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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Begins with a heartrending, barely fictionalized retelling of the murder of Emmett Till, here called Armstrong. Goes on to follow the killers and the (other) victims of the killing and the vast apparatus that made the killing happen over the decades. The first half of the book was just as gripping as it was when I read it 20 years ago; enough that it made me realize I’ve confused Armstrong and Emmitt Till pretty deeply. The second part something of a let down. I grieved for Armstrong’s mother, and I really wanted to like her too. But her intense hunger for another son, coupled with her grief at the birth of and dismissal of her daughters made liking her impossible for me. That part must not have left a big impression because I had zero memory of reading it before.
The ending was a bit contrived, but I liked it. Wove together our common heritage, frailties and all.
I miss Bebe Moore Campbell’s editorials on NPR.
The ending was a bit contrived, but I liked it. Wove together our common heritage, frailties and all.
I miss Bebe Moore Campbell’s editorials on NPR.
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel is surely revolutionary. Not the thing you'd take for light reading. There's just too much in it. The words are full. The words aren't mediocre and trash. The words paint. Some passages are poetic, but not the type any one will try too hard to get to understand. The metaphors are as understandable as the songs of the soul.
I am fascinated by the way Campbell told the story in different points of view, that you can't just bring yourself to love one character and one character alone. Campbell can easily make anyone understand that blues ain't the same, identical blues for every body.
And really, the aftermath of Armstrong's death is as powerful as an extended arm from the grave. This is a great work. The characters are still haunting me even after I got to close the book.
I am fascinated by the way Campbell told the story in different points of view, that you can't just bring yourself to love one character and one character alone. Campbell can easily make anyone understand that blues ain't the same, identical blues for every body.
And really, the aftermath of Armstrong's death is as powerful as an extended arm from the grave. This is a great work. The characters are still haunting me even after I got to close the book.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hate the subject matter but its relevant. Rape, Racism, Domestic Violence, Drug addition, Absentee fathers... this book hit home in ways I’d hate to admit.
Gave me a sense of new direction though.
Gave me a sense of new direction though.
medium-paced
The joy is that there are whole worlds of authors out there waiting to be discovered. You never know what you will find. I have never read any Campbell before and while I didn't love this book and it isn't perfect, I really liked it and enjoyed the arc of the characters.
This novel is based on the Emmett Till case. Campbell takes the structure of Till's vicious murder and follows the characters in the aftermath of the crime. The book deals with some heavy issues, but was readable and the fates of the characters was compelling and sympathetic.
I chose this book for our February book club, so it will be interesting to see what the group thinks. I would recommend this to pretty much any fiction reader.
This novel is based on the Emmett Till case. Campbell takes the structure of Till's vicious murder and follows the characters in the aftermath of the crime. The book deals with some heavy issues, but was readable and the fates of the characters was compelling and sympathetic.
I chose this book for our February book club, so it will be interesting to see what the group thinks. I would recommend this to pretty much any fiction reader.
This book was a Mocha Girls Read book club book of the month for the month of February. Our theme was Fictional Black History and this book delivered in so many ways.
Armstrong was a young Black city kid dropped into the South to stay with his Grandma when he is killed for speaking French indirectly to a White woman. No I didn't spoil it for you, that's where the story starts. The book then goes into decades of showing the reader the effects of his death in the community both in Hopewell and Chicago, with his family and friends, as well as the family of the killer.
The story is more or less a fictionalized version of Emmett Till's death, a 14 year old who was killed in 1955 for whistling at a White woman.
This book brought up so many different topics besides racism and all of it's ugliness, like domestic abuse, institutionalized poverty, injustice and countless others.
The one thing that stood out to me was the anniversary of Armstrong's death. Every 5 or so years churches and community organizations remember the passing of Armstrong and the presence of his mother and other family members are requested. I really never thought about it until now, but how could you heal and stop mourning when the community is pulling the scape off your wound every 5 years? The lost of a child is never something you can get over but what about healing? Armstrong's mom never stopped mourning her son even when she had two daughters and a son who she made live in his dead brother's shadow.
Bebe Moore Campbell is a wonderful storyteller. She brings the situations close to home and she makes you flip page after page. I found it hard to put it down because it is still happening now. #Blacklivesmatter I loved the ending and how things where mending. Reading a book that has so many characters with diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking can be a bit tricky keeping them true to themselves and letting them each grow but Bebe did it and did it well. This is another book that should be on the high school required reading list. Excellent historical fiction that rings true even now.
Armstrong was a young Black city kid dropped into the South to stay with his Grandma when he is killed for speaking French indirectly to a White woman. No I didn't spoil it for you, that's where the story starts. The book then goes into decades of showing the reader the effects of his death in the community both in Hopewell and Chicago, with his family and friends, as well as the family of the killer.
The story is more or less a fictionalized version of Emmett Till's death, a 14 year old who was killed in 1955 for whistling at a White woman.
This book brought up so many different topics besides racism and all of it's ugliness, like domestic abuse, institutionalized poverty, injustice and countless others.
The one thing that stood out to me was the anniversary of Armstrong's death. Every 5 or so years churches and community organizations remember the passing of Armstrong and the presence of his mother and other family members are requested. I really never thought about it until now, but how could you heal and stop mourning when the community is pulling the scape off your wound every 5 years? The lost of a child is never something you can get over but what about healing? Armstrong's mom never stopped mourning her son even when she had two daughters and a son who she made live in his dead brother's shadow.
Bebe Moore Campbell is a wonderful storyteller. She brings the situations close to home and she makes you flip page after page. I found it hard to put it down because it is still happening now. #Blacklivesmatter I loved the ending and how things where mending. Reading a book that has so many characters with diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking can be a bit tricky keeping them true to themselves and letting them each grow but Bebe did it and did it well. This is another book that should be on the high school required reading list. Excellent historical fiction that rings true even now.
I would give this book more than 5 stars if that was an option. There are several stories going on at the same time that start in the deep south when prejudice and injustice against blacks was the law of the land. A young man from Chicago visits Mississippi and deals with the consequences of speaking French to a white woman. Another white man in this same town has a controlling father who dictates who he is allowed to love. Marrying a person beneath his station or who is not white is out of the question. This book was so good I could not put it down. You should definitely add this book to your T0-Be-Read list.