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deealexis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cmcarr's review against another edition
1.0
I feel like I missed something with this book. It has sort of a Forest Gump feel, where Harlan goes through life bumping into famous people and popping up in memorable historical scenes. But my biggest challenge was simply the plot. It moved so quickly that I never really got wrapped up in it before it moved on and reinvented itself. Harlan’s life was flying by--sentence by sentence. In a paragraph, the author could move through a scene that could serve as the basis for an entire novel. It was an easy read with short chapters so I pushed through.
deehawkins74's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good read. The character Harlan was quite interesting. His life story was sometimes really sad. Bernice McFadden did a lot of research to get that Holocaust section to feel so realistic. I felt for all of those entrapped. I especially felt for Harlan. Harlan's parents were good people. Their love for him showed in their actions......
nereeque's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I don't think I've been left speechless by a book in such a long time. I started reading this book based off a review from one of my favorite authors and I'm so glad I picked it up.
I absolutely loved this book!! Besides it being a great story, I learned a lot of history as well. I found myself going online after a new character was introduced and reading the real life account of this person's life. I love how the author took those real stories and embedded them into this book. I hate that the story had to end, but I am pleased with the way it ended.
I absolutely loved this book!! Besides it being a great story, I learned a lot of history as well. I found myself going online after a new character was introduced and reading the real life account of this person's life. I love how the author took those real stories and embedded them into this book. I hate that the story had to end, but I am pleased with the way it ended.
readincolour's review against another edition
4.0
Bernice McFadden covers a lot in The Book of Harlan. Spanning six decades, readers are taken on a journey from the upper class home of an upstanding preacher to the outskirts of the Harlem Renaissance, crossing the ocean to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and winding its way back to black pride and a humble Brooklyn dwelling. Like I said, McFadden does a lot. Fortunately for readers, she does it well.
The daughter of one of Macon, Georgia’s most upstanding citizens is constricting. Emma feels like a caged peacock, placed on display on Sundays as the church pianist, but not allowed to do anything that might be viewed as improper by her parents or society. She might have resigned herself to life as a country girl were it not for her best friend Lucille. Lucille had been singing in the church choir as long as Emma had been playing the piano. Lucille’s singing takes her to places that she and Emma only dreamed about and when she arrived back in Macon, she was a changed woman.
The arrival of this new Lucille is enough to motivate Emma to find herself a piece of a man, so when Sam Elliott comes to town, saying the right things, Emma hitches her wagon to him. Of this marriage comes Harlan, a spoiled and lazy creature whose lackadaisical manner gets him in trouble repeatedly.
Spoiled first by his grandparents and then by his parents, in an attempt to make up for missing out on his early years, Harlan takes nothing too seriously and everything for granted. His brash manner sends him and his best friend, Lizard, straight to a concentration camp and changes him in unimaginable ways.
I love McFadden’s writing. Her characters are smart and fun-loving, but she doesn’t mind allowing them to make mistakes. Harlan is hard headed and almost every bad situation he finds himself in is of his own doing. How long does it take him to realize this and change himself – a long time. But that’s the journey McFadden takes him on. It took his mother awhile to get herself together, so is it a generational curse? I’m not sure.
What I do know is that while I was entranced by Emma and her family, I was equally entertained by the Gills, a Barbadian family, and Lizard, Harlan’s best friend who is not as he appears to be. As always, McFadden provides plenty of food for thought. Who else would think to teach us that blacks did indeed end up in German concentration camps? Who else would incorporate whites passing for black, especially at a time when it wasn’t beneficial to do so? Bernice McFadden would, that’s who.
The daughter of one of Macon, Georgia’s most upstanding citizens is constricting. Emma feels like a caged peacock, placed on display on Sundays as the church pianist, but not allowed to do anything that might be viewed as improper by her parents or society. She might have resigned herself to life as a country girl were it not for her best friend Lucille. Lucille had been singing in the church choir as long as Emma had been playing the piano. Lucille’s singing takes her to places that she and Emma only dreamed about and when she arrived back in Macon, she was a changed woman.
Lucille strolled toward her with newly unshackled hips swaying like the back door of a whorehouse.
The arrival of this new Lucille is enough to motivate Emma to find herself a piece of a man, so when Sam Elliott comes to town, saying the right things, Emma hitches her wagon to him. Of this marriage comes Harlan, a spoiled and lazy creature whose lackadaisical manner gets him in trouble repeatedly.
…perhaps Harlan knew, even in infancy, just what the universe had in store for him.
“Is there something wrong with my baby?” Emma asked the doctor.
“No, he’s perfectly healthy, just lazy.”
Spoiled first by his grandparents and then by his parents, in an attempt to make up for missing out on his early years, Harlan takes nothing too seriously and everything for granted. His brash manner sends him and his best friend, Lizard, straight to a concentration camp and changes him in unimaginable ways.
I love McFadden’s writing. Her characters are smart and fun-loving, but she doesn’t mind allowing them to make mistakes. Harlan is hard headed and almost every bad situation he finds himself in is of his own doing. How long does it take him to realize this and change himself – a long time. But that’s the journey McFadden takes him on. It took his mother awhile to get herself together, so is it a generational curse? I’m not sure.
What I do know is that while I was entranced by Emma and her family, I was equally entertained by the Gills, a Barbadian family, and Lizard, Harlan’s best friend who is not as he appears to be. As always, McFadden provides plenty of food for thought. Who else would think to teach us that blacks did indeed end up in German concentration camps? Who else would incorporate whites passing for black, especially at a time when it wasn’t beneficial to do so? Bernice McFadden would, that’s who.
hkihm's review against another edition
5.0
Great read, historical fiction that delves into a little-known group of concentration camp prisoners: a group of black jazz musicians that were caught up in occupied France.
classysassreads's review against another edition
5.0
redemption
Now this was definitely the book of Harlan from birth all the way till the end. It also pulled on the heart strings multiple times
Now this was definitely the book of Harlan from birth all the way till the end. It also pulled on the heart strings multiple times
lanidacey's review against another edition
3.0
I wavered between giving this book two stars or three stars. It's wasn't terrible, but it didn't blow me away as I expected. Harlan has a deeply engrossing (and at times, upsetting) life story, but I feel like the prose and the novel's structure kept me from relating to the characters. At its best, I felt as if I was reading a textbook chapter rather than a novel, and at its worst, it felt like a chore. I had similar problems with [b:A Kind of Freedom|33946142|A Kind of Freedom|Margaret Wilkerson Sexton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492015397s/33946142.jpg|54915725]; there's just too much happening in too few pages. I did appreciate the highlights of U.S. history that were included, however it did feel a bit like black Forrest Gump.
I did enjoy much of the novel after Harlan's return from Germany, as the story seemed to take its time to explore the impact that experience on Harlan and his family. Other plot lines didn't get such careful treatment: Gwen and the twins' story seemed to be dropped completely. And Lizard, one of my favorite characters, also was introduced and removed from the story way too cleanly.
The entire sixth part was a wild ride.
Overall, an okay read, just not one I feel compelled to return to.
I did enjoy much of the novel after Harlan's return from Germany, as the story seemed to take its time to explore the impact that experience on Harlan and his family. Other plot lines didn't get such careful treatment: Gwen and the twins' story seemed to be dropped completely. And Lizard, one of my favorite characters, also was introduced and removed from the story way too cleanly.
The entire sixth part was a wild ride.
Overall, an okay read, just not one I feel compelled to return to.
winglady's review against another edition
5.0
Remarkable historical fiction with real-life-based characters who are memorably drawn and an overall story that is eye-opening and inspiring.
southernsufi's review against another edition
5.0
what a fantastic story based on the lives of the author's ancestors! I read it quickly in just a couple of nights. I could not put it down.