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abaugher's review
3.0
would have liked it more if i could have concentrated (family in town; days go by without reading). long, resolution came rather suddenly at the very end. but a good story. might read some of the author's other works.
red_steele's review
5.0
1. The voice actor Caroline Clay was superb.
2. This is a powerful book dealing with an array of issues (racism, broken families, father daughter issues, depression, betrayal, forgiveness, etc).
3. My favorite part of the book is the last chapter when the POV switches back to Hosanna and ends with a personal monologue of reflection.
2. This is a powerful book dealing with an array of issues (racism, broken families, father daughter issues, depression, betrayal, forgiveness, etc).
3. My favorite part of the book is the last chapter when the POV switches back to Hosanna and ends with a personal monologue of reflection.
cottonquilts's review
2.0
On OK read with a few too many characters and too many situations. I don't know why some of them weren't edited out!
tita_noir's review
3.0
Before I read this book, I thought it would be a very straightforward tale of betrayal, revenge and reparation. In some sense, it is just that. But there are so many other things going on in this book that I think the main story gets lost somewhere.
The first 11 chapters of this book is a fairly tight and riveting story of Hosanna and Gilda's relationship. We hear the story of Hosanna and Gilda in Hosanna's first-person narration. It is post WWII L.A. Black people have not prospered the way they should have. Hosanna is a maid who is strong willed and ambitious. She doesn't want to wash people's floors for the rest of her life. Although an optimist, Hosanna is very emotionally hardened by the relentlessness of daily racism. At one point later on, Matriece, Hosanna's daughter says "She was born the wrong race and the wrong gender at the wrong time." There is a clear message even in these early pages that Hosanna could have been a success if it weren't for the tragedy of racism.
Along comes Gilda who is a Jewish woman. She is, as seen through the eyes of Hosanna, a timid woman who is simply surviving day to day from the ravages of her past. She is a Holocaust survivor of the Nazi death camps. Because this first part of the book is told from Hosanna's viewpoint, we never get a real bead on Gilda. For me, she remained a very remote figure, even later on when the POV switches to the third-person omniscience of the author. She is molded not just by her experiences as a prisoner but also as a person who finds herself in Hosanna's forceful presence. Even though it is true that she takes off with the money she and Hosanna make from their small cosmetics venture, it is very difficult to actually hate Gilda.
At about chapter 12 the focus shifts, in more ways than one. We are now in present day LA and Hosanna's daughter Matriece is living the bitterness of her mother. She is working for Gilda, who is now a cosmetics giant (think Estee Lauder) and biding her time to get the reparations she is owed. But this isn't the only story. The narrative splinters all over the place. We get a story of an unhappy singer and her relationship with her absentee dad. We get a story of a woman who is slowly losing touch with her son. We get a story of a man with a gambling problem who is desperate for money. We get the story of the directionless son of a powerful black businessman. There are a lot of little stories all interconnected that get a lot of attention but the main story of Hosanna's legacy gets buried somewhere amongst them all.
Of course there are some interesting themes that run through all the stories. The treacherous waters of parent/child relations run through all the stories. Matriece and Hosanna's relationship is just a back-drop for all the other parental relationships in the story. And the title alone "What you owe me" is strongly thematic of the entire book. Reparations is a heavy undercurrent in here. Gilda's receipt of a check from a Swiss bank with the money from her parents' savings (including 50 years of interest) is just a tangible (and ironic) example. Everyone in the book is seeking some type of reparation for something owed. But while the message of reparation is unmistakably clear, the answers to the question it raises is not so clear. Is it worth the time, effort and emotional toll to seek what is owed or is it better make a fulfilling life with what you have?
I wish the book had been more focused on Matriece's struggle and Hosanna's legacy. As it is, it becomes almost anticlimactic. I did like the book because, although I found these other people's stories somewhat distracting, I couldn't help but like them, become very involved in them and root for them. This is a testament to Ms. Campbell's the absorbing storytelling. While I can't give this book 5 stars, I do think it is a good absorbing read and I do recommend it.
The first 11 chapters of this book is a fairly tight and riveting story of Hosanna and Gilda's relationship. We hear the story of Hosanna and Gilda in Hosanna's first-person narration. It is post WWII L.A. Black people have not prospered the way they should have. Hosanna is a maid who is strong willed and ambitious. She doesn't want to wash people's floors for the rest of her life. Although an optimist, Hosanna is very emotionally hardened by the relentlessness of daily racism. At one point later on, Matriece, Hosanna's daughter says "She was born the wrong race and the wrong gender at the wrong time." There is a clear message even in these early pages that Hosanna could have been a success if it weren't for the tragedy of racism.
Along comes Gilda who is a Jewish woman. She is, as seen through the eyes of Hosanna, a timid woman who is simply surviving day to day from the ravages of her past. She is a Holocaust survivor of the Nazi death camps. Because this first part of the book is told from Hosanna's viewpoint, we never get a real bead on Gilda. For me, she remained a very remote figure, even later on when the POV switches to the third-person omniscience of the author. She is molded not just by her experiences as a prisoner but also as a person who finds herself in Hosanna's forceful presence. Even though it is true that she takes off with the money she and Hosanna make from their small cosmetics venture, it is very difficult to actually hate Gilda.
At about chapter 12 the focus shifts, in more ways than one. We are now in present day LA and Hosanna's daughter Matriece is living the bitterness of her mother. She is working for Gilda, who is now a cosmetics giant (think Estee Lauder) and biding her time to get the reparations she is owed. But this isn't the only story. The narrative splinters all over the place. We get a story of an unhappy singer and her relationship with her absentee dad. We get a story of a woman who is slowly losing touch with her son. We get a story of a man with a gambling problem who is desperate for money. We get the story of the directionless son of a powerful black businessman. There are a lot of little stories all interconnected that get a lot of attention but the main story of Hosanna's legacy gets buried somewhere amongst them all.
Of course there are some interesting themes that run through all the stories. The treacherous waters of parent/child relations run through all the stories. Matriece and Hosanna's relationship is just a back-drop for all the other parental relationships in the story. And the title alone "What you owe me" is strongly thematic of the entire book. Reparations is a heavy undercurrent in here. Gilda's receipt of a check from a Swiss bank with the money from her parents' savings (including 50 years of interest) is just a tangible (and ironic) example. Everyone in the book is seeking some type of reparation for something owed. But while the message of reparation is unmistakably clear, the answers to the question it raises is not so clear. Is it worth the time, effort and emotional toll to seek what is owed or is it better make a fulfilling life with what you have?
I wish the book had been more focused on Matriece's struggle and Hosanna's legacy. As it is, it becomes almost anticlimactic. I did like the book because, although I found these other people's stories somewhat distracting, I couldn't help but like them, become very involved in them and root for them. This is a testament to Ms. Campbell's the absorbing storytelling. While I can't give this book 5 stars, I do think it is a good absorbing read and I do recommend it.
rebecita's review
3.0
Wow, this book was so absurdly and comprehensively heartwarming! The whole goshdarn cast of white and black characters successfully work through every one of their issues with racial identity / abandoning or overbearing mommies and daddies / generational grudges / discrimination and privilege. Wouldn't you know, trading in the past for redemption and forgiveness isn't just good for the soul, it's apparently the secret to luck in love and money! Fade to inspiring multicultural dance scene. No, really, there's a dance scene.
If you couldn't tell from the above, I liked it! It's a powerful story well told and, bonus, a nice vision for healing the divisions in American society. But I thought it was overdone. Hosanna's struggle to find herself and to relate to Gilda was the heart of the first historical section, and I think the second section lost its focus by whipping around between the perspectives of so many secondary characters. By the time I could keep track of everyone, I did begin to appreciate the way Campbell weaves together the generational angst and then invests you in how each individual steps up to untangle their own part of the mess. And sure, they're great characters and I like an epic saga as much as the next person. But I also like how fiction explores that existential you-can-never-really-know-other-people dilemma. So it felt way too easy for Campbell to give us an all-access pass into all her characters' souls while they struggle for such insight. Like one of those mystery novels where the reader knows who the culprit is the whole time. Why not let the reader finish the journey with Matriece, as we started it with Hosanna?
Also there's a ghost. Hmm. And a weird obsession with suspecting people of being gay, except for the actual tokenly gay character. Hmmmm. And a LOT of talk about cosmetics. Hmmmmmmm.
If you couldn't tell from the above, I liked it! It's a powerful story well told and, bonus, a nice vision for healing the divisions in American society. But I thought it was overdone. Hosanna's struggle to find herself and to relate to Gilda was the heart of the first historical section, and I think the second section lost its focus by whipping around between the perspectives of so many secondary characters. By the time I could keep track of everyone, I did begin to appreciate the way Campbell weaves together the generational angst and then invests you in how each individual steps up to untangle their own part of the mess. And sure, they're great characters and I like an epic saga as much as the next person. But I also like how fiction explores that existential you-can-never-really-know-other-people dilemma. So it felt way too easy for Campbell to give us an all-access pass into all her characters' souls while they struggle for such insight. Like one of those mystery novels where the reader knows who the culprit is the whole time. Why not let the reader finish the journey with Matriece, as we started it with Hosanna?
Also there's a ghost. Hmm. And a weird obsession with suspecting people of being gay, except for the actual tokenly gay character. Hmmmm. And a LOT of talk about cosmetics. Hmmmmmmm.
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What You Owe Me is a multi-generational family saga and is centred on the cosmetics industry. It begins in the late 1940s when a tentative work friendship develops between, Hosanna who is Black, and Gilda, a Holocaust survivor, leading to them establishing a small cosmetics business. Then there is a betrayal, the plot jumps forward 50 years and the lens widens to include a wider range of characters and their many intertwined storylines. In many ways this was a shame since the main thread gets somewhat lost. While I didn’t hate the reading experience and liked the nuance with which one of the main themes (how children respond to their parents’s expectations) was explored, I do think a tighter focus in the second half would have made for a more satisfying reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, Racism, and War
essencemichelle's review
4.0
I liked this book, but it fell kind of flat in some parts and the ending wasn't my favorite. I was a little confused by some of the characters, since every chapter seem to introduce someone new, but it was unclear who they were and what their purpose of being in the book was. All in all, it was a decent read.
gingerrachelle's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’ve got mixed feelings that I’m trying to figure out about this book. I enjoy her writing and her characters quite a bit.
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