Rating: 
Summary: thanks for sharing
Review: This is the most meaningful and the greatest books I have ever read in my life. Race, love, mother, and God are the important topics that support our life. This book hit me in a profound way: it caused me to rethink how to live.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Story
Review: I like this amazing story, and the alternative format is quite new for me. We can learn the life of James McBride and his mother, a powerful Jewish white woman. It is very meaningful and touching.
Rating: 
Summary: Color of Water
Review: James tells the story of himself and his mother very well.It was a great book about a black boy and his white mother. I think the mother did a great job raising all 12 kids.
Rating:
Summary: A unique story
Review: I like the story because I think it's quite a unique story. I really admire the way his mother raised 12 black children by herself all this time successfully. One other thing that makes me like this book more is the language the author uses, a daily language that is quite easy to understand with only a few hard phrases.
Rating:
Summary: The Color of Water
Review: It's a very touching story about a white Jewish woman, mother of twelve black children. They were always encouraged to finish college even though there were very hard times in their lives and not a lot of money.
Rating:
Summary: A tough life
Review: I liked the book because it is from a true story and the story is fantastic. However, I disliked the book because it has a pattern of Ruth and James and Ruth and James and so on. Finally, I liked the book because it shows you how tough a woman can be in facing her life.
Rating:
Summary: The Color of Water
Review: In 1996 James McBride wrote the powerful memoir The Color of Water, a black man's tribute to his white mother. James McBride and his mother Rachel Shilsky each tell their stories of how the issues of race, religion and identity affected their lives. On the surface they could not seem more different; however, inevitably these voices are connected and ultimately convergent. Together they tell a story of triumph and hardship that brought their family from the projects to success. The narrative uses two perspectives to tell the story; the first perspective is from James McBride. James McBride grew up in the projects in Brooklyn, New York. The house was packed with 11 brothers and sisters, his mother "bearing diapers, pins, washcloths, Q-tips, and a child in each arm with another pulling on her dress." His stepfather appeared only on weekends in "sleeveless T-shirts and tools in hand." At night they were put to bed "like slabs of meat, laying out three or four to a bed," his mother called this rule "heads up, toes down." The Second perspective from which the book is told is from Rachel Shilsky or Ruchel Dwajra Zylska, her Jewish name, who was born an Orthodox Jew in Poland. Her mother and father were married in an arranged marriage after her father escaped from the Russian army and fled to Poland. There was no love between Tateh her father and Mameh her mother, and Rachel was caught in the middle having to translate for her mother who only spoke Yiddish. Rachel's life changed dramatically when she, a white woman, married Dennis, a black man. She was shunned from her family and moved to the United States to live with her grandparents. Even though James and his Mother speak every other chapter their stories relate with the same themes and issues. These two voices combine and show one story, a story that deals with race, religion, and identity. Throughout the book education was a recurring theme. Rachel, also referred to as Ruth, would insist that only two things really mattered: school and religion. Somehow Ruth managed to send all twelve of her children to college, and this was quite a feat considering the lack of money their family had. "Every year the mighty bureaucratic dinosaur known as the New York Public School System would belch forth a tiny diamond . . . they gave them an opportunity to have their children bused to different school districts." And since Ruth wanted only the best for her children every year she "stood poised over that option like a hawk." She would always look for a predominantly Jewish school, since religion was one of the two things that really mattered and because she was sure that learning was a priority there. Each day her children "hit the door at 6:30, fanning out across the city like soldiers armed with books, T squares, and musical instruments." She would also take them to "every free event New York City offered: festivals, zoos, parades, block parties, libraries, and concerts." Her work was a success as every one of her children succeeded. In the book James lists his siblings' careers: two teachers, a chemistry professor, two doctors, a social worker, a graduate student, a computer engineer, a medical practice office manager, and a businessman. The other thing that mattered, religion, was also a recurring theme throughout the book. Two of the chapters in the book were named "The Old Testament," which referred to her Jewish background, and "The New Testament," which referred to her new Baptist beliefs. In "The Old Testament" Ruth grew up in a Jewish household, a daughter of a rabbi, and was officially an Orthodox Jew. "See, Orthodox Jews work with contracts. Or at least my family did. A contract to marry. A contract to preach. A contract for whatever." Ruth broke this contract and converted to a new religion. Explained in "The New Testament" her new husband, Dennis, created New Brown Memorial Baptist Church. "Mommy loved God. She went to church each and every Sunday . . . butchering the lovely hymns with a singing voice that sounded like a cross between a cold engine trying to crank on an October mourning and a whining Maytag washer." In 1966 black power was a big issue in the McBride household. Malcolm X was recently killed and the black panthers were out in force. James was nine at the time and began to question his racial identity. It struck him that he was black and his mother was white, and whenever he asked his mother she would reply that she was just light skinned. One day James asked if God was black or white, Ruth replied: "God's not black. He's not white . . . God is the color of water. Water does not have a color." James was always amazed at how well his mother could handle the racism and how she could hold her own in black communities. James witnessed many instances when his mom underwent racial attacks. There was an instance where Ruth was followed up to her room by some lunatic lady and punched square in the face, she was shoved by an angry white man in front of her children, and she was always being taunted with racial slurs. However, instead of fighting back or making a big scene Ruth would ignore them all. When James became older he began his search to discover his identity. Information about his family was hard to come by because when ever James would ask he would get a short answer and then the subject was dropped. "We traded information on Mommy the way people trade baseball cards at trade shows, offering bits and pieces fraught with gossip, nonsense, wisdom, and sometimes just plain foolishness." This was also the way her children were taught, "she insisted on absolute privacy." If anybody asked about their personal life they were instructed to respond with "I don't know." This lack of knowledge is what caused James to trace his identity. James visited Suffolk, the synagogue where Ruth went, and tried to find his family roots. James and his mother form a remarkable team, The Color of Water tells a unique and inspired story. Two voices form one to cover almost a century of history, culture, and stories from a family of twelve. Both James and his mother experienced difficult times early and during their lives. The memoir shows how they overcame these troubles and how anything is possible. To follow James and his mother through the stories and hardships of their lives was an inspirational and interesting journey.
Rating:
Summary: A very pleasing moving novel
Review: I find THE COLOR OF WATER to be an amazing and such a powerful book. This book about James McBride writing a book in a tribute form to his mother was so pwerful and compelling. This book made me think about all the hard times that people have nowadays and hearing Ruth's story about how she left and went out on her own and married two black men, and managing to take care of 12 children of her own was so spectacular to me. I could not put this book down. I read this book 3 times over the course of 2 weeks. If you were stranded on an island with one book to read this would be it.
Rating: 
Summary: the color of a mother's mind
Review: I liked this book a great deal however I thought the mother is actually a little racist. She teaches her children not to be racist but then she won't even admit that she is white. She tells James McBride that she is light-skinned. To me, that is maybe teaching your children that she does not like whites. Other than that I really enjoyed the book. I had to read three book for school for summer reading and out of all of them, The Color Of Water was definitly my favorite. I thought the book was well written and I especially liked how every other chapter was either his story or his mother's. That factor definitly mad the book more interesting and it kept my interest up. I would recommend this book for 9th grade and older. Younger children may not fully understand and comprehend what McBride had to go through.
Rating: 
Summary: The Color of Mediocrity
Review: This book is just mediocre. Although it makes a decent portrayal of very unusual social circumstances, it does not go far beyond just a timeline of everyday life. In other words, the subject is more interesting than the way that it is written. After the first few chapters, the reader can generally predict what will happen and nothing is surprising any more. By the end, the only thing that saves it is that McBride makes some interesting observations of other people and how they act towards race and gives it a sentimental feel by taking it to near-present day. It is essentially the generic, 'racism is stupid', 'child abuse is terrible' etc. book. Only read it if you truly have nothing better to do. It may be a good at making sensitive people cry, but otherwise it is not all that significant.
|
