A Beautifully Written, Poignant Novel of the Black Experience in New Orleans
590647
A very fine book, beautifully written and poignant.  It tells the story of three generations of a black family in New Orleans and switches from the 1940s, when the men went to war but were not recognized as Americans; to the 1980s, when drug problems wracked (and wrecked) the community; and to post-Katrina NOLA.  It jumps back and forth in time, but I never felt whipsawed, the way some books set in different time periods can make me feel.

The book isn't long on plot, but it's gripping nonetheless, and her characterizations and dialogue are beautifully crafted.  It's actually surprising that this is her first novel; I look forward to more of her work.
348690
I loved this book. It takes place in 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi, where Minny and Aibileen are black domestic help for two white families. Skeeter Phelan has just graduated from Ole Miss and comes home for awhile with aspirations of becoming a journalist. She chafes at her mother's constant judgments of her clothing and behavior as well as the prejudice of her high school friends Hilly Holbrook and Elizabeth Lefolte. She also desperately misses her childhood companion and nanny, Constantine,who has disappeared and no one will tell her where or why.

Through the voices of Minny, Aibileen and "Miss Skeeter," the story unfolds with vivid and aching realism. The voices and dialects are pitch perfect, as are the conflicting emotions, loyalties and tensions between domestics and the members of the families they serve. Besides the issues of overt prejudice (total segregation, separation of black and white bathrooms, no sharing of food and dishes, Klan activity, etc.), the book also explores the dark side of social mores and the exclusivity that can be developed that ostracizes people (including whites of perceived lower socioeconomic status) often on the whim of a group leader.

As a result of a series of events, the three protagonists--at great risk to their own and their familes' safety--join forces to tell--and publish--the stories of at least 12 black women who work as domestic servants in the area. Their stories are poignant and varied, but in spite of this book being fiction, I believe it captures a snapshot of a piece of society in that time and place.

I suspect that having Southern roots and family from South Carolina contributed to my enjoyment and appreciation for this book. It touched on so many class- and  race-related things that are both cherished and controversial among Southerners, and I felt Stockett handled them sensitively, accurately, and with great compassion for all sides.
3716653
Perhaps the last surviving major figure from the Harlem Renaissance, Dorothy West was coaxed to write this lovely short novel by her fellow denizen of Martha's Vineyard Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (who was also her editor until her death a few years before the novel's publication). It's a charming lyrical work whose brevity belies its complexity. It's a very sophisticated study of how decades of Americans of all races in social and financial struggle form a generational underpinning to the wedding of Shelby Coles, the beautiful scion of a well-to-do African-American family on "The Oval," a black bourgeois island community based based on the town of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. Shelby's forebears, as West shows us, have tied themselves in knots over distinctions of race and class that sometimes overlap and that sometimes are at odds with one another; the question becomes whether or not she can manage to strike for herself in a new manner or repeat both the mistakes and successes of her sister, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. West is a superb stylist as well as social commentator, and the writing is gorgeous and extremely thoughtful. The book is hurt only by its hurried ending, which seems to force a realization in Shelby that ties everything together too neatly.
1764971
A beautifully written, character-driven Southern novel that follows the lives of some of the residents and staff of the Pine Haven Retirement Center during the course of about a week (with a lot of remembering thrown in).  Chapters alternate back and forth from the vantage points of well imagined, richly drawn characters with intersecting storylines.

When I started reading, I was expecting a cozy sort of ultimately life affirming novel about aging like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but Life After Life didn't fit that mold, and is indeed in a class all its own.  It faces hard truths about aging and human nature head on and would definitely fuel some interesting book club discussions. I just finished reading and am confident this story and these characters will stay in my thoughts for some time.
3362721
"The Distance Between Us" is an extraordinarily powerful, beautifully crafted novel. Masha Hamilton's prose is, at times, luminescent and lyrical, and at others, spare and almost brutal in its honesty. She paints here a poignant portrait of a woman facing a major crossroad in her life which will change her forever. This novel is more a sensitive psychological study than a book with an action driven plot.

Catherine (Caddie) Blair is an American journalist stationed in Jerusalem, who has been covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for years. She prizes her professional detachment and shies away from anything that smacks of sentimentality. It is important to keep her emotions under wraps in both her writing and in her personal life. "Reflect the story; don't absorb it," is her creed, "because if you allow yourself to feel the full force of sorrows and horrors, you will succumb to them."

On a trip to Lebanon for an important interview, Caddie's Land Rover is ambushed and her lover, Marcus, is killed. His death stuns her; shakes her to the core. She, who has covered so many battles, so much violence, finds herself musing at the many colors of a loved one's blood. Accustomed to holding her emotions in check, she doesn't know what to do with the onslaught of feelings that threaten to overpower her. For the first time that she can remember her reporter's gift of perfect recall is gone, as is her ability to be a cautious observer. She fears that after this life-altering event, she will never be "restored to even an accepted facsimile of what she was before."

Ordered back to New York for R&R by her editor, Caddie persuades him to let her remain longer in Jerusalem under the guise of writing a feature story on the "effects of violence." Overwhelmed with rage, a need for revenge, survivor's guilt, (Would Marcus have accompanied her if she hadn't asked him to do the photography for her article?), Caddie searches for a response to the murder. She considers revenge, retaliation, among other possible solutions. Compelled to act, she needs to do something that will bring her peace and allow her to move on with her life. And she longs to write something to compensate for all the barriers which sometimes got in the way of her stories. "A piece that will show intimately how violence shreds sleep and appetite and memory, disfiguring those it leaves behind. A story that will get close enough to give violence a human face."

Ms. Hamilton brings her characters to life on these pages, especially Caddie. She is developed lovingly, and the changes she makes in the novel's 279 pages are intense and deeply felt. The novel's secondary characters are phenomenal, real originals - from interfering, gossipy Ya'el to Mr. Gruizin, who paints a red stripe on the mailbox of any out-of-town neighbor - to ensure their healthy return. There's mad Anya, who shouts and whispers her prophecies from street corners, Mrs. Weizman, always ready with her chicken soup to feed Caddie, and Goronsky, the man who suddenly enters Caddie's life and helps her define her ethical limits. The characters have one principal commonality - they have all been scarred and altered by violence.

The author's vivid descriptions of Jerusalem brings that city to life. Her landscapes, images of light refracting against Jerusalem stone, the contradictory mix of the city`s inhabitants, the frenzy of everyday activity and the silence of Shabbat, evoke a timelessness and enrich the novel tremendously. This is a rare book - a real find. Highly recommended!

Masha Hamilton has actually worked for The Associated Press as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East and has covered the Intifada. This firsthand experience is evident in the story's detailed development.
JANA
1252741
Southern Vapors details Ms. Garson's journey from Southern privilege and luxury, through depression, near poverty and despair. Although not always a voracious reader, I found myself staying up late night and repeatedly thinking "just one more chapter." It is beautifully written and vividly conveys the author's anguish and turmoil during difficult times, but in a poignant and often self depracating and humorous manner. Her courage and strengh are admirable, and the story is ultimately a testament to the strengh of the human spirit. I highly recommend Southern Vapors.
371622
Ruhama Veltfort's new novel, The Things We Do For Love: Stories of My Life is a perfect picture of the 60s in both California and New York seen by a young woman caught up in the prevailing ethic, a combination of political ethical sensibilities and personal search for connection (remember the 60s: sex,drugs, rock n roll, and religious expansion).  Her novel is also a beautiful, poignant exploration of universal themes of loss, connection and the cycles of life; how life can surprise us with the most wonderful enfolding.  The first part of the title might remind one of a self-help book on co-dependency but the second part of the title lets you know it is not a preachy prescription for fixing yourself or anyone else but instead the honest examination of a life lived in real time.  Well worth reading and savoring.
3166123
I didn't quite know what to expect from a book written about the Harlem where I grew up.  There have been so many books that show the gritty realities of life in Harlem without paying much attention to the ordinary, everyday people with all their foibles, heroics, and wisdom.  This book by Christopher Herz is beautifully written.  The narrator has an almost child-like appreciation of the different characters he gets to know and seems surprised to find that life on the block can be so ordinary, so sad, so joyful, and so taken for granted in the face of encroaching gentrification. The narrator wants to a part of the neighborhood; wants to show he cares about the neighborhood, and for him, this means improving the neighborhood.  He struggles to change what has always been before he fully understands the how and why of the neighborhood.  The tale is sensitively told, painting a broad view of the lives of the people on this one block in Harlem.
1963549
I too, am going to have to say that many recent reviewers have said what I would say if I could express myself so eloquently.  This is a powerful and beautifully written book. I had heard about it and was curious, but had no idea the impact it would have on me.  As a white person I've often wondered why this degree of rage hasn't been touched on before;  I've always thought I would have been consumed with it had I been treated as the blacks have been. Styron's novel will haunt you long after you finsh the book.
1938894
The reader will never guess that this is McLaughlin's first novel, with the carefully and skillfully crafted voice of Jake Robertson, the young black man from Oakland who narrates this tale. Jake depicts what life is like for so many of our low income people, and the tortuous decisions that one frequently faces when living in poverty. The overarching moral dilemma that McLaughlin poses forces the reader to question his or her own values while Jake does the same.
  We can all relate to the failures and suffering Jake and his family confront, regardless of our position in society. However, this novel also exposes the realities of living in poverty, on the margins, and McLaughlin beautifully gives these realities a powerful voice through Jake Robertson; a voice that demands to be heard.
  Although there is no "Hollywood ending" to this novel, in the midst of brokenness, McLaughlin leaves the reader with a sense of reconciliation, hope and redemption. This is a novel that evokes a variety of emotions and makes the reader think reflectively and compassionately.
  I eagerly anticipate McLaughlin's next novel.
351507
Although not autobiographical, many of the characteristics of the narrator, Grant Wiggins, are in this deeply moving novel about 1940's southern life on a plantation in which lifestyles of the freed man of color are little different from their slave ancestors.  A simple reading on Wikipedia shows the parallels.

A mentally challenged boy, Jefferson,  is the victim in this novel. Bullied to accompany other hooligans into a store, the endeavor becomes a ruckus and a shooting ensues.  The bad boys who requested the innocent's company, and the store owner, die.  Because the boy was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and not altogether thinking about what to do when the bodies lay prostrate on the cold floor, a trial before a white judge, before a white jury, led tot he unsurprising result - the death penalty.

It is at this point that the boy's grandmother does the great deed - she tells her best friend to tell her nephew to teach the boy.  So Grant Wiggins, who owes everything to his aunt, begrudgingly abides by the women's request, and goes to the jail on routine basis to see if he can make the innocent Jefferson become a man.

What passes over the pages is great literature. At first, Grant and Jefferson have stilted, if any, conversation.  Thereafter, the walls between them subside and each learns from the other.  Cleverly, the witnesses from the outside, the readers, grow as well.

Although you know that the young man will never receive a pardon, although you know Jefferson will inevitably warm up to Grant, and although the many of the reactions by the whites who witness the relationship between Grant and Jefferson are predictable, this is a great novel.  This is writing by someone who knows the art. Do not rely on this objective perspective alone -  A Lesson Before Dying won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.

Etched in the novel's seemingly simple story are great philosophical proclamations.  Sometimes sneaky, often seemingly dicta to the novel's core, they scoot by the skimming reader.  But, don't miss these pearls of wisdom.  Here is one example.

"We black men have failed to protect our women since the time of slavery.  We stay here in the South and are broken, or we run away and leave them alone to look after the children and themselves. So each time a male child is born, they hope he will be the one to change this vicious circle - which he never does. Because even though he wants to change it, and maybe even tries to change it, it is too heavy a burden because of all the others who have run away and left their burdens behind. So he, too, must run away if he is to hold onto his sanity and have a life of his own."

I had never read works by Mr. Gaines before. I intend to find others and hope they are even just partially a moving as this novel.
2442198
This is one of my favorite books because it does such an amazing job of capturing the spirit of New Orleans.  Not the pretty, come take lots of pictures and watch people dance city, but the one that exists when you have the time and the deep, deep soul to look well below the surface.  New Orleans is like a lover who both gratifies your deepest pleasures and also wrenches your heart out and leaves you stuck out.  This book does a great job of capturing that duality.  The love story is sweet and humorous, but more importantly serves as a vehicle to illustrate one young woman learning some real truth about herself and the world around her.  It's entertaining while also being insightful and humble.  I wish more of the outsiders coming in nowadays were like this young woman and truly appreciated New Orleans culture. The commercialization of our city is so sad!
476995
The story has stuck with me for the past few days since I've finished the book and I'm still thinking about the ending...

Petry is obviously writing with a purpose hereit's a novel about a poor, black, single mother in Harlem and was published in 1946but she also succeeds in crafting a heart-wrenching story that does not suffer at the hands of her message.

Lutie Johnson may be the protagonist here, but the busiest character in the novel is 116th Street, itself. While Lutie and Bub, her son, struggle to make ends meet in the face of racism, sexism, and poverty, the streetmarvelously personified throughout the entire novel, especially in its opening pagesis busy holding Lutie back, thwarting her every attempt to escape from captivity. With the help of a few seedy inhabitants, 116th street assembles an all-star crew intent on breaking Lutie's strong will.

What elevates this novel to more than just a 'good story' is the manner in which Petry unfolds the narrative. The Street is told from a variety of different perspectives, often in a non-linear fashion, allowing for characters to possess conflicting interpretations of identical events, which greatly contributes to the reader's grasp of the growing tension in the novel. Additionally, it gives some insight to how a few relatively insignificant actions can add up to a devastating finale brought on by unnecessary events.

There's a reason this novel still holds its relevance nearly 70 years after its publication. This is not just the story of Lutie and Bub, it is universal and timeless. As Lutie notes on occassion, if she weren't experiencing these conditions on 116th Street, she'd be living the same way on another street if it was similarly poor and black. This may be Lutie's plight, but it is applicable to any single mother as she attempts to raise her son amid sexism and racism.

Unfortunately, while we've come a long way since the 1940s, there's still too much in this novel that is still applicable. I don't know why The Street isn't mentioned as frequently as Native Son, Their Eyes Were Watching God or The Invisible Man...
4199154
This book definitely falls into the "how did I miss this?" category.  Barbara Hambly is an extremely gifted writer capable of writing atomospheric prose full of emotion and marvelously descriptive. When those gifts are in the hands of someone who can also craft a good mystery, watch out!  I am a big fan of historical mysteries, but only if they ring true--if the author somehow manages to evoke the spirit of the times in every character.  A Free Man of Color does that, transporting us to the socially confusing and racially diverse world of New Orleans in the decades before the American Civil War.
Hambly paints with remarkable accuracy all the shades and tones of Creole culture:  from the French plantation owners down through the mixed race free people of color, and down to the black slaves.  Her hero, Benjamin January, is not only a gifted musician but a Paris-educated surgeon, who returned to New Orleans after the death of his wife in Europe.  He returns to the city as an insider/outsider, the perfect person to observe the actions of society.  When a beautiful mixed race mistress to a wealthy Creole planter turns up at the annual Blue Ribbon Ball in New Orleans, January is there to observe, to analyze, and finally to solve the mystery of her death.
If you like vivid historical mysteries I think you will love this book!
3323581
From Civil Rights to neighborhoods to restaurants, Kevin Bozant brings New Orleans' African American Culture alive in photos & stories, that has made New Orleans the beautiful city it is today. As a child having grown up in New Orleans and now going back as a visitor, this books serves as a wonderful guide to so many memories, both happy and challenging. It is a "must read" for everyone that has grown up in, lives in or plans to visit the historical city of New Orleans.
836322
The black South of the 1930's is brought vividly to life by Hurston, who tells the story of a young woman struggling to find a life of her own and genuine love. Janie Crawford breaks away from a life pre-destined by her grandmother, then from a life pre-destined by an overbearing husband, to find her own definition of success--a simple life, but full of love and freedom. Aside from being a great story, the novel is also a course in the fundamentals of conveying dialect and language through literature. I loved it!
1665849
Mathis continues what I hope to be a long tradition of novelist who write stories that explore the fullness of African American life amid circumstances that could easily render life hopeless.  The novel is set in Philly during the period 1925 through 1980 - a period of vast migration for blacks from the Jim Crow South to Northern cities. Hattie, the Shepherd family matriarch is at the center of the story, the nucleus around which all things revolve.  She commands respect by the fact of her endurancce through hardship.  I suspect she's every  poor black woman who made the journey to the North with hopes of greater opportunities that never materialized.

In many ways, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie reveals the affect of parental disappointment on children.  It demonstrates a different kind of parental love, based on necessity and survival; it was said of Hattie that "She didn't know how to tend to her children's soul, but she fought to keep them alive and to keep herself alive."  In some ways the novel is about forgiveness, the author's ability to humanize the characters allowed this reader to recognize my family's experience from yet another perspective. If you are the child of a poor migrated family chances are you know a Hattie and August - the surface traits; thanks to Mathis, you can now better understand their inner workings as well: and from understanding comes forgiveness.  This is a thoughtful and well drawn novel; perfectly paced with fully realized characters in honestly depicted situations; a very accomplished debut.  Highly Recommended and pass it on.