I loved the interweaving of the two families across three different generations and through eight decades.

This is the story of the Grimes and Coleman families. The men came up from the South to escape Jim Crow laws and to find better jobs eventually sending for their families once they were established. Celia Coleman and Lucy Grimes met on the train and became friends. Eventually they have a falling out but are still united when Bertha Grimes marries Jebbie Coleman. There is a lot to this story and I found it interesting and important. Even though I didn't feel the characters were that well developed I didn't really like any of them. Both were large families and then when grandchildren came there were more names and I just gave up trying to keep track of who belonged to who. Told from different points of view but without a chapter title sometimes I would be quite a ways in before I knew whose point of view I was actually reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zando Projects for providing me with a digital copy.

I love the term “biomythography,” and Foote’s new novel that builds on her own family history defines the term. Wonderful characters, if not challenging, and stories that are hard to read but gripping. Two families move north during the Great Migration to escape Jim Crow, the matriarchs are friends until two of the children become involved. From the 1930’s through the 1970’s the stories tell of hard times, dependency, enablement, and so much more. Foote is adept at writing in dialect, something I thing challenges most authors, and harkens back to Zora Neale Hurston.

This is a multigenerational novel about a Black family from a time of enslavement up to the 1980s. It follows the challenges they face--racism, poverty, lack of education and access to resources, etc.--and how things change over the years. There is also a circle of abuse throughout the generations, and even in the end, it doesn't particularly feel like they like each other.

I really liked how the author tied in photos of her family and based it in what facts she knew while filling in the rest with fiction. The characters were well-developed and captivating, though I think a family tree would be helpful to refer back to. I had a hard time recalling what generation each was from, as there are a lot of kids. In general, the story made me sad. Virtually all of the characters were cruel to each other, but you could see how the world made them that way. At the end, the kindness Alma shows her (great?) nieces and nephews seems to suggest hope for a better future.

This was a unique book written in a unique voice that I would definitely recommend for people who are intrigued by family drama, history, and being put in the shoes of someone (in my case) different than you. It's a perspective change that will leave a lasting impression.

Coleman Hill is a Biomythography blending fiction with Kim Coleman Foote's family history and what a truly exhilarating and addictive story this is.

Two American families leave the South for New Jersey during the Great Migration, with promises of a better life and leaving the plantations behind.
The two women at the heart of these families, Lucy and Celia, become friends, sharing their trials and tribulations. They are both mothers and their children grow up together, that is, until an incident takes place and they separate on less than friendly terms. The question of who's offspring was to blame? Will have ramifications for the whole family spanning generations.

A story of marriage, racial discrimination, and trauma, this wasn't an easy book to read. I dont think it's meant to be either, and although absolutely heartbreaking, it's also written in a way that makes it hard to look away. Black women especially were sold the promise of a better life, and it never comes to fruition. Not only are they dealing with their own trauma of their past, but they also deal with alcoholism, infidelity, poverty, and domestic violence. There is a lot of child abuse, too. I found the way this book looks at intergenerational trauma and the cycle of abuse fascinating. I don't know if that makes me very morbid, but I think in this book, it's exceptionally well done. It's quite clever how seamless this book feels and although as a reader it can be quite difficult to feel a great deal of empathy for individuals due to their action at the same time there is empathy for the circumstances they find themselves in. The lack of resources and opportunities really play a part in showing how this story unfolds. I would highly recommend it. Please check the trigger warnings out. Especially if you are an own voices reviewer.

This was an emotional book to read....hard topics. This had everything I like in books, stories spanning generations and view points from different members/generations. It was hard to read about the generational trauma of physical and mental abuse, but I was invested in the story. I do wish the end had continued the story by having the view point be from the next generation rather than switching to Jeb...I was longing to read how the generation of grandchildren were affected. Was the cycle broken? Did it continue?
I loved the addition of pictures and will be interested in seeing the book in print as the e-book was a little "choppy".
Congratulations to Kim Coleman Foote on a well written, emotionally investing read.

An ambitious story that spans several decades. Two families moved north during the Great Migration to find better opportunities and a better quality of life than they had in the south. This is a nitty gritty account of how it went. It is an interesting read because of the combination of fact, history, and memories in a work of fiction. Overall, a wonderful telling of perseverance and insight. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Amazing story and the format was interesting to read. I will be picking up the physical copy when it releases, I don't think the e-reader format translated as well, somethings seem split up and disjointed and I'd like to read and enjoy the story again.

Novelist Kim Coleman Foote’s Coleman Hill, a biomythography and visual-textual family album, documents the three generation story of Celia and Lucy, two African-American friends who moved North during the Great Migration, their children, and descendants. The book examines their complicated friendship, subsequent falling-out, and fracturing of that bond, due to a fateful teenage indiscretion between the two families. Fleeting joys, systemic racism and Jim Crow, substance addiction and alcoholism, domestic violence, abuse and the resulting intergenerational trauma provide throughlines that link together the different historical periods. A vintage black and white photograph precedes each section of the novel, inviting readers to momentarily gaze at and imagine the silent story conveyed by the subjects’ expressions and demeanor, before launching into the authorial narrative concerning those in the portrait. While the novel suffers from occasional pacing issues, even drags in parts, I enjoyed this historical fiction novel and the evolution of each family over time. Recommended.

I am not sure how I feel about this book and maybe that is my fault for taking so long to read it. I loved the pictures that went along with the story. It gave real faces behind the memoir. I wish there was more about how things ended up. Like how Jeb and Bertha passed on. Their kids too. I know that there is only so much knowledge out there but it has me wanting more.

Coleman Hill is a novel blending family history and the northward migration after emancipation. The book weaves the stories of two women and their families over three generations. The abuse, struggles, neglect, infidelities, alcoholism, lack of education and poverty continue with each generation. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.