Book Review: My Soul to Keep - Tananarive Due

This book captivated us from the start of the prologue to the very last page. We loved the book so much that we committed to reading the sequel for the following month! In this daunting tale of a centuries old African Immortal and the mortal family he came to love, we had a hard time agreeing on who the “good guy” and “bad guy” truly were. In the book, the grandfather makes mention of monsters and there not being any good ones, well, we can’t decide if we agree with this notion or not.

One of the most daunting questions this novel presents is: would immortality be a blessing or a curse? We were split in our answer to this as well. Many of us find value in the longevity, the wisdom, the opportunities for growth, and the time to travel and have countless experiences. On the other hand, many of us thought that a life without death for us simply meant having to lose the ones you love over and over again. A cycle destined to repeat itself when one is immortal.

In this novel, Tananarive did an excellent job of writing in a way that made her words come to life. We described moments of horror that affected us so much that we couldn’t sleep, or worse yet, the horrors manifested themselves in our dreams. Other members attested to the text bringing them to tears in one particularly devastating chapter.

Ultimately, the book was like no other we have read in the club, many compare the time hopping qualities to that of Butler’s Kindred, but we felt this text was very much so different. One gripe we did have was the length of the book. Extra time of one week was allotted for club members to finish up their reading, but everyone believed the book was worth the read and the extra time. We all are looking forward to the sequel and hoping it leaves us just as enthralled as the first.