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Summary: This one will stay close to my heart forever!
Review: My Mother-in-Law told me about this book years ago. I was able to find a beat up old copy at a garage sale and it sat with my "books to read" for years. I finally picked it up to read and I almost put it back down because of its size...well I started reading this book and had a very hard time putting it down..this book is a classic. So well written with the characters climbing into your heart and soul.It was wonderful to read a book that was not filled with fowl language and so nice to leave the love scenes up to your imagination....David Champlain was a prince and Sarah his princess. If you consider yourself a "reader" then this one is for you. It will be a long time until another book has so much impact on me. I suggest that you find a copy of this book and get your self comfortable. My copy will stay with me forever!
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Summary: A must read! Can't believe it is out of print
Review: In the midst of my first re-reading of this novel all I can say is that it should be in print and should be one of the top choices for reading groups everywhere!I read this book over 30 years ago the summer before I went to college..and remembering how captivated I was by it then I sought it out on a whim and found it at the library. 32 years later it still captured my heart and most of my free time from the first page. I think this book is even more significant now When it was written the Civil Rights movement was news, now it is history. History is documented by chronological events, news impacts our day to day lives. In this book we relive the civil rights movement, and the era that preceded it through the eyes and experiences of an incredibly engaging group of characters. There are now generations who did not experience the dehumanization, indignity and brutatlity of institutionalized racism. This book shows how it affects the lives of human beings both Caucasian and African American. And you don't even know you are learning something because you are so swept away by the story. I also feel that her characters observations and experiences of racism, both overt and covert can lead a reader to face down any pockets of racism they may be unknowingly carrying and grow beyond them. This is the blessing the best fiction brings..it leads you in emotionally rather than getting in your face with cold facts and figures..and this is where the healing can begin. And although the trappings of progress may be in place we still have a lot of work to do in this area.
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Summary: Fabulous early interracial romance story
Review: From book liner:
Five Smooth Stones is the story of one man's search for dignity and love. It moves swiftly from a New Orleans ghetto, where a black child reaches out for a better life, to the scenes of intense beauty and bitterness that mark his journey to manhood. .Five Smooth Stones is the story of one man's intiation into love. A passionate love- rare and tender, consuming and tragic- a forbidden love... Five Smooth Stones is the story of one man who gives up everything- hard-won personal victories, a lifty diplomatic position, comfort, security and respectability -to battle against an overwhelming enemy... Five Smooth Stones is the unforgettable story of David Champlin. It is as contemporary as today's news flashes, yet as timeless as the biblical account of David from which the tale is derived. It is a story which will remain alive long after it's final page is read.
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Summary: The First Book I Really Read
Review: My mother read this book and recommended that I read it too. At the time I was not a person that read for pleasure... so when the monster Five Smooth Stones was plopped onto my table, you can imagine my response! For some reason I picked it up, started reading, and could not put it down until I was done! I had to have my own copy because it meant so much to me, not just because I actually finished it, but because David became a member of my family! I cried at his graduations like I was his mother and ached for his trials and suffering! I morned the loss of this book when I completed it. The book was out of print at the time, but found a copy at a rare book shop. I am thrilled that it is in reprint and available! It should be a must read for high schoolers, college students, all human kind. Because of this book, I now read like a crazy woman. And I agree, this should be a movie for all to see and to encourage all to read!
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Summary: I wish I'd read this book 20 years ago!
Review: I just finished my first reading of Five Smooth Stones and I feel emotionally tired. The author drew me in from the first pages and created characters that became friends. I have never understood the civil rights movement and all of the struggles the way I do after reading this book. I feel weary, but changed after coming to know these wonderful, brave people. Thank you, Ann Fairbairn/Dorothy Tait.
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Summary: This Book Has Given Me New Perspectives
Review: I picked this book up not sure of how I would enjoy it. At first I was a bit offended by the racial slurs towards the whites but as I explored the book further I was appalled at the bigotry of (especially) the southern whites. I never realized the deep chasm between our cultures and my heart cried as I read the plight of the black people only trying to get HUMAN rights in this country. This is one of the most well written books I have read and it has given me an insight into the black community that I would otherwise never have seen nor learned. This should be a must-read for our young people.
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Summary: White women think this is a great book
Review: I read it one time and couldn't care less, but I give this book to white women I want to get with and I scores everytime.
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Summary: At a young age, altered my perception of race
Review: I read this wonderful novel one summer 30+ years ago as a high school kid, and it had a profound effect. Though I didn't realize it at the time, it shaped my understanding of racial issues--among them intermarriage--to such a degree that I attribute any transcendence of my views from a rural Indiana upbringing to the narrative power of this book along with the autobiographical BLACK LIKE ME by John Howard Griffin, which I read about the same time. Now that I have a 14-year-old daughter in an inner-city public school system where she can date young men of various colors, I say "Thank you, Ann Fairbairn, for opening my eyes at such a young age."
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Summary: Five Smooth Stones
Review: This is my favorite book in the world. I have read it 3 times and will read it again I'm sure. You will love it.
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Summary: Five Smooth Stones- My Favorite Book
Review: I first read Five Smooth Stones in high school in the late 70's. I've read it at least 8 times since. The story is still just as spellbounding and the love between David and Sara is still heartwarming. Although times have changed, the moral of the story hasn't; hard work and perseverance are still important. Lil Joe's devotion to David, the Professor's influence and Gram's love all speak volumes to what it really takes to raise a child to succeed and to do well, while doing good. I highly recommend every parent make this a part of their pre-teens and teen aged child's required summer reading list. InmI have. In fact, my 14 year old son is reading it now. Although the ending is tough, the life David lived and the legacy he left and the lives he touched will make his memory live forever.
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