Floating : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Bravo for Floating!
Review: Nicole Bailey-Williams' novel is very interesting. The shift between peoetry and narration is wonderful. Nicole has managed to write little pieces of how women feel when they do not love themselves or have not been loved by others. It is really a powerful book and it shows, in brutal honesty, the result of cycles of un-love in families. It was funny, it was sexy and sad all at once. Thank you for these characters! I look forward to your next book.

Rating:
Summary: Acceptance is peace
Review: Shanna Washington, the protagonist in Floating, is on a continuous journey to find her true self. A biracial child of an upwardly mobile mother and a working class father, she discovers from an early age she doesn't fit in. Floating is a three part study of self- acceptance and of those around her.The writing style of Floating is lyrical. The chapters are short - sometimes only a page or two, which eases in the comprehension of this novel. It also demonstrates to me a much deeper look into Shanna's psyche. As the reader explores the three sections, between, black and white, Shanna shares how one overlaps the others. She experiences a detached relationship with her father. Her relationship with her mother is strained at best when she abandons her daughter and husband to return to her upper class world. Entering college her relationship with boyfriend Lionel is tumultuous too. His expectations and her reality aren't the same. Everyone has separate motives for caring about her and struggles to see her as a whole person with a unique set of characteristics. She seeks to float above the stereotypes people have concerning biracial individuals.Floating is a book to sit back and contemplate. Because the chapters are so short, we get only a snapshot into Shanna's life. This is a very quick read but takes much longer to digest. I'm sure I've missed nuances of meaning along the way so this is a book that will probably get a rare re-read from me. I want to make sure I've understood all the author is conveying. I also think this is a worthy discussion book and the accompanying reader's companion asks insightful questions to further promote intelligent dialogue.

Rating:
Summary: In the Space Between
Review: The concept of the tragic mullato is not a new one in literature; its figure has been used numerous times to characterize that person caught between worlds, caught between cultures, and caught between black and white. Nicole Bailey Williams uses this concept in her sophomore effort, FLOATING, but updates it, breathes new life into it, and drives it home in a fresh, raw way.

Shanna, the narrator, tells her story in short, lyrical chapters, beginning from the first time she realized she was different as a child to her confusing adulthood. As a biracial woman, she faces many obstacles in her life, including name-calling, pre-judgment, self-mutilation, and heartbreak.

When she was a young child, Shanna's white mother abandoned her and her black father. Though her father was no saint himself, as an adult Shanna comes to realize why he behaves the way he does. Likewise, she begins to remember the times when her mother was her world and the anger she felt toward her mother after being abandoned.

I was enraptured by Shanna's story; though a fairly short book, FLOATING is packed with content. I was taken by the way the author interspersed poetry into the flow of the story. Rhythmic and inviting, poignant and heartbreaking, lyrical and lilting, FLOATING is one of the best books I have read this year. Bailey Williams' writing is sensational, and I am anticipating more fine work from her.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!!
Review: This is an excellent book. Nicole Bailey-Williams is truly a gifted writer. If you had the opportunity to read her first novel, and enjoyed it as much as I did, you definitely want to pick up a copy of "Floating". The author is a great writer and storyteller and she did an excellent job with character development in her sophomore effort. Nicole is a rising star in the literary scene.