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Summary: LUSH, HYPNOTIC AND WISE....A CLASSIC THAT WILL MOVE YOU.....
Review: I cried buckets after I read this amazing novel about the ficticious, supernatural Willow Springs that harbored such secrets and such deep, complex relationships and history. I immediately loved Mama Day and her family: the sweet, long-suffering grandmother, Abigail, the independent, defiant niece, Co Co and her husband George. her descriptions of it all are so well-developed and so authentic, you feel that you could just secure a map and drive out there yourself, fully expecting to greet them all with a wave and make instant friends. There are so many timeless touches, yet it's as modern as if she wrote it last month. If you adore well-written fiction and love a serious romance besides, the book is a necessity that you will turn to over and over and over again, as you'll discover a new jewel each and everytime. (With the right screenplay/director/actors/ this would make a great movie.....when will someone take on the challenge?) This is the best book by Gloria ever, and you will cherish it.
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Summary: Thank You Gloria Naylor.
Review: I first read Mama Day 11 years ago and reread it immediately because I loved the story and characters so much. I am now reading it again and am still enthralled with the characters, events, and words. This is wonderful love story. It is about the love of oneself, others, your past, present and future. I always recommend this book because it is so beautiful.
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Summary: GLORIA NAYLOR FOR PRESIDENT!!!
Review: I had this book for a year before I decided to read it. I didn't think there would be much to it. After I began to read, it was difficult to put it down. Gloria Naylor wrote in a style that brings your mind to life with the story. Your imagination and the vivid imagery that you experience, is the cognitive glue that disallows you to EVER forget it. It was very authentic. The characters had realistic human faults and made the same in mistakes. Some scenarios grabbed at your gut because they're emotionally painful, and they seep into you in a way which insists that you become a part of this tale, but only as a voyeur. Things don't always turn out perfectly here. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. That makes it believable. When I finished the book I felt that a character from the story had narrated it to me from their own mouth while we sat on Mama Day's porch, sipping cold soda. I was so familiar with it by the time I finished, until it was as if I'd been there watching the whole account for those years and when it was over, my visit to that mystical, soul rich, and culture rich southern town had come to an end. I felt much as I had been dropped off at my door by a time machine.(:-) Laugh as you might, but when you read this story you will know exactly what I mean. You'll understand and perhaps say OOOhh, now I know what that reader meant by being placed in the story. I can only say, GLORIA NAYLOR FOR PRESIDENT!(:-) Gloria Naylor, by far, is in the top three of the most superb writers I've ever read. Trust me I read a lot. I think that because Ms. Naylor is such a prolific writer, that this characteristic of her talent becomes the vehicle which transports you into being a part of the story while you read. After reading, some may feel as if they've experienced that "something" that hibernates inside of us when we encounter an important event. The feeling that we get when we know that something special has happened but we don't know what the "something" is exactly. Later it presents itself as part of the vast amount of wisdom that we've accumulated while on our life journey; maybe some twenty or thirty years from now, while sitting in our rockers on the porch as we begin to explain to your great grandchild why the sky is blue. It takes you to another place.
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Summary: Thought-Provoking, Powerful and Compelling story of family
Review: I had to read this book for my African American Literature class this past semester(April 2000) at Texas Southern Univ. and what a powerful, powerful story. The book tells the story of a family troubled by their past and secrets and how elders of a family can hinder your growth as individual. How you can pass your fears onto your own family members and keep them from truly living their lives. Mama Day is a renewing story of power, faith, courage and strength. How we can overcome the fears of our past and move on to true earthly glory. The story focuses on the Day family, Mama (Miranda),her sister Abigail and Cocoa. Black women who's family has owned an island that borders Georgia and South Carolina, since 1891. They live simple and at times very eventful lives on this island, along with other local residents such as Bernice and Ambush, Dr.Buzzard, Ruby, Junior Lee, Pearl and countless others. What a beauitfully woven story that's sure to keep your attention and leave you questioning what's more important to you and your family. I thank Dr.Taylor-Thompson for assigning me this book, as well as Gloria Naylor's other novels to read and present to the class. I truly feel blessed to have been in her class both of my first semesters at Texas Southern University. She's a beauitful and wonderful mentor, who's inspired me in so many ways.
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Summary: Romantic and mysterious drama, sprinkled with magic.
Review: I noticed that several people read this in a bookclub. I did as well. It makes for good discussion of love, courage, and sacrifice. It also reveals the wisdom of the elders and belief in things that are not seen. I see my own grandmother in a new light now.
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Summary: Love, Stormy Weather, Voo Doo -- It's All Here!
Review: I read "Mama Day" for a book group I am in and it has become one of my all-time favorite books. Everyone in my book group loved it too. I have recommended it to friends who have also loved it. The relationships between the women and especially the magic -- and black magic -- captivated me, even though I usually don't like the "supernatural" in my fiction. It is an intelligently written book for intelligent people. I recommend it quite highly and without reservation.
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Summary: Pretty good, but wrapped up a little too soon
Review: I read this book for school in just a few days. It kept me interested, but when I was finished, I felt something was missing. There was a huge buildup to a not-so-substantial ending. I also thought that the information about Cocoa's relatives could have been less hidden. I also disliked the over-ly cheesy "you will break his heart" prophesy, which was literally fulfilled. But thats probly cause I'm not so much into that sort of thing. An entertaining book though.
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Summary: An enchanting page-turner, one of my all-time favorites!
Review: I read this book for the first time years ago, during a family vacation on Long Island. We ended up stranded by Hurricane Bob, trapped in the house for the weekend while the winds howled and the seas churned white, and it was a perfect setting for this book. It is lyrically written, with characters so alive you feel you can hear and smell and touch them as you read. Naylor is equally adept at describing life in New York City and in a small southern town, and the story is beautifully crafted. It's one of those books that I go back to every so often, and one that I recommend to friends when they're feeling down.
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Summary: An excellent read. A lyrical love story.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a love story but not a sappy love story. It is the story of island life and Cocoas family, and the story of the love of her life. Which made both interesting and romantic. Combine all that with the supernatural and you have a terrific and innovative story. For someone who knows very little about island life on a Georgia island, it was both enlightening and fun
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Summary: What a day! What a day!
Review: I try very hard not to use the word "genius" when describing or reviewing books and stories that I read because I think it takes genius to recognize genius. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a genius. Words almost fail me when trying to think of something to write that will make others understand what I mean and what I FEEL about this book, this story. I read it slowly because that is the way the story unfolded to me. It couldn't be rushed. It refused to be rushed because there was so much it had to tell. The simplicity of it is what makes it so ethereal and larger than life. Gloria Naylor has a grip and taskmaster like command of language and can bend and shape it to her will. This book has left an indelible mark on my psyche, my soul. The love story was just one component of the book and not even the best part, but the story as a whole wraps itself around you tightly. It rocks you gently and leaves you reeling. Just like finding a lover such as that, I know it will be a long time before I find another story that touches me so deeply.
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