A Book Review: The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis
Welcome to the first book review of my Kalidescope Femininity, "The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis! This claustrophobic anxiety-inducing novel, published on September 26, 2023, delves into the tale of Ava Carson, haunted by a complicated past, but is determined to provide her son a better life. Unfortunately, she takes all the wrong steps, and in a sense seems to always walk backward rather than forwards. Join me as we explore the intricacies of this thought-provoking story and uncover the essence of Ayana Mathis's narrative prowess.
This story is set in the 1980s in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, and Bonaparte, Alabama, and is primarily told through the viewpoints of three main characters: The Dutchess, Ava, and Toussaint. Mathis lightly touches on the racial politics of the time. Still, she does so in such an eloquent way that even though it isn't the focus of the book the presence of racial tension and its effects it has had on our main characters, lingers in your mind throughout the story's narrative. The major focus throughout the writing is the generational trauma passed down from The Dutchess to her daughter, Ave, and then later passed down from Ava to her son, Toussaint. Mathis did a phenomenal job in threading both the major and minor themes so well to paint how both are involved in the bigger picture of cause and effect and of nature vs. nurture.
"I can't stand the heartbreak of the whole stupid human history-all those years of knowing nothing about nothing. All those brutal centuries. The white folks were bad, they were a terror. If you wanted to leave the camp you had to have a tag they gave you, pinned to your chest. They were a curse. And niggers were fools. Niggers have always been fools, beautiful fools. Me too." -The Dutchess
In that quote, we have a light touch of racial tension that will be woven throughout the novel. In the following quote, we have the theme that will be prevalent, generational trauma.
"Could be that "now" is already inside a woman's body. What a terror. And what sweetness too, like some hand had laid it all out for you, lovingly, like you might lay out a child's clothes." -Ava
My biggest hurdle is the "slow burn" of it all. A majority of the novel was facile making it simple to set the book down and forget about it. The only thing that kept me coming back was the will to finish the book I had already started. Once I got passed that slow burn and into the meat and potatoes of the story I couldn't read it fast enough.
Exploring the history of The Dutchess and Ava and then their history together sets a scene. We have a toxic dynamic between mother and daughter littered with mutual feelings of anger, frustration, and blame for experiences that occurred and were passed down. With The Dutchess we have constant revisits to the past and the denial and pain of not accepting the changing of the times. Then we have Ava who witnessed her father shot on his own property by the white settlers trying to steal the land. We also have the neglect of The Dutchess during the Dutchess mourning period for her husband and the memories of what she suffered as a child. All of this is passed down to Ava and Ava carries it like a seed of hatred and frustration. Through the years Ava nurtures that seed and expands upon the hostility. A quote from The Dutchess about Ava stood out to me that I felt really sums up the sentiments of The Dutchess towards her daughter and what caused Ava to adapt to the environment she was raised in. It puts into perspective her behavior as an adult and how she unknowingly seems to be passing that generational trauma down to her son.
"She always was a vine looking for something to grow itself around. .... You got to watch out for a vine--you think it's holding you up, but half the time it's choking you out." -The Dutchess
As someone who has decided to break the cycle of generational trauma I resonated with part of Ava's character. Her search for understanding the pain that had been passed down, not identifying it as what it is, but carrying it like a burden that she has no choice but to carry. Her survival instincts of it all and her constant search for belonging somewhere that might allow her to set down her baggage if even for only a moment.
" "Who do you belong to?" he would ask. Then he'd shake his head. "Nobody. You and Toussaint just blow in and out like clouds." " -Abemi
At times this book made me anxious, disappointed, and disgusted. In all the best ways possible. Having gone to therapy and working through generational trauma I found it refreshing to be able to pick up on the theme as someone who works hard to be removed from the cycle. I kept hoping Ava would come to and see it and I found the conclusion heartbreaking. It was also eye-opening to see how things could end up for some if they are not willing to put in the work to break away from the guilt of their previous generations. I found the way Mathias weaved in the effects that racism had on the trauma that was being passed down to be so brilliantly executed. I enjoyed her writing style and am so glad I pushed through my own personal grudges with slow-burning beginnings.
Lovers of historical fiction be sure to add this to your ever-growing TBR stack.
-Vanessa
Other quotes I highlighted from the novel:
"She was in one of her moods. She was like a big tall mountain with clouds so thick around it you couldn't see the top half. It was cold up there behind those clouds-on a real mountain, that is, which Toussaint knew from geography class. If you tried to climb one, you'd have felt like you were the only person on earth. You'd have felt so lonely you could die."
"That's what a song does, that's it's job. But that sheen music puts on a thing, that's nostalgia. And I hate it because it makes ugly things beautiful."
"He looked through Ava like she was a windowpane."
"But Winnie didn't want to be mad at anybody. She was done being mad. It only breaks you down and makes you tired. And the person you're mad at is just going about their business, easy breezy."
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