Everyone in this novel is unsettled. Even in the tiny hamlet of Bonaparte, Alabama, Dutchess sees the world she has loved threatened by new housing developments and old friends leaving to enjoy their senior years elsewhere. In Philadelphia, her daughter Ava has taken her son and left the most stable home either of them have ever known for a homeless shelter. Cass seeks to create a utopia but builds a shaky cult in a struggling neighborhood.

Ayana Mathis uses the 1985 MOVE bombing as the crux of her story. The characters are complex and not entirely likable but it is hard not to become entangled in their story. You will feel a lot in this novel, mostly anger at the racism, misogyny, hopelessness, deception, and more. Mathis has a literary style that is accessible and sweeping. The story will keep you engaged.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC. This is my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. Ava and her ten year old son, Toussaint, escape a complicated marriage and land in a family shelter in Philadelphia in 1985. Ava feels that she has lost everything and plans to, very reluctantly, move to her childhood home in Alabama and back with her mother, Dutchess. But her ex, Cass, renters her life with a dream of communal living and neighborhood activism and she gets swept away into this dream. The dream soon turns into a nightmare of paranoia and guns, as Ava tries to find the best way forward for her and her son.

As an avid reader, I’ve waited so long for another offering from Mathis. This book doesn’t disappoint. Often hard to read, as the storyline provides glimpses into incredibly traumatic and hard stuff, but so rewarding to immerse in this story. It’s a story of family, forgiveness and hope.

I admit I suffered through this character-driven novel. While the characters were tragic and suffered from generational trauma, (undiagnosed) mental illness, and multiple types of abuse (emotional, psychological, and physical), I did not empathize or sympathize with them or their plight as much as I believe the author intended. I found the character development lacking even though great effort was given to provide backstories to support their circumstances and motivation. It just wasn’t enough for me because I was left with more questions than answers. The delivery of the story was taxing (in my opinion). When finished, there were no remarkable thoughts or takeaways and aside from those embedded threads that commented on the devastating effects of gentrification and the enaction of deceptive laws and policies, illegal intimidating acts (including lynching, trespassing, thievery, and murder) that robbed African American families of land, livelihood, and wealth surrounding the Alabama portions.

The novel follows Ava and her 10 year-old son, Toussaint’s, journey to find their footing after an argument with her controlling husband following an unexpected visit from the boy’s biological father, Cass. The argument is the proverbial “straw” that causes her to flee her broken marriage with few belongings and little money – forcing them into “the system” in the mid-1980’s Philadelphia. The desperation leads to humiliating experiences as they rely on public services for food and housing; they land in a deplorable temporary public shelter which leads to sexual exploitation, truancy and further addles both of their already fragile mental states. Their plight is paired with Ava’s estranged mother, Dutchess, an equally troubled woman with a past of wandering as a second-rate Blues singer. Hitting rock bottom, she settles with Ava’s stepfather in Bonaparte, Alabama - a historically Black town founded by emancipated slaves - where decades after his murder, she finds herself with a handful of remaining elderly residents struggling to hold on to their land despite owing back taxes and limited resources to manage their land.

The two stories are eventually connected in such an overtly obvious manner that honestly it reads like an amateurish, second-thought plot-insertion just to tie things together. The same with the second act where seemingly everyone descends into madness and bad decisions that leads to a rushed ending that eerily echoes philosophies and events surrounding the 1970’s MOVE movement in Philly.

No doubt, my review will be in the minority as I think there are aspects of the story that others will enjoy more than me.

Thanks to the publisher, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

This is a dark, well written novel about three generations of African Americans who are adrift and struggling in their challenging environments and whose choices are often self-destructive. Duchess, once a second rate and not very successful club entertainer, is one of five remaining residents in what was originally a Louisiana black-only community. Her estranged daughter Ava, has landed in a homeless shelter in Philadelphia. Ava’s young son Toussaint just wants a normal home and family but has to deal with the environment his mother’s decisions has put him in. The story looks at ways in which social and legal institutions, development, racial history and the breakup of families creates an environment where there is little hope or motivation to change one’s circumstances. It’s a difficult but good read

I received an ARC of The Unsettled in exchange for an honest review. If it weren't for that, I would have DNFd this book. I really had trouble focusing while reading. Nothing about the story was grabbing my attention, let alone retaining it. The story bounced around between two different times and there was one character who was in both times (I think). There were a lot of characters that I had trouble keeping track of all of them. There were several things that I didn't quite think were explained, or maybe I missed it (again, focus problem). Anyway this book just didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis!

In this multi-generational saga about fraught relationships, Ava is estranged from her mother, fleeing a failing marriage, searching for the father of her son all while trying to parent her son and deal with her own emotional trauma. Much of the novel is from the perspective of Ava's son, Toussaint who struggles to understand the decisions his parents make.

I didn't understand or connect with the writing style in this book. I think the story had potential but the author kept going off track and confusing me as a reader as to what was going on. I got the son and seemed to get into his story and journey but the mother didn't exemplify any characteristics that I have come to identify as a parent. Then there was the father, what was going on with him? Some may better identify with the book and get into its twists and turns. I just couldn't The story, however, was good enough to keep me reading hoping for better days for the young man.

This was a difficult, riveting read. All about family, race, and generational trauma, this is a book with a sweeping scope and a searing message. I can't pretend to understand the motives of some of the characters in this book, but I can say that I felt these characters keenly. I was totally invested in this story even as I was uncomfortable reading it. The writing is stellar and often profound. The fast pace meant I tore through this very quickly, however I won't be forgetting it anytime soon. An excellent read.

Rating: 2.5

I liked the overall story. But the writing made it feel disconnected and unemotional.

I read this book for the consideration of the Literary Society of the Southwest. This is a 600+ membership organization that invites authors to speak about their books, their writing process, etc

This is a well written story about a young mother and her son that is set in the politically turbulent 1980s. The woman is estranged from her own mother who remains in a tiny Black settlement in Bonaparte, Alabama. The chapters alternate between Duchess in her dwindling rural setting and Ava, the young mother, in Philadelphia as she struggles to make a home for her young son. Ava has left her violent husband's house and moved into a squalid family shelter. In that setting, her son becomes truant roaming the city and she has difficulty making any move toward a fresh start. When she reunites with her son's father, they are drawn into his politically charged communal settlement.

I am so thankful that NetGalley approved me for an ARC of the “The Unsettled” by Ayana Mathis. “The Unsettled” is more than just a good book or a fascinating read. It is a love story, a gospel, a lamentation, a promise.

The blurb for the book is “ 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 fighting for her sanity and survival.” This is an accurate description of the book’s contents. But it doesn’t get to how you will feel when you finish the story and begin to ponder it all.

I found “The Unsettled” quite literary in style, as well as an engaging and pulsing story. As I read the beginning of the book, I thought/assumed it was going to be about class and racial distinctions. But by the end of the book, I realized it’s not about labels, it’s about real lives. Toussaint and his mother and grandmother are just the same as me. We are all struggling in some way and in similar ways, while the Everlasting looks on.

I highly recommend “The Unsettled”. I suggest that you read it with others- a book club, or Bible study. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy. And many thanks to the author. This is my honest review.

I read this authors previous novel -The Twelve Tribes of Hattie- and still remember the book. I was very happy to be selected to be an advanced reader of her new novel The Unsettled! When Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint, arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter in Philadelphia 1985, she is already plotting a way out. Repulsed by the shelter's squalid conditions: their cockroach-infested room, the barely edible food, and the shifty night security guard, Ava is determined to rescue her son from the perils and indignities of that place, and to save herself from the complicated past that led them there. This is an incredible, haunting book that is sure to rise in the ranks of bestsellers. #netgalley #theunsettled

I can imagine The Unsettled getting mixed reviews but lingering for many people. It's a book that will make you uncomfortable, it's a book that will make you feel raw emotions, it's a book following people with flaws who make decisions that are harmful and detrimental, it's a book about real life. There's also many layers in the story so if you're in the mood for a quick and easy read or something light to pass the time or something with a clean ending, this won't be it. This is about race and racism, it's about generational trauma, it's about poverty and living in impoverished circumstances, it's about survival in a world and society that turns a blind eye.

The story travels across generations and across distances from the rural south to the inner city and it can sometimes feel a bit confusing (in timeline, location and even reality vs. hallucinations/visions), but I also appreciate that the story depicts the complexity of big issues. As a reader, it's easy for us to criticize the characters and their actions, but the story's circuitous route demonstrates that individuals lead their lives in ways that don't always make sense and certainly aren't linear.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the e-arc.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis. This was an engrossing and unsettling read. It showed how dehumanizing it can be living in poverty, from the way Ava was treated in the social security office to being referred to as her room number in the homeless shelter. The book explores a lot of deep themes, such as parenthood, complex family relationships, racism, abuse, love.

Ava's husband kicks her and her 10 year old son Toussaint out leaving them homeless and living in a cockroach infested homeless shelter. Toussaint's father comes into the picture and "rescues" them along with Toussaint's friends into a religious commune that he has formed. Ava tries to make a life for her and her son, but struggles to find work since she wasn't allowed while married to her husband. She struggles with doing what is best for her and her son given her circumstances.

Sometimes a book and a reader simply don’t get along well, which was the case with me and The Unsettled.

I couldn’t connect with the writing style at all. A section would grab me, and for a few paragraphs I’d be right there with the characters, but that feeling never lasted long. The story felt too broad and disconnected, and I couldn’t escape into it.

DNF at 20%

A very engrossing book bout survival and trying to make a better life for her son. Characters jumping in and out to disrupt her dreams. A nicely written and enjoyable read!

It is unsettling to read about a mother who claims such love and devotion to her child, but who leaves him to fend for himself most days, and either can’t hear, or refuses to acknowledge his feelings of being unsettled and in need of her love and attention. It is unsettling to read about the way the people of Bonaparte were treated, the losses they suffered - but the strength and determination of the remaining few was one of the redeeming pieces of this story. It is unsettling to read about the power some men claim over women (and children, and those gullible enough to buy into their rhetoric) and it is unsettling how much damage they can do, both physically and emotionally, and how devious they can be in their attempts to take what they want, even fro those they calm to love. This is a slow moving story, and there is a lot to wade through, but in the end, it is worth the effort, despite the rush and unsatisfying ending - Toussaint deserves his own book as the most compelling character in this story.

Very heavy but important topics are covered in The Unsettled! I did not think I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did. Made me think a bunch as I was reading it and long after I finished it. I wish the ending was a little more developed but overall really enjoyed the plot.