The Persia Cafe (Thorndike Americana)

Rating:
Summary: Persia Cafe
Review: As an involuntary exile from the South, I am on constant lookout for stories from home. Persia Cafe must have whispered to me as I entered the bookstore in Tulsa this weekend; I turned to a bookshelf and there it was. To be clear, I have not finished the book. My five-star rating is for the opening chapter, which I read standing in the front door of Steve's Books. The voice is fresh, the opening original, the storyline compelling. The book passes all the measures of a grat story: Already, I care about the heroine; I want to know what happens in the story. I will find out.

Rating:
Summary: Mighty finest read, don't miss it.
Review: Heck, this is one mighty fine novel and you don't want to miss it. Read it just as soon as you can! I'm just sayin' ... this beaucoup best la-la for your reading itch. Finest kind. Superb writing and writer. Go git it!

Rating:
Summary: What do I know?
Review: I am about 60 pages into the book and don't think I can get through it. It seems to be written in some other language almost. It jumps from this thought to that, and I find myself backing up to try and make sense of what is there. I know from reading reviews from other readers and renoun authors that it is a good story, but nobody mentions her style which I find to say the least is very confusing. I am considering sending this book back for a refund. I love stories of the south and by southern authors but this one is hard work.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult but Worthwhile...
Review: I'm not the world's fastest reader, so when I encounter a book with the dialogue and style of writing like this one, I sometimes will become frustrated at the length of time devoted to complete. Melany Neilson, from what I understand, is a poet who has written her first novel. The writing style clearly shows and can be very difficult. I read another review where the reader didn't get past page 60. I almost gave up on this book at page 80. I'm extremely glad however, that I did not. Even though the language of the book is challenging, the descriptiveness and language used, is extremely beautiful. This kind of beauty takes time, and you may find yourself putting in more energy into this book than the sleeve of the book indicates what might be a simple story. I have to admit however, that I did take a break and read another book halfway into this one, before I finished. I overall rated the book a 3, only because of the challenging style. Believe me, the ending, the entire story, as it all falls together, does take some time, but is well worth discovering. The bond between the two main characters, Fannie and Mattie is strong, fragile and yet special. I disagreed with another commenter that the reader couldn't quite decipher the relationships that Fannie maintained, that is of her husband Will, and between her mother. I'm not from the south, but I quickly characterized all female characters as the strong southern woman. I didn't find any of the female characters to be "warm and fuzzy", or particularly inviting, and maybe this was misread and misinterpreted. There is no doubt that the relationship between Fannie and her mother, with Mattie, are not warm. But a mutual respect and love exists, especially between Fannie and Mattie, that even Fannie cannot sometimes understand. The same can be said between Fannie and her husband. Obviously, not a very romantic relationship, but one that works for both of them, with the baggage that Will has since childhood, and one that Fannie can understand. Again, I found all characters to very good representatives for the time period and plot.
Knowing what I know now, I cannot honestly say if I would ever read another novel by Melany Neilson.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult but Worthwhile...
Review: I'm not the world's fastest reader, so when I encounter a book with the dialogue and style of writing like this one, I sometimes will become frustrated at the length of time devoted to complete. Melany Neilson, from what I understand, is a poet who has written her first novel. The writing style clearly shows and can be very difficult. I read another review where the reader didn't get past page 60. I almost gave up on this book at page 80. I'm extremely glad however, that I did not. Even though the language of the book is challenging, the descriptiveness and language used, is extremely beautiful. This kind of beauty takes time, and you may find yourself putting in more energy into this book than the sleeve of the book indicates what might be a simple story. I have to admit however, that I did take a break and read another book halfway into this one, before I finished. I overall rated the book a 3, only because of the challenging style. Believe me, the ending, the entire story, as it all falls together, does take some time, but is well worth discovering. The bond between the two main characters, Fannie and Mattie is strong, fragile and yet special. I disagreed with another commenter that the reader couldn't quite decipher the relationships that Fannie maintained, that is of her husband Will, and between her mother. I'm not from the south, but I quickly characterized all female characters as the strong southern woman. I didn't find any of the female characters to be "warm and fuzzy", or particularly inviting, and maybe this was misread and misinterpreted. There is no doubt that the relationship between Fannie and her mother, with Mattie, are not warm. But a mutual respect and love exists, especially between Fannie and Mattie, that even Fannie cannot sometimes understand. The same can be said between Fannie and her husband. Obviously, not a very romantic relationship, but one that works for both of them, with the baggage that Will has since childhood, and one that Fannie can understand. Again, I found all characters to very good representatives for the time period and plot.
Knowing what I know now, I cannot honestly say if I would ever read another novel by Melany Neilson.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven and problematic
Review: Not a horrible book, but not a great one either. The characterization is uneven - for instance, Fannie's mother is made to say how much she adores her daughter at the beginning, but in fact, their relationship is rather prickly. It is unclear how Fannie feels about her husband; their dialogue is often confusing. Actually, much of the dialogue is confusing. The narrative and perspective shifts oddly and I had difficulty staying with it. The only reason I finished the book is because I wanted to see who killed Earnest. That WAS surprising. Additionally, sometimes Neilson gives us far too much detail. I often felt lost in the picayune.

Although it does, I think, portray the South of the 1960's fairly well, if in a rather stererotypical fashion, I did not find this book cause for exhilaration. I've read many other Southern and non-Southern writers that were far more enjoyable, understandable and clear.

Rating:
Summary: deft recounting of female friendship during racist era
Review: Taut, languid and ominous, Melany Neilson's "The Persia Cafe" is a remarkable debut novel. Treating the theme of interracial friendship during the formative years of the civil rights movement, "Cafe" explores the corrosive impact of racism through the evolving relationship between two honorable, frustrated women. Uncommonly understated, Ms. Neilson's writing compels the reader to construct detail, both in the evolution of the plot and the impact of events on the two protagonists. The novel builds an almost unbearable tension as the reader struggles with such issues as constructing authentic relationships in a social milieu which limits and punishes their creation, the limits and consequences of knowledge, personal and social respnsibility for acts of violence, passion and betrayal, secrecy and its impact on how people respond to each other.

Shackled by societal restrictions, frustrated by personal disappointments and angered by repressed ambitions, the evolving relationship between Fannie and Mattie becomes the central focus of the novel. Fannie, aware of her heritage as the illegitimate daughter of the town's seamstress, yearns to escape the suffocating constraints of Persia, Mississippi, which in 1962, epitomizes southern rural racism. Fannie's personal alienation and harnessed hopes for freedom channel her into the kitchen, where she learns of her culinary gift. In her hands, food becomes transformed into art. Yet, this same burning drive for experience that elicits creative talent leads her into an ill-conceived and fractious marriage.

While in the kitchen of the Persia Cafe, Fannie encounters a defiant, proud black cook, Mattie. Nursing her own anguish and smoldering resentments at a society which binds her to subservience, Mattie slowly, reluctantly, suspiciously develops a relationship with Fannie. Mattie is a defiant woman who often speaks in cryptic half sentences; she ponders if Fannie's personal frustrations could lead to a biracial understanding. Mattie evolves as a central figure; her personal, unspoken knowledge of the details of a racist murder alternately draws and repels Fannie, who is laboring with her own burdens of knowledge -- of a failed marriage, of derivative responsibility for racial violence, of her own shanmbles of a life.

"The Persia Cafe" contains exquisite descriptions of the physical nature of rural, river life in 1960s Mississippi. Sweltering heat, earthy smells, the sounds of insects and the river during a summer night capture the reader's imagination. Ms. Neilson tantalizes us with her exploration of things unbridgeable: relationships between the races, the shattering of a marriage by a husband's betrayal, the wonder if what we know is actual or imagined. Persia's racism is ever-present, looming and casting its shadow everywhere; physical violence receives an ugly complement in psychological terror and threat. Mattie and Fannie's friendship is all the more remarkable given its improbability and inherent danger.

Successful in its treatment of theme, both understated and elegantly detailed, honorable and true in its exploration of friendship in the midst of racism, "The Persia Cafe" will join a growing set of works which prove that America is itself coming of age as it explores the wounds and possibilities created during its civil rights era.

Rating:
Summary: This Is Not Just Another Book About The South ...
Review: This is a story about a young woman who is determined to do the right thing. It takes place during the 60's in Persia, Mississippi and captures the feelings of that particular time -- specifically racism, ignorance, and people uncomfortable with the idea of change. It is about murder, violence, betrayal, innocence lost, and ultimately redemption.

I felt for Fannie's situation throughout this book. It pained me when the people of her community shunned her, and I was grateful she used her culinary talents as an outlet from their ugliness. Also, the friendship between Mattie and Frannie was depicted so well -- it perfectly captured the underlying tension present in their interactions with one another.

I cannot help but think of Harper Lee's, "To Kill A Mockingbird," after reading this book. Like it, "The Persia Cafe," is a fascinating glimpse into a time and place I know little about. And, both tell the story about the sacrifices we sometimes must make in order to do the right thing.

Rating:
Summary: Another fine Southern writer
Review: What is it about the South that evokes such powerful stories? Melany Neilson is a very talented writer, but I think even she would have to admit that living in the South offers so much to authors, that all they have to do is pay attention. Although Persia, Mississippi is fictional, it really isn't. It is every small town in Mississippi that I have ever been through. Having lived in Mississippi all my life, Persia just makes sense. I know those people. I have been in that cafe. I have stood on the banks of that river. And although I think that many things have changed for the better, I have also seen those looks on faces, both white and black. I have, at times, sensed the tension and distrust among people who have shared this geography for years and years.

The wonderful thing about this novel, however, is that the reader doesn't have to be from The South to appreciate the rich language and beautiful images. You can smell the fried chicken and biscuits whether you're in Jackson, Mississippi or Jackson Hole, Wyoming. You care about these people, wherever you happen to fall in relation to the Mason-Dixon line.

I love Southern writers. I think that they are special, and offer something to the world of literature that nobody else can. Hats off to Melany Neilson. You were fair, and honest, and respectful in your attempt.