Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote tells the story of the Coleman and Grimes family over generations. I’m thinking it’s a family story. Pictures are included at the beginning of each chapter. No names are mentioned. A family tree would be helpful. It’s a very realistic account of the times. Thank you to NetGallery and SJLP Lit for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a little bit to get into the book, both the writing in the vernacular of the time period and figuring out who was who with the multitude of characters, but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed how the book followed the families for so long and included details about the time periods.

"Coleman Hill" is an interesting family history that blends fact with fiction as we weave through a brutal family history. Several of the chapters have been published in literary magazines, and now that I'm finished, I can see how these could be stand-alone stories, even though I'm glad I've read the entire collection. The novel covers two families where the mothers were once close friends, but that changed after two of their children married. In 1916, their families head to New Jersey with hopes of escaping the racism in the South, but they learn their hardships continue as. they get the low paid jobs, the lack of respect and dignity they were seeking, and continue digging their way out of poverty. Most revealing is how the grandmother and Jeb, the father of several children, carry on their family history of beating children, wives, and daughter-in-law. I would have liked to seen Bertha one more time before learning at the end of the novel, that she, like Jeb, the father of several of her children died, because I wondered if and how they reconnected with their children as adults. Either way, a gripping now with much truth.

I am so sorry, but I could not finish this book. There was just too much violence… parents constantly hitting their children, spouses physically abusing each other. I realize this was probably realistic to the family’s experience, but it made me so sad and depressed. I just couldn’t read anymore.

An enjoyable historical read following two families the joined the northward migration after emancipation. The families settle and begin new lives with more opportunities and less prejudices in NJ. The matriarchs become fast friends until their teenage children have an encounter in the basement one day. They end up marrying.

The story and characters are quite colorful and are followed through generations of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Most characters are likable and you give concessions due to family circumstance. My heart broke for Bertha and I kept hoping that something would turn around for her. As a grandmother, I cant imagine depriving my children of either parent or doing what was done.

A quick read that entrenched you with the characters. Honest, heartfelt, too real. I completely enjoyed it.

Coleman Hill is such a unique structured novel; deemed a "Biomythography", author Kim Coleman Foote explores her own heritage and family tree, taking readers on a journey through time and places as we follow in the footsteps of her own family members as they flee the post-Civil War south in the early 20th century and set new roots in Vauxhall, New Jersey.

Across each chapter, Coleman Foote writes from the first-person perspective of a new individual, starting with Celia Coleman and Lucy Grimes, two women whose lives and families become intertwined in an unexpected twist of fate. She lays bare the events and people that are part of her family history - the arguments and struggles, the mistakes and moments of shame, as well as their triumphs and joys. At the core of this novel is one family, but it also serves as glimpse into the history of America as a whole, especially the ongoing issues of racism and sexism, and the many changes that occurred over the past century.

I applaud the author for sharing her family's story, as well as her effort to reimagine each person's perspective and emotions, incorporating elements of fact and fiction - something I think many of us have done for our own ancestors. I both appreciated and struggled with the fact that each section is a new character and perspective; Coleman-Foote has done incredible job crafting a new voice and vernacular for each character, but it also made it difficult to connect with each individual given the constant change. Nonetheless, this is a beautifully written piece that serves as a testament to the love and strength of her family.

This book is a stunning achievement and will - I can only hope - be widely read and discussed. Coleman Foote offers a biomythography, a term coined by Audre Lorde, that weaves myth, history, and biography into a compelling narrative of her family's history. She tells the story the Coleman/Grimes clan and their experiences from the start of the twentieth century through decades of migration, upheaval, segregation, discrimination, poverty and hard labour. The portrait formed is one of tremendous suffering and loss, violence, and resilience. This book stands alongside Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns and is a necessary and needed addition to the cannon of literature itemizing and reflecting upon the challenges - historical and current - of being Black in America. Highly recommended and thank you to Zando Projects, SJP Lit and NetGalley for the privilege of this ARC.

Coleman Hill is a heart-wrenching, honest and unforgettable story about two families that become intertwined and tangled in the most dysfunctional way. Each character has a personal struggle to overcome and some do and some don't. I appreciate the author's detail and dialogue as well as the intricate story threads woven throughout the book. The story shows the consequences of generational abuse and what happens when bad choices are made. Definitely a story for those who enjoy family sagas and stories of struggle and hardship.

I loved this book and the story of two families migrating from the South post slavery and moving to the north. This book is part myth but part history and does an amazing job of preserving a families memories despite their struggles.

What an incredible debut. I’ve never read anything like this… And I’m still blown away by what I just encountered. What is history and who gets to remember it? Why are certain narratives left in the historical record, and others are deemed as discardable? Painful, scintillating, shimmering, and unflinching and exposing black pain, disenfranchisement, and struggle. Just beautiful and haunting.

Be prepared to be changed by this story.

A saga based in fact, Coleman Hill is the story of two American families whose settled in New Jersey following the Great Migration. Coleman uses her own personal history and photographs to build a consuming and complex story of the matriarchs of early 1900's.

Vauxhall, New Jersey, is a small hamlet or township miles from Newark. This is where Coleman has traced back her heritage. black following the migration of African Americans to the North and West. Each character is brought to life fully by Coleman Foote. Each chapter adds a new layer of information and history of each character. There is great violence and loss within the homes and Coleman Foote artistically includes story lines to

Not since A Color Purple has the history of African Americans in early America been brought to such life. It's a magnum opus of breathtaking and heartbreaking history. This is the fiction book of the year and I challenge you to drop everything and pick up this book!
#ZandoProjects #SJPLit #ColemandHill #KimColemanFoote

The author describes this family history as part fact and part myth. She has successfully intertwined the two to fill in the gaps about what she knows of her family. The Grimes-Coleman family was part of the diaspora that led many blacks to the north hoping for a better life. But, for this family, even though they has escaped the violence of slavery and the Jim Crow south, they continued to inflict violence on spouses and children, many of whom escaped to alcohol, furthering their problems.
This book is a tragic account of two families linked together through marriage, struggling to overcome the disappointments from society and from one another.
Recommended for readers of black history. Very thought-provoking. The author tells the story through the eyes of various relatives so the reader is presented with multiple viewpoints of the family dysfunction.

This is a semi-autobiographical novel that traces two African-American families that migrate from the south in search of a better life. The title of the book refers to the location of the home of one of the families. This book has some very interesting touches -- historical photos that help you visualize the characters. What it is missing, IMHO, is some sort of family tree that lets you keep track of the inter-relationships, which became somewhat hard to follow as each generation expanded. This is a good book, but not a must read. Probably more a 3.5 star rating.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. Generational stories are often fascinating because you can see how things are handed down through the generations. It was often hard to read this book because of all the violence. The people you'd think would want to protect you the most such as a mother or grandmother seem to be the hardest on you. Starting from slavery to sharecropping to moving North for better opportunities that don't often seem to come. The Colemans find the world a hard place where those few minutes of escape through dancing or a liquor bottle help you keep moving.

Coleman Hill is a wonderful book about the plight of black Americans from slavery to modern times. This book will stay with you for a long time and open your eyes to what people in our country have gone through. This is the first time I have read this author, but it won’t be the last!

A brilliant book! Foote's writing is like nothing I have ever read. She is talented with her words and has crafted dialogue that was heartbreakingly real and vivid to my imagination. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for the purpose of this review. It will be a hit! Five stars.

Kim Coleman Foote lays bare all that families normally keep secret. The story of struggle, heartache, and strife is not easy to read. Leaving the segregated South for a better life up North is known to have been the choice for many Black families. Families who are friendly but have a falling out because of an encounter between the children are not new. Families favoring certain kids is not new either. The degree of force with which a mother loves her son is shown here to an awesome level. Her son is wonderful and can do no wrong. At the other end of the spectrum, another mother holds her daughter to an extremely high standard. We see differences in the manner in which kids and grandkids are treated. This book does not hide the fissures in the family dynamic. Ms. Coleman Foote gives us an intimate look at how her ancestors' life stories. I am grateful for her courage and for sharing her family's truth.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Projects/SJP Lit for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

I have a lot of misjointed thoughts on this book so please forgive me. The writing style is something I’ve never experienced before. It’s kind of jarring at first and at times confusing ( I had to reread several parts because I couldn’t make sense of who was speaking) but I ended up loving it!

I can just feel so much pain in these entire family and it makes me want to scream and shake and hug every one of them!

Since finishing it, I’m still unclear about a lot of things. Particularly with the character that makes things up.

Overall I did enjoy it, but it’s so heartbreaking and unsatisfying. I know not everyone gets a happy ending, but boy, it would have been nice to have any kind of silver lining.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote

It is hard to imagine any grandmother not reaching out to her children and grandchildren so desperate for just some love and attention. Celia Coleman is such a grandmother in the brutal biomythography Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote. Not once does Gra Coleman show any of the compassion that is a kind of benchmark in family sagas. Instead, Celia Coleman is physically abusive, cold and vindictive, and a clear result is that her children grow up not knowing any other way. In fact, the grandchildren plan her murder.
The story is packed with dialogue that helps to focus the characters as they struggle as part of the Great Migration from the segregated South to better jobs and opportunities in the North. Perhaps this lack of roots is partly responsible for the breakdown of normal family discourse within the family dynamic.
One of the children does attempt some kind of thoughtful reconciliation with the past as he examines his own strengths and weaknesses. Too little too late.
While there is hope for the young generation, Celia Coleman will not be remembered with any type of joy.