Helpful Score: 8
Predictable and wordy. I didn't see this as insightful as others did and found it a chore to get through. Save your time, as there are better books out there on the same subject.
Helpful Score: 5
I want to recommend a serious novel: MOTHER OF PEARL. This was an Oprah Club book and I really enjoyed it. A bit out of normal realm for me, but I highly recommend it. The setting is small town Mississippi in the 1950's. If you are familiar with the Southern lifestyle you will get into the book right away. I have talked to others who weren't so accustomed to the way we do things "down South" and they thought the book was a little odd. (not bad-just odd) But trust me, this book rings pretty true. This is a story about judgements, persecution and prejudice. The two main characters are Even Grade, a 28 year old black man who grew up an orphan in a segregated small southern town and Valuable Korner, a fifteen year old girl, considered poor white trash, a daughter of a whore (father unknown). These two unlikely people develop a genuine friendship. The book is full of outrageous, believable characters who help these two try to create a life they never had as children. The author is Melinda Haynes. She is a great writer and this book really kept me turning pages as the mystery unfolded. Multiple plots lead up to a shattering tragedy. Great book.
Helpful Score: 3
Very interesting, takes a while to get into, but offers a lot of rewards. NOT a beach read!! If you like Southern literature, you'll probably eat this up.
Helpful Score: 3
This is a stunning, insightful novel about race in a small town in the 1950s, in the deep South. The characters, a 28-year-old black man and a 15-year-old white girl, will engage your attention. I found this book to be a though-provoking fiction work about love, about mystery, about race, and about tragedy. Fiction, you see, is sometimes carries far more "truth" than reality. A satisfying read.
Helpful Score: 2
I have never liked anything Oprah has recommended and this badly written book is no different.
