Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do

Rating:
Summary: So-So........
Review: Big Cleage fan, but this one didn't "hold me hostage" like the others. I kept waiting for something to happen, but by the end of of the book, it was pretty boring. It was almost fairy-tale-ish with the visionary aunt (fairy godmother), then everything falling so neatly into place with the whole Blue Hamilton thing. I guess I can assume that he "knocked off" anyone who didn't "act right" within the bounds of his territory. Still kinda lost @ how the whole "he's been searching for you across time" thing works, but maybe it was just me.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful!
Review: Have you ever read a book that made you feel you were sampling a sinfully delicious dessert? This is exactly how the newest addition to the genre of contemporary African-American fiction by Pearl Cleage felt like. We meet our protagonist Regina Hall, freshly recovering from the downward spiral of cocaine addiction following a love gone wrong. Needing to repair burnt bridges (and to save her family home from foreclosure) she reluctantly journeys to Atlanta to amass some badly-needed capital via a consultancy extended to her from her former boss Beth Davis. Armed with little more than wild speculation on what awaited her there (courtesy of her "visionary" post-menopausal Aunt Abbie), she encounters new truths about the man who left her life and stumbles upon a new mysterious gentleman "who has the ocean in his eyes" that coincidentally has an eerie resemblance to the man Aunt Abbie described in her vision...
Like her past best-selling efforts, "What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary day" and "I Wish I Had a Red Dress," Cleage infuses her narrative with an intimacy and appealing eclecticism among her characters that makes them interesting and ultimately effective dispensers of truth. Themes familiar in her other works such as the Black man as protector (and the Black woman's response within this paradigm), the idea of creating a safe haven in communities of color and the notion of self-renewal as a prerequisite to community revitalization are deftly interwoven into the fabric of this work without being preachy or self-righteous.
This is truly a story I did not want to end. It gently illustrates what can happen when we remain open to gracefully accepting what we've asked the universe for-regardless of the actual packaging it shows up in. As readers and witnesses to this phenomenon in the experience of our protagonist, we are nourished, strengthened and that more receptive to the gifts that make their way into our lives through the most unlikely of channels.

Idara E. Bassey, author of "Reflections of A Mystical Sistah: On Traveling Down the Road to Self Definition"(iUniverse)- For more information visit www.OneLightMessenger.com

Rating:
Summary: Love story that spans across time
Review: Living in Atlanta and going to one of the areas historically black colleges, this book reminded me of my campus life days. As a Pearl Cleage fan, I purchased the book sight unseen and could not have been more pleased. It restored my belief in true black love community and sisterhood. An endearing read, I couldn't put the book down. Cleage's innate storytelling ability makes all the characters come to life and your eager to find out how they work it out. My only disappointment was finishing the book.

Rating:
Summary: An astonishing book
Review: Pearl Cleage writes like Ella Fitzgerald sings, with power, passion, beauty and joy. She conveys an entire world with a supple economy of language that is as enviable as it is amazing. You fall in love with her characters; you want to meet them, befriend them, become them! Regina Burns and Blue Hamilton are two of the most appealing people I've encountered since I Wish I Had a Red Dress. And for those who have read What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, there's a nice re-visit with someone from that wonderful book.

Buy this book immediately. Take it home, turn on the CD player, load it up with Motown and put the phone on mute. This is the one you're going to want to savor all by yourself, immersing yourself in every word. Then you're going to want to tell everyone you know about this wonderful book by this wonderful woman because you'll be so happy you'll want to shout. This is a life-affirming treat for the soul that you'll want to share with everyone, just as I did.