We Love You Charlie Freeman (2016) by Kaitlyn Greenidge

American author Kaitlyn Greenidge

1001 Novels: A Library of America

We Love You Charlie Freeman (2016) 

by Kaitlyn Greenidge

Wellesley, Massachusetts 

Massachusetts:  3/30

   I think this is the first book by an African American author on the 1001 Books list- which isn't entirely surprising considering that the African American population in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire is small.  Which is not to say that there are NO black people in those states.  I've been to Portsmouth and seen the civic memorial to the African American graveyard and other African-American Portsmouth sights.  Massachusetts, on the other hand, is 10% black and within Boston the figure is close to 25%, so you'd expect some representation in Massachusetts.  And sure enough, here we are, with this interesting book by Wesleyan Professor/author Kaitlyn Greenidge.  

   Greenidge spins an engaging tale about an unusual family from Dorchester, with two hearing daughters who can speak sign language- as taught by their mother.  They are recruited by a Wellesley area institute dedicated to primate research. Greenidge traces the story backwards and forwards through time using multiple narrators.  Through these various voices (mostly African American) the reader learns about the troubled history of the institute and its ties to the Eugenics movement of the early 20th century.  The dominant voice is that of the oldest of the two daughters who is troubled by the experiment, which involves raising a chimpanzee with a human family,  and her families participation in it even before she learns the dark history behind the institute. 

    I listened to the Audiobook, which was mistake.  I'm not a fan of adult literature where the characters are teens or young children.  I'd rather just read those voices than listen to them for 10 to 15 hours.  By the end I had a real appreciation for the book and for author Greenidge.  By the end of the book she has conjured a truly disturbing set of circumstances.