Seeking Salamanca Mitchell : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A Love Story for the Hip Hop Generation
Review: At a reading of authors of urban fiction, Kenji Jasper shared that he set out to write a classic love story for the hip hop generation a la "Romeo & Juliet" or "West Side Story." In "Seeking Salamanca Mitchell," he has actually given readers much more than the story of two young lovers who fight an array of obstacles spanning eight years and three cities to reunite. This novel features many kinds of love -- love between friends, love between parent and child, love between siblings. It is refreshing to read a novel that shows love among Black people, in all its humanity and complexity. Without trivializing the challenges that society throws at them, dulling the edges of their experience to appease bourgeoise sensibilities or falling into Hallmark cliche, Kenji Jasper showcases the ability of young Black men to give and receive love. I hope more aspiring authors and new readers turned onto the word by the current onslaught of street life fiction -- especially men of color -- read his work and follow his lead.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, Daring, Suspense- Urban Fiction at its Best
Review: Benjamin Baker Jr., nineteen years old is a young man who is sure of what his future holds: A successful songwriting career, a lucrative contract for his group and a future with his girl, the beautiful Salamanca Mitchell. It is all so perfect. But the saying about the best laid plans..... becomes a reality when a monkey wrench is thrown into the mix.

Alfonse Mitchell is Salamanca's father and Ben's employer. He is a respected community leader in Washington D.C. and a successful restaurateur but he has a dark side and that side is revealed to Ben one night when he is asked to accompany Mitchell on a run after the restaurant closes. Before Ben can rationalize it all out, this son of a deceased D.C. policeman is caught up in a drama not of his own making. In short order, he is set up to take the fall for felony burglaries and is sent off to do seven years time, leaving behind a pregnant Salamanca.

In jail, he has convinced himself the music is no longer a part of him, his only lifeline is the letters and pictures he receives from Salamanca that lets him know of her love. Yet, she at eighteen must run for her life, fleeing from a madman, her father, who wants the memory of Ben Baker erased from their life, even the baby growing within his only child. Salamanca goes into hiding to Atlanta, and then to Detroit, her native home, changing her identity. It is there she faces the truth about the demons of her father when she visits the home where she last lived with him and her missing mother. As all the pieces fall together, she realizes that she is in it alone until Ben is released.

Ben gets through his sentence first by writing songs, then reading and keeping himself strong, living for the day he returns to his girls, Salamanca and now Sasha, his baby daughter. When he is released, his best friend Steve, now wealthy from the music that once Ben was a part of, picks him up from prison and takes him to Los Angeles. Steve's plan is to show Ben the kind of life that he could have if only he would succumb to the music he has left behind. But Ben has a one-track mind and that is to get back to D.C. where he is to reunite with Salamanca and Sasha. Alphonse Mitchell, who has been incognito for the last seven years, also heads to D.C. area. He wants to see his daughter and possibly tie up loose ends with Ben. A series of events sets off a suspenseful plot that keeps the reader on edge until the end.

With well-rounded characterizations and excellent writing exhibited, Jasper has a flair for vivid imagery and well-crafted language. Urban/hip-hop fiction is taken to a whole other level in this talented writer's hands, proving that the disrespect that that genre sometimes receives is not warranted in this case. This is literature period, at its best and this reviewer looks forward to Jasper's next adventure. Rating 4.5


Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub


Rating:
Summary: Salamanca
Review: Everything about Seeking Salamanca Mitchell resonates with pureness and poetry. From the provocative cover, to the unique name of the title character, Salamanca (also a province in Spain where the natives speak Castilian, the purest of Spanish). And lets not forget the writing. Gritty, poetic, insightful, emotional, and hard hitting as a Tyson fist in his prime. A bolo from Sonny Liston, way back. One of Foreman's sledgehammer blows before the grills. That's the prose style of Seeking Salamanca Mitchell. Kenji Jasper, noted novelist of "Dark" and "Dakota Grand" has made the leap all serious writers aspire to, with each book getting better than the last, and in Salamanca, reaching a plateau that startles. This book is the truth. At the heart of the story is Ben Baker, God gifted with the ability of music creation. When he takes up with Alfonse Mitchell the chess pieces fall into place and he's headed in one direction...checkmated. But all is not lost from his dalliance with hell and Alfonse Mitchell because Mitchell's daughter, Salamanca, is one to covet. And Ben does until the day Alfonse sets him up for a seven year bid. Leaving behind his music aspirations, Salamanca, and the bun toasting in her oven, Ben's greatest desire is his day of release and some much desired "get-back", revenge, retribution. The ending, reminiscent of the best of George Pelecanos, is quick-as-gun-fire scene cuts to the main characters and their violent, emotional resolutions. With the glut of "street or urban fiction" on the market for African-American readers, few if any books can combine the hard hitting reality and colorful wordplay of this tome. The bar has been raised.

Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Page Turner!
Review: I bought this book because as a charter member of a newly formed book club, I had to. I wasn't enthusiastic about reading it because the person that chose the book, choose it merely based on the book cover. With the looming deadline of the book club meeting, I decided to read the book as soon as I bought it as opposed to waiting until the week before the next monthly meeting. I attest, I couldn't put the book down! I read in 2 days! (very unusual for me) I highly recommend this book. This is the only book by this particular author that I have read, I must say that I am impressed.

Rating:
Summary: Cool
Review: I met Mr. Jasper in Chicago at a bookstore signing and enjoyed seeing how writers make the best of their readings. I thought it was very cool how many of his family members came with him as support. And I don't know if she's his mother or godmother, but the woman with the short gray cut is beautiful in a I-hope-I-look-like-her-when-I'm-older kinda way. Now on to the book...the first thing that puzzled me after finishing this book was Jasper's purpose in giving his chracters major flaws that were never made use of. If Salamanca was so trigger-happy, why didn't she protect the wounded? Why is Maurice so frail and scared one minute and a soldier the next? Why is Stevie a sincere friend, then a conniving friend, then a bourgeois friend, then sincere again? Make up your mind. Why is the brother supposed to be nonchalant but the author kept giving him emotions like fear, admiration, love, dedication, etc. Pick character traits and stick to them. Other than these annoying flaws, thought it was a really entertaining read with on point dialogue and a page-turner. Henry was my favorite character of all, but I wish I had gotten to know him a little more.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Storyline
Review: Kenji Jasper paints a beautiful picture with words regarding a doting and wonderful love affair in his latest novel entitled, "Seeking Salamanca Mitchell." The love story revolves around Benjamin and Salamanca who meet in high school and fall deeply in love. However, as time passes, the lovers are forced to face harrowing and lingering ordeals.

Ben Baker, an intelligent young man with a promising musical career before him acquires employment with Alphonso Mitchell, a neighborhood restaurant owner who is also involved in various illicit actions. While working at the restaurant, Mitchell readily notices that Ben is ambitious and conscientious, thus persuades him, as well as others to participate in some of his late night criminal activities. Immature and enticed by the lure of the quick money, Ben becomes the lookout man and soon sees the means for the lavish lifestyle of the local mobster.

Shortly afterwards Ben meets Salamanca, Mitchell's lone teenage daughter. He soon finds himself totally captivated and entranced by her radiant beauty and pleasant demeanor. She responds favorably and they fall deeply in love and start to plan for a worthwhile future. Later, Sala finds out that she is pregnant, just as Benjamin is arrested and charged with crimes associated with her father. When she relates the news of her pregnancy to her father, he becomes livid and wrathful, strikes her and attempts to kill her unborn child. With Ben in jail, Sala leaves her father's house and attempts to live on her own.

While on the run from her father; alone, pregnant and struggling, long time secrets are revealed to Salamanca. One shocking revelation concerns the disappearance of her mother, her father's involvement and lies that he told when she was a small child. After the birth of their beautiful daughter and determined to survive, Ben and Sala only communicate through letters and phone conversations for years. They never give up on each other and have the ultimate goal to meet up together as a loving couple.

The lovers finally connect after Ben's release from prison with the sheer intent that Alphonso will pay for the pernicious pain that consumed them throughout the years. However, once they faced the notorious Alphonso, time has done the job for them, proving the point that one will always pay for their sins.

Unique and interesting read dealing with some sho-nuff real love!

Readincolor Reviewers
Emily

Rating:
Summary: Reclaiming true love
Review: Often life is like the roll of the dice, you never know where you may land, but you must make the best of whatever situation you find yourself. In SEEKING SALAMANCA MITCHELL, Benjamin Baker appears to have it all, the woman he loves, a job, and a promising future as a singer/songwriter. But somewhere along the way it got messed up and in a blink of an eye he could possibly lose it all. Cinnamon, his piano, was the only love of Benjamin's life until he went to work for Alfonse Mitchell in Sally Helen's Restaurant. While working in Sally's, Benjamin meets and falls in love with Salamanca Mitchell, Alfonse's daughter.

Driven by the need for more money, Benjamin inquires about working more hours at Salley's. This request leads him into the seamy underside of Alfonse's business. Just beyond the walls of the restaurant is a business of thievery and Alfonse is the leader. His power is unmatched by anyone. In fact, when the heat is turned on, a couple of key players are killed and Benjamin is left holding the bag so to speak. He has been set up to take the blame and do the sentence for Alfonse's burglary ring. Salamanca, on the other, hand, finds herself alone, pregnant and facing a very angry father, one whom she has to run from to protect herself and her unborn child. With the course set, Benjamin has to survive the next seven years in prison and Salamanca has to survive the next seven years on the run from her father. Will they hang on to their love? Will there be any more casualties?

Just when my temperature had been waning on urban literature, I got smacked in the face with this gritty tale from the streets of Washington, D.C. Kenji Jasper created a gripping story about the love of music, the love of a significant other, betrayal and crime. The characters in this book took on a more humanistic appeal than those in some of the other books of this genre. They were presented with flaws just like any regular person instead of the typical shoot first don't ask any questions persona. Jasper's writing style is such that I felt I was a fly on wall as Benjamin raced to reclaim his life with Salamanca and their child. Those that love the urban experience will view this as a magnificent find, just as I did.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Drama
Review: This book was outstanding!
The characters pulled me right in. This gritty street fiction was a bittersweet story of love. This is the way street fiction or Urban drama should read! It wasn't full of bling- just a seriously good plot that was loaded with suspense and kept me tuning the pages. The story of Salamanca and Benjamin runs deep. A true test of time.
Jasper writes with a fluid poetic voice that makes this story outstanding. His style of creativity is remarkable. This was a thilling ride through the streets of D.C. an urban Romeo and Juliet vs the Godfather. The power of love and the ultimate test of time.

reviewed by
Dawnny