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embereye's review against another edition
5.0
Yeah. I love this book. It's magic realism set in Texas with splash of almost New Orleans Creole something going on there.
Toni Beauchamp's mother has died and left a parting gift that Toni cannot deny. This is basically about the months after her mother's death, the gift of the small gods and all the complications she creates for herself. I love the prose and the story.
Toni Beauchamp's mother has died and left a parting gift that Toni cannot deny. This is basically about the months after her mother's death, the gift of the small gods and all the complications she creates for herself. I love the prose and the story.
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
A reread for the first time since 2006, and I’m dropping a star from my rating this time around. It’s certainly an interesting concept, with a decent execution, and combining that with a matter-of-fact depiction of the supernatural that I think Stewart does particularly well, I can see what led me to rate it four stars previously. It’s also a very “Texan” book - much more so to me than [b:Galveston|383108|Galveston (Resurrection Man, #3)|Sean Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328046249l/383108._SY75_.jpg|991279] (despite the name) - and that aspect may have intrigued me more then than now..
But this time I wasn’t as drawn in to the story, and in particular, protagonist Toni seemed a bit less sympathetic than I’d remembered - the impulsive decisions and sudden changes in the trajectory of her character came across as somewhat jarring.
I suppose I’m also not the target audience for extended musings on mother-daughter-sister relationships, not to mention more problematic family drama.
Anyway it was worth a reread, and still a solid effort, just didn’t impress me as much as it apparently did before.
But this time I wasn’t as drawn in to the story, and in particular, protagonist Toni seemed a bit less sympathetic than I’d remembered - the impulsive decisions and sudden changes in the trajectory of her character came across as somewhat jarring.
I suppose I’m also not the target audience for extended musings on mother-daughter-sister relationships, not to mention more problematic family drama.
Anyway it was worth a reread, and still a solid effort, just didn’t impress me as much as it apparently did before.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
5.0
Magical realism in the sweltering Houston sun. A practically minded daughter inherits her mother's spirit guests and has to adapt to the very impractical consequences of being mounted by these "riders" at their whim. I loved everything about it. It is such a quietly funny, moving tale, beautifully told.
innowen's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite genre is magic realism. I love reading and writing about how life would be if our world got blended with fantastical things. This story, reads very much like a diary from the blender. It is the story of Tori and what happens when her mother leaves her a voodoun legacy, debt and how she deals with bringing her life together. She must reconcile her love/hate relationship with the magicks, god and adapt to her own abilities while being pregnant. As a first novel, and written from a female perspective from a male author, Stewart does a good job of painting scenes and throwing the reader into his world where magic and reality collide. I was impressed with his ability to pull off writing from the point of view of a pregnant 30-something woman who's terrified and exicted to lead a life without her mother or the dark legacy that she left her. This novel has tight writing and some witty dialog (not to mention some interesting situations) and is a quick and fun read. It fits into my goals by being, yet another fiction book.
windycorner's review against another edition
4.0
This was my second trip through "Mockingbird". I first read it fifteen years ago. Some of my affection for the book might be personal: it's set in my home town; the main character is pregnant, as I was when I first read it. The personal connection ends there, as my mother is not a practitioner of voodoo. Stewart's writing is funny and engaging. One caveat: if you are squeamish about sexually graphic material, there's one scene that might disturb you enough to make you dislike the whole book.
cindywho's review against another edition
4.0
Another lovely book by Stewart with a great sense of characters and place. Most of the characters are female and the city of Houston is not one I often hear about - especially in such a dark and magical way. (September 09, 2006)
rawlje's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this. Quirky, fun characters. I wanted to go ride around in the Muertomobile. Lots of fun.
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