#BookReview: The Healing - Jonathon Odell

I can admit when I'm late to the dance.  I've had the ARC (advanced reader's copy) of this book since October...2011.  Right, so for almost 10 months, this book just sat on my Kindle waiting for me to get around to it, but as Polly Shine would say, "I can pour water on your head, but you got to wash yourself."

Who is Polly Shine, you ask? She's the healer and giver of sight to those around her.  Things on the Satterfield plantation surely changed for the better the day Polly Shine arrived.  Prior to her arrival, Granada, the teller of The Healing, only thought she knew who she was.

Born on the same day that the mistress of the plantation's daughter died, Granada was taken from her mother and given to the mistress as a play thing.  Now normally a slave of Granada's complexion would not have been allowed to step foot in the big house.  House slaves tended to be light-skinned and were considered more favorable as their appearance was closer to white.  As the daughter of a field slave, Granada should have been out in the fields, but grief is a powerful thing and the mistress was willing to overlook the norms.

Granada takes great pleasure in dressing up in the gowns of the deceased daughter of the mistress annually for Preaching Day.  Standing at the side of the mistress in the fancy clothes and ribbons gives her such joy that she's willing to ignore the laughs and horrified looks of those around her.  Her place is firmly in the big house, next to the mistress.

All of that changes the day Polly Shine arrives.  What kind of slave is worth $ 5,000?  One that can heal.  When slaves on his plantation begin to fall ill, Ben Satterfield, who has never brought in outside slaves, brings in Polly Shine to heal them.  Not only that, he has a hospital built for her and gives her Granada as an assistant.  Of course, this doesn't sit well with Granada.  She belongs in the big house, everyone knows that.  But in becoming Polly's assistant, Granada begins to learn and remember what and who she is and to whom she belongs.

Odell touches on so many points with The Healing.  There's the constant reminder to and from house slaves that they're better than those that live in the swamps and the fields, simply because of the complexion of their skin.

 "Remember, Granada," Sylvie said, "what is bred in the bones will be in the marrow.  You ain't like them out in the swamps that got no behavior.  You been brought up around white folks and learned their manners.  Don't forget that, you hear?  You a proper house-raised girl, and you pretty as a pea, even if you is black as the bottom of a pot."

Then there's the slave mentality exhibited by Old Silas, who had been with the master since he was a boy, and resented any thought of freedom.  He even goes so far as to tell the master how to keep the other slaves in line by keeping them afraid, rendering them unable to hope.

'Mark my words,' I said, 'when a man's not afraid, then he's hoping.  And that's when all hell brakes loose.'

Odell bravely takes on a topic and time period that would normally send white authors running.  But he does so respectfully and definitely did his research.  Using words of former slaves as recorded in the WPA Slave Narratives, the Fisk Collection of Slave Narratives and oral histories of midwives as his guide, he is dedicated to telling the story accurately.  It shows in his work.

352pp
Published: February 2012

 

Theme: Time After Time by Cassandra Wilson

#BookReview: Destiny's Divas - Victoria Christopher Murray

90s R & B superstar Raine Omari had the career most people dreamed of, but she walked away from that life to fully embrace her love of the Lord.  More than that, she wanted the freedom to express her Christianity through her music and use her life's testimony as a witness to others.  And she decided to bring along a few more singers to help her out. 

Twenty something Sierra Dixon is certifiably nuts.  Actually, calling her nuts is an understatement.  Damaged goods, she was raised in a home with an alcoholic mother who dictated to her a list of things to do, and not to do, to trap and keep a man.  Sierra has more issues than the New York Times, but she doesn't see it that way.  She's just doing what she has to do to get ahead, even if that means lying about being celibate to retain her membership in the country's hottest new group, Destiny's Divas.

First lady Liza Washington has been hiding a secret for twenty-eight years.  From the outside, she appears to have the perfect marriage to her mega church pastor-husband.  As the forty something member of the group, her life is supposed to be a testimony to longevity and endurance in marriage.  In actuality, her husband has been shadier than an oak tree of late and Liza fears that it's just a matter of time before his actions bring the world crashing down around her.

The group organizer, Raine Omari, has it all.  She's in love with her husband and would do anything for her daughter.  But how can she testify about unconditional love when she can't stand her mother-in-law?  Truth be told, her mother-in-law, Beerlulu, could drive anyone ever the edge, but her meddling ways threaten to harm Raine's daughter and drive a wedge between Raine and her husband.

I found that though I felt sorry for Raine and Liza, I didn't have much sympathy for Sierra.  While the other women seemed changed by their situations, Sierra's damaged thoughts were too deep to have simply been changed without benefit of therapy or medication.  You don't go off the deep end one day and hop back up a month later like everything is everything.  Perhaps she talked it out with someone, but the author didn't mention it, so I have to assume that she was as nutty at the end as she was in the beginning. 

Even though Destiny's Divas is 400 pages, it's a quick read as you try to find out how each woman will deal with her situation.  I was amused by the author's reference to current places and people.  She referenced Hue-Man bookstore, an actual bookstore in Harlem that's scheduled to close soon, and a comment she heard Melissa Harris-Perry, host of the Melissa Harris-Perry Show, make.  If you're a fan of Victoria Christopher Murray's previous works, this does not disappoint.

400pp
Published: June 201
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher; opinions are my own.

 

Theme: God's Grace by Trin-i-tee 5-7

#BookReview: Colored Sugar Water - Venise Berry

I remember thinking a few months ago that I missed the writing of authors like Venise Berry.  Then I re-read Colored Sugar Water during a read-a-thon and wondered what exactly it was that I was missing.  The book was okay, but I think I oversold myself on the story line before.  Maybe I liked her other books, So Good and All of Me, but this one? I found myself giving it the ultimate side eye on several occasions.

Colored Sugar Water is Lucy Merriweather's story.  The granddaughter of a Louisiana healer, Lucy believes in a little of everything, from fortune telling to voodoo to God.  Lucy, the regional manager of a successful chain of fitness centers, is stuck in a stable, but boring, relationship with Spencer, a McDonald's franchise owner.  Spencer is dependable, but far too predictable for Lucy.

Adel Kelly has been Lucy's best friend since their college days.  Married to Thad, who's always on the brink of the next great idea, Adel is tired of carrying the weight of their household on her shoulders.  At her age, she should be thinking about having babies, but if Thad doesn't get it together, she'll be raising any future kids as a single mother.

When the two happen across a late night commercial for psychics, Lucy dares to call the number, even as Adel warns her not to.  Before she knows it, Lucy is caught up in a whirlwind romance with Kuba, the man that answered the phone, and Spencer and Adel are both losing the Lucy they used to know.

This book started off fairly decent and then it evolved into Christianity versus voodoo versus the supernatural.  It just didn't work for me.  I prefer to keep my genres separate.  I know that when I pick up a Tananarive Due book, I'm going to get vampires and what not.  When I picked up this book, there was no indication that Venise Berry was going to try to take me there.  If I had realized that before I started reading, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

272pp
Published: December 2001

 

Theme: Nightmares by Dana Dane

#BookReview: Home - Toni Morrison

For the last few years I've told myself and anyone that would listen that I'm just not smart enough to read Toni Morrison.  I watch ToMo stans like Tayari Jones expound on her greatness and all I can think is, it must be over my head.  The last time I read a ToMo book and was able to comprehend it the first time around was pre-Beloved.  I read Song of Solomon, Sula and The Bluest Eye in high school and college and loved them.  Then Beloved came along and I had to read the book, see the movie and read the book again before it finally made sense to me.

After that came Jazz, Paradise, Love and A Mercy. I struggled with the first three and didn't even try with A Mercy.  I gave it to my mother as an audio book for Christmas and I swear she wrote me out of her will.  So when I saw that Morrison was publishing a new book, I was hesitant to request a copy from the publisher.  But they sent it and so I read it.  And I loved it!  I feel like the ToMo that wrote Song of Solomon is back.  Or maybe she never left. Maybe I've just come full circle.

Before I get into the review, let me just say that Tayari Jones has written a brilliant review of this also.  Mine isn't nearly as eloquent as hers.  When I talked to her about Home a few weeks ago, she tied characters & stories from previous ToMo works together in ways I would have never imagined.  So I'll give you my regular reader thoughts on why I loved the book, but if you're looking for something deep and meaningful, read her review when you finish reading my ramblings.

Simply put, Home is the story of Frank Money, a Korean War veteran returned home a fraction of the man that he was before he left.  While he returns whole physically, mentally, he is shattered. Back in the states a little over a year, he receives the news that his beloved sister, Cee, is ill.  As he journeys from Seattle, Washington to Atlanta and then Lotus, Georgia, the reader begins to understand that something is not quite right about Frank.  His anxiety levels are high and he can be impulsive.  As to whether or not his anxiety is a result of the war or his life prior to the war, it’s hard to tell.  He works hard, though, to keep the anxiety at bay.

From the moment her step-grandmother Noella saw Cee, she hated her.   Cee represents everything she resents about her husband Salem and his family.  Forced to flee Texas, in a scene repeated too often in towns like Rosewood, Florida and Tulsa, Oklahoma, Frank and Cee end up in Lotus, Georgia with their parents.  While their parents work the fields, Frank is responsible for Cee.  He sees the way Noella treats her and vows to always be responsible for her.

 “Misery don’t call ahead.  That’s why you have to stay awake - otherwise it just walks on in your door.”

With Frank off at war and no one else to guide her, Cee falls for the first pretty boy that looks her way. Ditched by him shortly after arriving in Atlanta, Cee is determined to stay there and make a decent life for herself instead of returning to Lotus and Noella.  She lands a dream job working in a doctor’s office, but we already know that all that glitters isn’t gold.

The biggest takeaway for me, and I feel like this was Cee’s “a-ha” moment, came in the form of a conversation with Miss Ethel, a local woman who nursed Cee back to wholeness after a run-in with the good doctor nearly killed her:

“See what I mean? Look to yourself.  You free.  Nothing and nobody is obliged to save you but you.  Seed your own land.  You young and a woman and there’s serious limitation in both, but you a person too.  Don’t let Noella or some trifling boyfriend and certainly no devil doctor decide who you are.  That’s slavery.  Somewhere inside you is that free person I’m talking about.  Locate her and let her do some good in the world.”

Though those words were said to Cee, I felt like that were meant for Frank as well.  While Cee was held back by physical pain, Frank’s pain was mental.  Those words and that way of living allowed both to move forward and become the complete people they were meant to be.

160pp
Published: May 2012
Disclosure: Copy received from publisher, opinions are my own.

 

Theme: Zoom by The Commodores 

Tayari's review

#BookReview: The Wedding Wallah - Farahad Zama

Mr. Ali of The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is still up to his usual antics.  As we saw in The Many Conditions of Love, the follow up to Marriage Bureau, the marriage bureau has taken on yet again a smaller role.  Though it was the focus of the first book in the series, it now only serves as a point of reference to tie the various characters together.

Aruna, who we initially met in Marriage Bureau, is happily married.  Even though her husband is a doctor and she can afford to be a housewife, she continues to work at the bureau and sends her salary to help support her parents and younger sister.

Rehman, the son of Mr. Ali, is heartbroken following his broken engagement to Usha.  Her family would have preferred a son-in-law with a safe profession.  Rehman tried to stay on the engineering path, but with so much unrest going on in the countryside, he feels that his talents would be put to better use by helping those less fortunate than himself.

Pari, the Ali's niece, who we met in Many Conditions is a recent widow with an adopted son.  She knows that her status as a widow limits the number of men that may be willing to marry her, but she's in no rush to remarry.  She agrees to think about a proposal from the handsome Dilawar, but he seems to be harboring a few secrets that could potentially end any thoughts of engagement.

When several characters in the book are kidnapped by a group of Naxalites, everyone is forced to come to grip with truths and consequences.  Moving more slowly than Many Conditions, which moved much slower than Marriage Bureau, I have to wonder if Zama is running out of steam.  While I can appreciate him using the books to bring awareness to social issues, I  think it's time for him to explore either another series of books or different characters to get his point across.  Although Marriage Bureau was hilarious, The Wedding Wallah falls painfully short.

352pp
Published: April 2011

 

Theme: Mauja Hi Mauja from the Jab We Met soundtrack

#BookReview: The GQ Candidate - Keli Goff

A more accurate title for Keli Goff's The GQ Candidate might be Primary Colors Part 2 or The Candidate's Friends. Some of you will remember the original Primary Colors, the 1996 novel that was loosely based on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. In The GQ Candidate, Keli Goff has created her own version, this time focusing on the candidacy of Luke Cooper, her stand in for Barack Obama.

We all know how the candidacy of President Obama turned out, so there's really no use in rehashing that story. But what Goff gives readers is a glimpse not so much into the life of a candidate for the office of president, but that of his family and friends. Without knowing who those characters were modeled after, it becomes a much more interesting story.

As far as the similarities to the Obamas, they were pretty obvious, though small changes were made. Luke, governor of Michigan (instead of a senator), is married to Laura Cooper, an accomplished educator (instead of an attorney). Instead of two girls, they're the parents of two boys. Luke is not biracial, as is the President, but he was adopted by a Jewish family as an infant.

What's new and different is seeing how Luke's candidacy affects his closest friends and how situations in their lives directly impact his campaign. If you're running for a public office, you're bound to have friends that could be liabilities. Do you cut them loose? Do you disavow your religion if it makes voters uncomfortable? If your friends are just as competitive as you, will they be able to stand beside and behind you while you grab the spotlight that they've always craved? Goff hits all of these points and more.

What did you like about this book?
Luke's circle of friends was very well developed. It was interesting to note the roles that all of them played in their relationships, both with each other and their spouses.

What didn't you like about this book?
While Luke's friends were well developed, he wasn't. It's almost as if he were a secondary character brought in only for the purposes of reacting to situations.

I also hate the title of the book. The explanation for why Luke was nicknamed "the GQ candidate" was shallow and certainly didn't live up to the reason given for it.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Either rename it so that it accurately reflects about whom the book is written or flesh out the story of Luke Cooper more so that the title fits.






348pp
Published July 2011

Theme: Eric B. is President by Eric B. & Rakim

#BookReview: We Ain't the Brontes - Rosalyn McMillan

Does the title of the book refer to the characters in the book or the author and her famous sister? Frankly, it's hard to tell and by the time you finish this book, if you're able to, you probably won't even care.

We Ain't the Brontes is the story of authors Charity Lavender Evans and her more famous sister, Lynzee Lavender.  While Charity is all love and light, Lynzee is hell on wheels and she's determined to make her sister's life miserable.

Ok, so that's the premise of the book, now let's get into the ridiculousness of it all and why you shouldn't waste your time on it:

1. Repetitive scenes - I swear on a stack of card catalogs that some scenes were repeated no less than three times, causing me to go back to the initial scene to make sure I wasn't just imagining things.  So Lynzee plays Jedi mind games with Charity, Charity gets upset, Lynzee calls back and says, "I'm just playin'!" and Charity is all "My sister really loves me." And then 50 pages later, it happens again.
2. Know your character - So not only does Charity play a doormat to Lynzee, she also plays one to her husband.  So you're a doormat, fine, whatever.  But don't get steel in your spine in chapter 27 and then turnaround in chapter 28 and you're back to being a doormat like your "Ain't I A Woman" speech never happened.
3. If you're going to incorporate real people into your story, get your facts straight - In the opening pages, Charity is attending an awards show with Lynzee and they see Denzel Washington and his wife, Juanita.  Except Denzel's wife's name is Pauletta.  You know whose wife is named Juanita? Michael Jordan (well ex-wife, but whatevs).  So either the male character was originally Jordan and McMillan forgot to change the wife's name later or she really doesn't know who Denzel is married to and in the day of Google, um, really?
4. What in the entire All My Children hell is this? By now I'm assuming that you're not going to read this book anyway, but if you plan to, skip this part because I have a spoiler for you.  Now Charity and her husband Jett have been married for 30 years, but Jett and Lynzee slept together before Jett hooked up with Charity.  Jett and Lynzee had a daughter that Jett and Charity never knew about because Lynzee gave it up for adoption. Following so far?  So then Lynzee tells Charity that if she (Charity) doesn't tell Jett about the child that she (Lynzee) had with Jett, she'll tell him herself.  My reaction as I read it? AND SO? Charity and Jett were headed for divorce anyway, so #1 why should she care about his love child with Lynzee and #2 how does it become Charity's problem for Lynzee to hold over her head?

Like I said, this book was just ridiculous.  Every other chapter was either Lynzee and Charity fighting and making up or Charity and Jett fighting and making up.  The most interesting thing I can say about this book is it left me wondering how much of the story line was true as it relates to the McMillan sisters themselves.

What did you like about this book?













What didn't you like about this book?













What could the author do to improve this book?
There was a time when Rosalyn McMillan wrote fairly decent books.  I'm not sure if the wide gap between her last book and this one was a factor or if a change in publishers caused this one to be so poorly written, edited and lacking.  At any rate, she would do well to go back to whatever formula worked for her before because this isn't it.

288pp
Published February 2011

 

Theme: My Mistake Was to Love You by Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye

#BookReview: The Lies That Bind - D.L. Sparks

If your husband cheats on you, is it fair of him to give you a time limit for getting over it?  That topic was broached the other night on the Black 'n Bougie radio show the other night and the answers varied.  Overall, the panel of male guests said that women were expected to forgive their men, but men were not ready to be so forgiving.  Author D.L. Sparks captures that very sentiment in The Lies That Bind.

Dr. Teresa McCall is married to a cheater.  Of course, let him tell it, he only cheated because Teresa worked so much.  As a therapist building her practice, Teresa does put in long hours.  Donovan knew that when they got married, but now that he's established as a partner and owner in investment banking, he'd prefer if she stayed home and had some babies.  If she can't do that, at least cut back on her hours at work, right?

No matter how much she tries, Teresa can't get past the fact that Donovan was emotionally connected to another woman. So when the opportunity to have an affair of her own presents itself, it doesn't take much for her to give in to temptation.  After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.  The only problem is Teresa is in over her head and has no idea of just how much.

What did you like about this book?
It was an extremely quick read.

What didn't you like about this book?
Teresa is extremely naive.  The quickness with which she hops in bed with a stranger seems a great contradiction to the person that she is originally portrayed as.  And I know that doctors make the worst patients, but it was hard to believe that a therapist would allow marital issues fester for two years without either taking steps toward divorce or participating in serious therapy herself.

What could the author do to improve this book?
I never felt like Donovan's side of the story was truly told.  The reasons for his anger, cheating, etc. weren't explored in depth.  Given that his cheating is what drove the story line, it deserved more attention.  The best friend, Renee, seemed to swoop in occasionally to give a dose of advice, provide an alibi and invite Teri to church.  Either fleshing out the characters more or completely removing some of them would have made it a smoother, more believable, read.

227pp
Published January 2010

Theme: Cheatin' Is by Millie Jackson

#BookReview: Tambourines to Glory - Langston Hughes

:::::whispering::::: This is my first Langston Hughes book.  I'm so ashamed to admit that.  Sure I've read his poem.  Who doesn't know Mother to Son? But before now, I've never taken the time to read any of Hughes' other work, so when I saw an audio version of Tambourines to Glory on the shelf at the library, I took it as a sign that it was time.

Set in Harlem during the Korean War, this is the story of the good-natured Essie and her good time girl neighbor Laura.  Both women are living on relief (what is now known as public aid/welfare/government assistance), but while Essie is saving her little bit of money to bring her daughter up from the south, Laura is using hers to drink and have fun.  Scheming up ways to get more money, the women decide to start their own church, right on the street corners of Harlem.

While Essie approaches the venture with a pure heart and good intentions; Laura, whose knowledge of the Bible is extremely limited, is constantly thinking of ways to increase their weekly income, including bottling tap water and selling it as holy water and using the hymnal numbers to encourage parishioners to play the numbers (lottery).  All is going well for the ladies until Laura's greed and jealousy put them both in jeopardy.

What did you like about the book?
The conversations between the Laura and Essie were priceless and very telling. Essie was more trusting of Laura than she should have been.  I think deep down she knew that Laura had no loyalty to anyone but herself, but she was determined to find the good in her to her own detriment.

What didn't you like about the book?
Really? How does one criticize Langston Hughes?

What could the author do to improve this book?
The character of Birdie Lee was hilarious. I would have loved to see more of her.

Listening time: 4 hours, 17 minutes
Published 1956, made into a musical in 1958

 

Theme: Tambourines to Glory from the musical Tambourines to Glory