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Today I received my copy of Wench, the new novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. I really loved this book. (And what a gorgeous cover!)The novel is set at Tawawa House-- an actual Ohio resort where white plantation owners vacationed with their enslaved mistresses.

I know that there are some readers who are very tired of the American fixation with slave mistresses. I know know where you are coming from. However, this novel is different. For one thing, Wench is the story of four women who are in the same situation. This is a wonderfully modern twist on the historical novel. The four-friend structure, a sly wink at Terry Mac, allows us to see how different women respond to the conundrum of sexual slavery. Never in all my reading have I ever seen enslaved mistresses talk to each other. (Their conversations will give you a lot to think about.)

One of my favorite scenes is when one of the women is saying how much she liked Tawawa House because "we can spend time with our men." Another woman says, "You know he's not your man, don't you?" A Tawawa House, some women play house with their "master" while others plan escape.

This is a hard book to describe. After reading it, I feel weird using the word "mistress." I feel like we need a whole new vocabulary. What do you call a woman who is in a sexual relationship with a man who can sell her kids if he feels like it? Are you a "mistress" if you travel to a resort vacation literally in chains? This book is not romantic, nor is it preachy. Dolen wrestles with the truth and doesn't blink.

The most impressive aspect of this story is Dolen's way of making you unsure of who is right, and who has the best idea. I read this novel is one greedy gulp. The intellectual in me was intrigued by the historical matter. The philosopher in me was roped in with questions about the nature of freedom and progress.

Finally, the part of me that curls up in a slanket, well she stayed up late at night reading because I just had to know what was going to happen next.