~ SOME ASPECTS MADE IT FEEL LIKE A MASTERPIECE, OTHERS FELL A LITTLE SHORT (4 stars) ~
A lot of the reviews already written for this book include much of the same thoughts I had, so I'll try not to rehash all the same things. Basically: the book was definitely worth reading, however it was not an easy read - and I mean that in several ways. I'm someone who, no matter how long the book is, will stay up through the night reading if I'm really drawn in. Unfortunately, that happened less and less for me with this book.
In terms of style, there are passages that are pure poetry and just absolutely magical; there were whole sections that I wanted to markup so I could reference them again. There were also some parts that were somewhat difficult for me to understand; especially towards the beginning, which is at the furthest point back in history that the book covers and thus, for me, had the most unfamiliar language. I would definitely not classify this last as a criticism, however - it further enhances the experience of reading the book and the feeling of authenticity - but I wanted to mention it.
SOME SING, SOME CRY deals with many complex issues, with two of the most difficult ones being rape and incest. The lives of these characters are filled with tragedies and each character - no matter how flawed - impresses you with their strength just for the sheer fact that they survived and lived through. Aside from the writing, the characters were the strongest aspect of the book; they were also the weakest.
Shange and Bayeza do an unbelievable job of creating an extensive cast of characters, all of whom are three-dimensional: complex yet accessible, flawed yet sympathetic. The characters are so well-written that they are truly brought to life and you feel sucked into their struggles, passions, failures, and dreams. It is right at that point that, for almost all of them, the authors really let the reader - or at least this reader - down. Just as we begin to feel like we understand the character, just as we begin to feel invested in their life and what will happen to them, just as we begin to fully root for them and hope that maybe *their* path will be different - they almost disappear, are relegated to the place of "the past," and the next generation takes over. It's a pattern that seemed to happen repeatedly and it was disconcerting and felt somewhat frenetic.
In a way, it's a testament to their skills as storytellers that when we are drawn away from one storyline and thrown into the next one, we are there clamoring to go back, to get more information and stay with that person, that family, that pair, just a little longer. I wasn't sure if there was perhaps a symbolic reason that this occurred, if it was a simple matter of there being only so many pages that you can have before the book becomes too long to be sell-able, or if it was another issue altogether. It *was* an issue however - at least for me.
All that being said, the very depth and breadth of this novel is amazing in and of itself, and the writing skill and compelling characters make it worth a read. "A read" seems a completely inadequate phrase, for reading SOME SING, SOME CRY is truly an experience - one that is undoubtedly worth having, despite the book's faults.
[This review is of an advanced copy format of the book]
A lot of the reviews already written for this book include much of the same thoughts I had, so I'll try not to rehash all the same things. Basically: the book was definitely worth reading, however it was not an easy read - and I mean that in several ways. I'm someone who, no matter how long the book is, will stay up through the night reading if I'm really drawn in. Unfortunately, that happened less and less for me with this book.
In terms of style, there are passages that are pure poetry and just absolutely magical; there were whole sections that I wanted to markup so I could reference them again. There were also some parts that were somewhat difficult for me to understand; especially towards the beginning, which is at the furthest point back in history that the book covers and thus, for me, had the most unfamiliar language. I would definitely not classify this last as a criticism, however - it further enhances the experience of reading the book and the feeling of authenticity - but I wanted to mention it.
SOME SING, SOME CRY deals with many complex issues, with two of the most difficult ones being rape and incest. The lives of these characters are filled with tragedies and each character - no matter how flawed - impresses you with their strength just for the sheer fact that they survived and lived through. Aside from the writing, the characters were the strongest aspect of the book; they were also the weakest.
Shange and Bayeza do an unbelievable job of creating an extensive cast of characters, all of whom are three-dimensional: complex yet accessible, flawed yet sympathetic. The characters are so well-written that they are truly brought to life and you feel sucked into their struggles, passions, failures, and dreams. It is right at that point that, for almost all of them, the authors really let the reader - or at least this reader - down. Just as we begin to feel like we understand the character, just as we begin to feel invested in their life and what will happen to them, just as we begin to fully root for them and hope that maybe *their* path will be different - they almost disappear, are relegated to the place of "the past," and the next generation takes over. It's a pattern that seemed to happen repeatedly and it was disconcerting and felt somewhat frenetic.
In a way, it's a testament to their skills as storytellers that when we are drawn away from one storyline and thrown into the next one, we are there clamoring to go back, to get more information and stay with that person, that family, that pair, just a little longer. I wasn't sure if there was perhaps a symbolic reason that this occurred, if it was a simple matter of there being only so many pages that you can have before the book becomes too long to be sell-able, or if it was another issue altogether. It *was* an issue however - at least for me.
All that being said, the very depth and breadth of this novel is amazing in and of itself, and the writing skill and compelling characters make it worth a read. "A read" seems a completely inadequate phrase, for reading SOME SING, SOME CRY is truly an experience - one that is undoubtedly worth having, despite the book's faults.
[This review is of an advanced copy format of the book]
