Rating: 
Summary: A Marvelously uplifting, inspiring piece of literature.
Review: Upon picking up this book, I was immediately enveloped in its storyline. It is a beautifully crafted work that leaves the reader moved and at times shaken as the story unfolds. James McBride paints a picture of two lives that at some times enjoyed prosperity and love of family, yet also endured struggle with racism, poverty and abandonment. Ruth McBride endured much, all for the sake of her 12 children. Detailed in this book is her struggle with being a Jewish woman having to raise her children alone. And James struggled with childhood as he coped with being one of many children in a single parent household. yet through all of their hardships, each child of Ruth McBride attended college, and has prospered due to this woman's strong sense of family values and her unshakable faith in God.A true tale of prosperity in the face of adversity, 'The Color of Water' certainly is a fitting tribute to the life of a remarkable woman.
Rating: 
Summary: Search for Self
Review: James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, is a journey to find his own true identity. Within the pages of his story is woven the secrets of his mothers past. His white mother was born into Judaism, goes against her family and society, and converts to Christianity, where she feels as though she belongs. She chose her own identity. James, a black child, began his life without realizing the different skin color of his own mother. As he grows older, he becomes more and more interested in who his mother is, so he could find out who he is. James grows up in a household with 11 other siblings, where education is the top priorioty. He iss taught that without knowledge, you have no opportunities for success. His mother is a successful advocate for order, diligence, and intellect. She sends her children to predominantly white-jewish schools to ensure them a sufficient education. The journey that James takes in order to find out his background is one of self enlightenment. He is forced to accept a unique identity, and finds comfort when he is accepted into his new Jewish community. He realizes that stereotypes and first impressions are probably false, and learns not to judge based on identity. Both James and his mothers story are ones of hope. James leaves you with pride in being American, comfort in feeling accepted, and the desire to know yourself a little better.
If you're looking for a warm and quick read, The Color of Water is an excellent choice. It reminds you to be grateful for your family and friends, to choose who you are, and who you want to be, and most importantly to be accepting of others.
Rating:
Summary: The Color of Water
Review: James McBride wrote this autobiography,The Color of Water, to his white mother, Ruchel Dwarja Zsylslca. This book narrates the life of, recently Rachel Deborah Shilsky, now Ruth Jordan McBride, to a polish orthodox Jewish family that emigrated in 1921 to the United States. Close to poverty, Ruth amazingly raised twelve children in Brooklyn's Red Hook housing projects. The memoir narrates in a chronological order of his mother and him. The book first asks and then answers the question: What makes people diverge, Jews and Christians, blacks and whites? And, what traits all people have in common?
Ruth kept a secretive past. She never revealed any information about her heritage and roots. Ruth would always reply "I'm light-skinned," when asked by James why she looked different from the kids parents that rode the bus as him. When he'd ask if he was either black or white she would say "You're a human being." She snapped. "Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody." His older siblings had grown out of questioning their mom of her ethnicity but James was not going to be like his sisters and brothers he wanted a forward answer.
Ruth had embrased the Christainity of her husband and raised her children up as Christains. There was a time when James had asked his mother whether God was black or white. She explained God was a spirit. James then asked "What color is God's spirit?"
She would say "It doesn't have a color."
"What color is God."
She'd answer "God is the color of water. And water doesn't have a color." James had accepted that answer and it was the last time he asked her about God and color again.
In the midst of the harsh prejudice against mixed marriages and children, as he and his mother and father were, there was a point in James' life where he felt embarrassed and ashamed of his white mother and the fact that he was mixed. As James grew up he hung around mainly blacks because he felt white people were "fake". All the grief, pain, and the downfalls made him turn a corner in his life. At this point and time of his life he began to smoke weed, steal, and snatch elderly women purses from underneath their arms and watch them scream for help. His "partners in crime" refused to steal purses any longer because they felt it was bad but, James continued to do it alone. He began to ditch school causing his terrific and outstanding grades of straight A's to drop and ruin his education.
James and his siblings really never had a stable home because their mom was always moving, trying to manage things, and searching for a better home, school, neighborhood and not to mention, good and reliable neighbors for her and her kids to have. The reason for this commotion was that after several years of happiness and devotion with her husband he would die, leaving her nothing but some bills to pay, although it was not meant to happen like that, it did, twice. Also, the fact that the oldest children of the house were going to college and moving out on their own made a change to the house. Ruth had it hard not only then but also as a teenager. Ridiculed for marrying a black man. After doing so and moving with her man she was considered out of the family by her parents and their siblings. they helped raise her by caring and watching after her every summer when she wanted to escape the life she had at home. Ruth worked for the store her father, an orthodox rabbi, owned. She was getting tired of seeing her dad dishonor her mother by cheating on her. Her mother would never agree to divorce her until he went out of town to get a quickie. And her mother was getting sick and Ruth couldn't bare to watch her mother struggle for her life. While Ruth was at home with her husband she received a phone call saying her mother was in hospital and she wasn't allowed to visit because she was no longer part of the family. She never got over it and she cried. But she had to care and feed her children and maintain a job.
To know the end of this memoir search for it, it's very interesting, easy, and hard to put down book. One thing that's so great about this book is that ALL twelve of Ruth's kids grow up to be very successful despite the hardships. That information is listed in the book as well as pictures of the huge Jordan/McBride family combined. Read this book and find out how James uncovered Ruth's history and how he does after cutting from school, taking drugs, and so on. The moral of this story is that suffering, unintended, can lead to success and happiness if you learn and change from it.
Rating:
Summary: Review on "The Color of Water"
Review: "The Color of Water" was an excellent and moving read. This book demonstrates significant elements or heroism. James McBride tells a poignant story of his family's life and the struggles they encountered. His mother Ruth, born and Orthodox Jew, in Poland leaves with her family to live in America. At the age of twenty-one she married a black man named Dennis McBride whom she had eight children with. Dennis died of lung cancer leaving her to raise eight children alone. Ruth later marries another black man, Hunter Jordan and has anotehr four children with him, making twelve in all. her second husband passes away leaving her alone to support twelve children. Ruth faces many hardships along the way. Her strong sense of family and religion help her to raise her family. After reading this book, one internalizes the heroism that Ruth emanates as a mother.
Ruth is an example of a hero. Throughout her life with the small amount of money that she had, Ruth always found ways to educate, clothe and feed her children. In the book it says that at every opportunity Ruth had, she'd take her children to every free event New York City offered such as festivals, zoos, parades, libraries and concerts. She took them to Guggenheim dental clinic in Manhattan twice a year for free cares. Getting a good education was her primary focus. Ruth made sure her children set time aside for their schoolwork. James McBride allows the reader to create a visual image of Ruth and the strength it took for her to keep the family going. For example, one of her rules was to come home before dark. In one point in the book James comes home after dark and his mother is waiting for him with "the belt," this demonstrates control Ruth had over her family. Towards the end of the book McBride describes the scene where his mother is seeing him off to college at the bus station. He tells how his mother gives him every last cent of her money, "As I stepped on the buss she squeezed a bunch of bills and change into my hand, its all i have, she said. " Ruth wanted so much for her children to move ahead and prosper. Ruth was a true hero, as much as she loved her children she pushed them to become independent of her. "After we turned the corner I saw her from the window across the aisle and she had broken down. She was leaning on the wall beneath the train trestle, head bowed, one hand squeezing her eyes, as the tears that flowed out of them could be squeezed into oblivion." This demonstrates the essence of Ruth McBride as mother and hero.
Jame McBride has written a moving tribute to his mother. He chooses to write from two perspectives. By alternating chapters he allows the reader to gain insight into the dynamic of his family by using two voices, his and his mothers. The reader is moved by McBrides' memories of his childhood in conjunction with his mothers "recount" of her life's tribulations.
Rating:
Summary: Ruth Brown finds herself through a long journey of heroism
Review: The book The Color of water is a great book to read because it shows how a
person can overcome the hardships of life, about one person journey's to find
their true identity and shows their heroism along the way. This story portrays
how Rachel Shilsky changes to Ruth Brown and struggles to cope with her
difficulties relating with her family, her religion and racism. In this hero's journey, she faces many obstacles. Among these is her family and
how they changed her. As a young child her father, sexually abused her making
her hate him. She felt guilty and had low self-esteem. He was a very
unloving man that treated his family cruelly. He did not love her mother
and also put the children right to work. They would work in his store from right
after school until dark. Another factor in her family was her mother. Her mother
had a stroke when she was younger and lost all working motion of her left side
of her body. This crippled her, yet she still was a great Jewish wife, never
giving her husband a reason to be upset. Meanwhile, Ruth had to hide what she
wanted from her family and was always running away to see her boyfriend Dennis
whenever she could. Dennis came to create some controversy between Ruth and her
family, especially when they found out he was African American. She comes about
overcoming her family when she moves out and goes to live with Dennis leaving
her loving mother and sister at home. She later returns to help her crippled
mother but leaves again afterwards. Another factor that shows Ruth's heroism, is the fact that she came to love a
black man. Her family did not want her to be involved with any African American
people and were very upset with the whole idea of it, as were many people at
that time. She chooses to marry Dennis and in result her family doesn't accept
her anymore. Even though Ruth and Dennis were singled out and unaccepted by
society, all they needed was their love. Ruth and Dennis lived together for many
years not caring what anyone thought and at the same time risking their lives
every time they were seen together. Ruth learned to accept people for who they
were and to overcome racism. Another obstacle that Ruth had to face throughout the story was her religion.
She was brought up in the Jewish faith and practiced it until she got older. Her
religion and her strict father kept her from doing many important things in
life, including graduating from high school. When Ruth left home to be with
Dennis she accepted his faith and later on became Christian. By becoming
Christian she left behind her memories of her past and started brand new with a
new family and home. She became dependent on Jesus and put the faith of Him in
the hearts of her children. This showed that Ruth could overcome some of the
worst things that happened in her childhood and become a better person for it. This book shows that Ruth could overcome the many perils of her life and create
a better life for her children even if it was hard at times. She showed her
strength and heroism by standing up to her father and leaving home and also by
coming to grips with her past after she had healed from the pain of remembering.
She is a true hero for being strong and keeping faith through the toughest of
times and she has showed us all that hard work does eventually pay off.
Rating:
Summary: The Color of Water
Review: The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, by James McBride,
is a powerful story about the struggles a young man faces with his mother's
background, and how these struggles lead him to become a hero. The book is
written in a unique narrative style, with both Ruth McBride-Jordan (James'
mother) and James himself telling their side of the story in alternating
chapters, making this a pleasure to read. This book is definitely worth reading
because it was a very touching and heartfelt story. James McBride is a modern
day hero because he showed perseverance, had an open mind and showed a desire to
understand when learning about his mother's painful past. All heroes need to be persistent throughout their entire journey in order to
succeed and get through all of their tests. James showed perseverance in many
ways. On the first page of the book, Ruth states, " Leave me alone. Don't bother
me. Hurry up and get this interview over with. I want to watch Dallas." (Pg. 1) She obviously disliked the idea of re-visiting her past greatly, even from the
beginning of James' questioning. James needed to continue pushing and
questioning his mother in order to get a large and heartfelt response. Even when
he did get some information out of his mother, it was limited and not very
detailed. An example of this is when James says, " So I went to Suffolk looking
for Frances and her mother who could cook like the dickens. Mommy didn't
remember their last name." (Pg. 159) Even at a point when most people would give
up, he was very determined and kept trying. He eventually finds Ruth's long lost
friend, Frances, because of his perseverance. James envisioned the process of
hearing about his mother's past as a very different experience than it was. Ruth
once told her son, "Mind your own business.I don't want a TV special named after
me. Leave me alone. You're a nosy-body." (Pg. 210) Ruth said this after eight
years of James' prodding. He certainly pushed her a lot about revisiting her past in order to get enough information to write a book. These examples showed
James's constant perseverance and determination. This perseverance is part of
what made James a modern day hero. No matter what reaction he received from others, James always kept an open mind,
a very important quality of a hero. James was never afraid of new places, people
or experiences. When his mother spoke of her decision to move from New York City
to Delaware, James was happy. He was ready to move, make new friends, see new
faces and get a fresh start. He was tired of running into all of his old
friends, who were all getting into more and more trouble. This strong
willingness to start over showed his open-mindedness. As a result of learning of
his mother's true race, he was never resentful or racist towards white people.
Later on in the book, while he was a feature writer for the Boston Globe, James
speaks of his best friend, a sixty-year-old white male. His choice in friends showed that he accepted all people for who they were as a person, for their
race. This showed his ability to always keep an open mind. When talking about
two of his college friends, James said, " . I developed relationships with white
students as well, two of whom. are close friends of mine today." (205) Through
this quote, he shows the reader that he was not afraid of being close to people
that did not have the same skin tone as him. In situations like these, James'
heroic ability to maintain an open mind shone through. The third heroic quality that James had was a strong desire to understand
everything around him. As a young child, James started noticing that his mother
was not the same as all of his friends' moms. James once asked his mom why she
looked different from all the other mothers. Ruth replied to him, "Because I'm
not them." James was still confused, so he again asked, "Who are you?" (Pg. 9)
The curiosity that James expressed, even as a young boy, showed the reader his desire to understand everything. In James' mind, race was always an issue that
needed to be understood, something that he never did understand until his adult
life. One afternoon James asked his mom if God was black or white. Ruth,
realizing the intensity of his son's question responds, " Oh boy.God's not
black. He's not white. He's a spirit." (Pg.39) This question shows us James'
intense thinking and questioning of the way his life has always been. He shows
great interest in understanding things from everyone's point of view, not just
his own. Later on, as an older child, he begins to wonder about his own true
race. He realizes that his mother is not black, while both his biological father
(Ruth's first husband- Reverend Andrew D. McBride) and his stepfather (Hunter L
Jordan Sr.) were. As a result of this, James asks his mother many times whether
he is black or white. Ruth, not having an answer, avoided giving James a direct
reply by getting upset, telling a joke and reminding him that with an education, your race does not matter. All of these times, James showed his mother, family,
and those around him that he had a desire to understand all that went on around
him. This quality is essential to James, because without it, I would not
classify him as a hero. Perseverance, keeping an open mind, and having a strong desire to learn are
three major qualities that James McBride showed throughout the book. These
qualities are what make him a modern day hero. James showed these qualities by
dealing with a stubborn mother, accepting different types of people and new
places, and trying to understand everything happening around him. This book is a
refreshing story of a son and his mother's personal and joint struggles with
their race, religion, background and beliefs. It was a pleasure to read from
start to finish.
Rating:
Summary: The Color of Water; a Thought-provoking and sentimental tale
Review: The book, The Color of Water, is a fascinating story of an inter-racial family living
in the Red Hook housing projects in the middle of New York City. The author, James
McBride, was one of the children in this family who grew up to become a reporter.
Growing up, James's mother was a complete mystery to him. After many years he finally
learned about her past. This story is not only about his mother though, it is also about him
and his siblings, or as he puts it, Here is her life as she told it to me, and betwixt and
between the pages of her life you will find mine as well.
McBrides mother was born in Poland in the year 1921 with the name Ruchel
Dwarja Zylska. When she was two years of age, her family immigrated to America and
lived in a small town called Suffolk, Virginia, and her named was then changed to Rachel
Deborah Shilsky. Her father was a rabbi, and her mother was crippled. With her father
being a rabbi the family was Jewish. Her father also owned a store, and although he was a
rabbi, he was not exactly the nicest person in the world. Mostly black people would shop
at his store and he would charge them as much as he could. He was robbing these folks
blind, charging them a hundred percent markup on his cheap goods... He also did
not trust black people at all. He thought black folks were always trying to steal from
him.
After high school, Rachel moved to New York City, leaving her family. In New
York City she met a black man named Andrew McBride, who she fell in love with and
married. Although throughout the whole book, she was kind of rebellious when it came to
her family back in Suffolk, this was the last straw for them. They sat shiva for her, which
in the Jewish tradition is a ceremony to acknowledge the death of someone. To them, she
was dead. Once again she changed her name. She changed it to Ruth McBride. She and
Andrew had eight children together. Ruth wanted her children to go to college and be very
successful, so instead of sending them to predominately black schools, where most of the
childrens friends attended, she sent them to predominately white schools, because she
wanted them to get the best education they could. Later in the book, Andrew dies, and
Ruth remarries to another black man named Hunter Jordan, and he added four more kids
to make it an even twelve.
Throughout the book, James and his siblings have a hard time trying to figure out
who they are. Struggling to decide which side of the racial barrier the belong on, and with
growing up in the housing projects in New York City. They come across many bumps in
the road but they all have each other to come back to. The author had to deal with many
things like the kids making fun of him, and people always staring at him and his family.
Through telling this story, the author eventually develops a sense of identity after a
childhood of confusion. He said he had to figure out who his mother was, before
discovering who he was.
This book gives many different points of view on racism. Some people who are
not from two different sides, dont know what it is like and this book is a good example of
what it is like to not know where you are coming from, or exactly who you are.
Rating:
Summary: Loving and Believing
Review: James McBrides The Color ofWater is an inspiring biography written by a black man as a tribute to hiswhite mother. His mother, Ruth McBride Jordan, is an astounding woman, whoshowed many characteristics of a Greek Hero. As a child, she grew up as anOrthodox Jew with a father as a rabbi at a nearby synagogue. Her family andfamily friends strongly hated the black culture. Growing up, Ruth learned tolook passed race and see a people for they really are inside. Being brought upin a black-hating household, she was forced to be brave and stay true to whatshe believed was right. Ruth was compelled to overcome many obstacles in herlifetime, such as being Jewish. She overcame them all with dignity and pride,making her a true hero in many peoples lives.
AsRuth grew up, she learned to overlook the race of the people in her community.She began to see them for what they were inside. When she was older, shemarried a black man named Dennis McBride. He loved her and took exceptionalcare of while he was alive. Ruth had seven children with Dennis, all of whomwere blacker in skin then white. Dennis later died of cancer while Ruth waspregnant with another child. Years later, she married another black man namedHunter Jordan, having five more children. As the children got older, they beganto notice how much lighter their mothers skin color was. When they would askwhy her skin was so much lighter she would say, You ask too many questions,and ignore it. Soon, they began to question their own race, also. When theywould ask what color they were, Ruth would answer, You are the color ofwater. (Pg. 51) As her children got old enough to go to school, she sent themto white schools, although they were teased and ridiculed, because she did notbelieve in having two separate schools for two separate races.
RuthMcBride Jordan was an extremely brave woman. She fell in love with a black manwhen she was young and they decided to marry. She did this, knowing that shewould be disowned from her Jewish family. On page 215, her father says, If youmarry a black man, dont ever come home again. She ended up following her heartand marrying Dennis. As Dennis was dying of cancer, Ruth stood by him everyday, comforting and helping him through it. She helped him eat and cared forhim knowing that he was dying. When Ruth would here of a white person speakingcruel words about them, she would stand up for them, risking being injured orkilled.
Inher lifetime, Ruth McBride Jordan overcame numerous obstacles. As a child, shewas an Orthodox Jew with a rabbi as a father. The children in school wouldtreat her cruelly and never thought twice about hurting her feelings. She wasforced to live with her fathers abuse towards her, her siblings, and hermother. Later in life, Ruth was kicked out of the family for marrying a blackman whom she loved very much. Raising twelve children, and suffering from twohusbands deaths, were other obstacles she had to overcome. With her hard work,and loyalty to her children, Ruth managed to put all twelve children intocollege, some even to become doctors.
TheColor of Water is an incredibly moving tale of a hero, who overlooked racein a time where race meant everything to many people, was unbelievably brave incertain moments of her life, and who overcame numerous obstacles throughout herlifetime. The book is exciting, and inspiring to readers who feel the need tomake a difference in the world. I would recommend this book to everyone becauseit is a well-written novel, and extremely touching.
Rating: 
Summary: koolades komments
Review: English Ben Kulikowski
Hero essay 01/01/02 In the book Color of Water by James McBride, he
describes his childhood, and how he lived with his
eleven black brothers and sisters, and a white mother
who raised them all. He was a boy who was raised in a
house in New York City, with his mother and for part
of his life his stepfather. In his book he tells the
tales of his upbringing, every other chapter. In the
other chapters he had his mother tell about her upbringing and childhood. James McBride is not a
hero, because he does not quite posses all the
qualities needed to be one. However, his mother is a
woman who sacrificed everything she had to get all of
her kids through college, and she is a hero. I
enjoyed the book because it wasn't filled with obvious
heroes, it just had one, and I recommend this book.
What makes a hero is someone who can be a role
model to others, whom people can base their life upon.
A hero is someone that has done or achieved something
that is very important. It doesn't have to be in his
or her lifetime, but at some point someone has to
stand back and say, "So and so was a good person and
everyone should be like him!" James McBride does not
meet this requirement. He has been a good father and
son, and good Christian man, but he has not done
something that outstanding that a person should
consider him a hero. His mother on the other hand, is
a hero. She grew up an Orthodox Jew. When she was a
little girl, her father was sexually abusive. They
all lived in the south where Jews were not appreciated
or accepted at that time. She suffered through all
this and met a black boy and got pregnant, but she
later got an abortion. She gets thrown out of her
family and she becomes dead to them because she runs
off to New York and marries a black man. During her
married life in near poverty, she sacrificed
everything, and stopped at nothing so that the twelve
kids could get an education, and go to college, and
that's what they did.
In the beginning of the book McBride tells many
exciting accounts of his family growing up during the
sixties, and experiencing the black power movement.
While his older brothers and sisters were with the
black power movement, he was still in elementary
school. As his siblings move out, James becomes the
head of the household. But when his stepfather
tragically dies, leaving the house in disarray, James descends into drugs and crime. This is one of the
reasons why James isn't a hero because after leading a
good life he gets involved with crime, and drugs right
at the time when his mother needs him most.
His mother on the other hand, was brought up in
the south with a rabbi for a father, and a handicapped
mother who only speaks Yiddish. Eventually she falls
in love with a black man and gets pregnant. This was
in the 1930s when it was strictly forbidden, and
taboo. If people would have found out, her boyfriend
would be killed, and her abusive father would have
killed her too. She is a hero throughout these hard
challenging events in her life, and she endures it and
becomes stronger. Eventually she runs off to New York
and lives in Harlem. She meets a very nice black man,
marries him, and converts to Christianity. However,
this causes her family to disown her, and to them she
is dead. She ends up starting a family, which is,
were James comes into the picture. She learns to work
the system to get her children into the best public
schools. She insists on studying and putting
education first. She ends up sending all twelve of
her children to college, and most of them to a
medical, law, or business school after that. This is
why she is a hero.
James is not a hero, but is close in many
aspects. He did have to deal with a lot of hardship,
and suffering, but he really didn't do too much. When
it was his time to be a leader he got involved with
"reefer" as he called it, and crime. His decision
into crime, coupled with his stepfather dying, and
their house falling apart, causes his mother to decide
to move the rest of the family to Delaware. His
mother, and his remaining sisters detest the move
greatly, and this causes his mother to be depressed
more so. James cleaned up his act enough to go to a
college in Ohio. He didn't know whether to be a
musician or a journalist, but eventually became both.
James did decide to write this book about his mother,
which is a nice tribute, but not nearly, enough to
classify him as a hero.
James's mother, one believes, is still living
today and residing in New Jersey. During her life she
suffered man hardships, and is a hero. She is a good
role model for women everywhere. She gave up family
and friends, and the town was she grew up in so she
could marry the man she loved. She started a housing
project in New York; with her husband started a church. He was the best minister that church had ever
known. She is a good-hearted woman who believed
school and church were the two most important things
in life, everything else was second. The most amazing
accomplishment she had was putting every one of her
kids through college with the little money she had,
and grooming them to have long prosperous careers.
James McBride was a good-hearted man who loves
his mother very deeply. He had a very interesting
childhood, and one who is looking for an exquisite
tale of a young boy's childhood in the sixties should
read this book. If a person is looking for a book
that has a hero and a role model for everyone, one
should read this book. James's upbringing provides a
nice entertaining story, but it is the story of his
mother that really is moving and is a tale of a person
who gave up everything in life for her family and kept
herself going through God.
Rating:
Summary: A great book, but for a mature reader
Review: This book, The Color of Water; A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother, is a great book, though it isn't appropriate for all readers, as it is a bit complex. For a mature reader, this is definitely a book to read. It really makes one appreciate what they have. The author of the book, James McBride, isn't much of a hero himself, but his mother, whose story is also told in this book, is a true hero. James McBride grew up in a house full of his brothers and sisters. His mother raised them all to trust in God and Jesus, although she herself had been raised a Jew. She converted to Christianity when she met her first husband, a black man named Andrew Dennis McBride, and they eventually started a church together. James never knew his biological father because he died before James was born. James' stepfather was like a father to him though, and when he died, it messed James up a little bit. He had always wondered what his mother's history was about, because she never spoke a word of it to James, and eventually he sets out to find it for himself. This book is interesting in the point of view used. It alternates by chapters with James McBride telling about his life in the first person point of view, and with him telling it from the point of view of his mother, Ruth McBride Jordan, as she tells about her life. This gives the book a different sort of feel, and it makes it seem like one is getting the whole picture of her life because it's like she's telling it herself, rather than James telling it. It makes one feel a little bit more like they're really there with her. Ruth raised 12 successful children almost single-handedly in a poor household. She escaped from a Jew-hating town in the South to Harlem, New York where she got a job and, after awhile, a husband, who was black. They had 8 children before he died. Not too long after she married another man, again black and had 4 more children. Throughout her life she had many, many conflicts. Quite a few were with her slightly abusive father, whom she was terrified of. Many other conflicts were with the world, which couldn't accept that she was a white woman in a "black people's world." As she once said: "I stayed on the black side because that was the only place I could stay." (Pg. 232). Her triumph over poverty and racism make her a true hero. The Color of Water is a good book to read to witness firsthand real racism, biracial families, and the troubles of one kid going through his teenage years without a father. This was a real great book that should be read by anyone in the category of "mature audience."
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