Some People, Some Other Place : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT AS ALWAYS
Review: ALWAYS TRUE TO FORM J. CALIFORNIA COOPER HAS DONE IT AGAIN. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER. I WAITED IN ANTICIPATION FOR THIS BOOK TO HIT THE BOOKSHELVES AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. J. CALIFORNIA COOPER IS MY FAVORITE AUTHOR. HER WAY WITH WORDS AND HER ABILITY TO CAPTURE YOUR MIND AND KEEP YOUR INTEREST IN HER BOOKS IS SO AWESOME AND AMAZING TO ME.YOU ALWAYS FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW THE CHARACTERS IN HER BOOKS. I ALWAYS HATE FOR HER NOVELS TO COME TO AN END, BECAUSE I FIND MYSELF MISSING THE CHARACTERS, THAT'S WHY I HAVE READ HER NOVELS MORE THAN ONCE AND THIS BOOK IS NO DIFFERENT. EULA TOO HAS BEEN ADDED TO MY FAVORITE CHARATERS FROM A J. CALIFORNIA NOVEL. I WOULD LOVE TO MEET J. CALIFORNIA COOPER AND CONVERSE WITH HER. IN MY OPINION, SHE IS WHAT ZORA NEAL HURSTON WAS( A STEP ABOVE) AND WHAT TONI MORRISON COULD ONE DAY BE. KEEP IT COMING J.CALIFORNIA COOPER YOU ARE SO AWESOME!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: As always, Ms. Cooper has returned with another gigantic story being told by a person who has yet to be conceived.... This story is about a young girl and her family who resides in the south and is very poor; a story about her childhood, her family struggles, and her constant battle to better herself and the barriers that are forever in her path. Ms. Cooper takes you down a dirt road creating passion, fear, prejudice, excitement and an enormous amount of misery but in the end there is triumph.

This book is a masterpiece, just like all her other books and it tells a story that only Ms. Cooper can write. J. California Cooper has her own unique way of story telling which is why I missed her so much. It's good to read your writing again....Welcome back...


Rating:
Summary: Incomplete
Review: I am a fan of JC Cooper but this book was average, at best....In fact, I am a little upset with the whole book. It started out slow but slowly gained my interest, but the ending attempted to wrap up loose ends but did so only superficially...I felt like I wanted to like Eula Too, but now that I am thinking about it, you never really get to know her. You know what she does, but not really her. I think the characters of Ha, Lona, and Iris, which you meet almost at the end, are more vivid than Eula and Madame. The book was OK. Definitely just pick up a copy at the library instead of purchasing it like I did. I just read Tumbling, so I think alot of things will pale in comparison.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Read
Review: I have always been a great fan of Ms. Cooper, and have thoroughly enjoyed her previous literary works. Having an unborn child as the narrator was genius work. However, I feel that SPSOP is not her best. I did not "get to know" the main characters. I would have enjoyed knowing more about Jewel and Earle, as well as a little more about the older siblings that left home. Did some of them get an education? Become successful? Also,there were other loose ends. My opinion,"Wake of The Wind" and "Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime" are her best works. In all, Ms. Cooper continue to be one of my all time favorite authors.

Rating:
Summary: J. is a wonderful writer and person but...
Review: I have meet Mrs Cooper, and I can say that she is as colorful as the people she writes about. I loved every single book she has every written. I wait in anticipation for her book signings. So, just know that I am an avid J. California Cooper reader. However, I have to agree with one reader RachLuv, when she says that this book was not all that. When you are the author of the book "Wake of the Wind" you have fans for life, however, when you are the author who writes a book "Some People Some Other Place, and it's just not what you expected in your favorite author then you have some disappointment. She did state at the beginning of the book that she had been ill, so maybe this has somtething to do with this book.

The book like most of her books are about the poor black family, yet in this book it was more and nothing, it was preachy, not comitted to anything really. What did I learn from reading this book, nothing. It was not a good read. I felt sorry for every person in the book, and even at the end of the book I could not enjoy the so called happeness of Eula and her new man.

Read it but it get from the library and take it right back. Sorry J. I still love your work and no book can ever compare to Wake of the Wind" I read it three time.


Rating:
Summary: Her Best Book Ever
Review: I love all books written by J. California Cooper. It's because of her as a matter of fact that I learned to like short stories, but mostly only the ones written by her. "Some People, Some Other Place" is stupdendous. I started reading it this morning when I woke up and I have not been able to put it down until I turned the last page, tonight at midnight! The story unfolds through the eyes of an unborn child and drags only in the middle when Cooper focuses on some of the other characters, but all in all, there isn't a dull moment. This is one of the best books I have read this year. Please don't walk, but RUN to get you a copy of this book. It's J. California Cooper's BEST EVER!!

I put that on everything.





Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Books of the Year
Review: JAN. 2005
Syracuse, New York

I don't have time to review all the books I read, but I have to drop in and give J. California Cooper her props. "Some People, Some Other Place" is like fluid beautiful light. It is such a great body of writing and the author is long missed. I love this book and recommend it to anyone who wants a great story that tugs at the heart but also opens the mind.

Books you can count on for a sensational read. All of these are worth the money and they do not disappoint:

"Some People, Some Other Place"--J. California Cooper

"Leaving Cecil Street"--Diane Mckinney Whetstone

"The Darkest Child"--Delores Phillips

"The HoneyWell"--Gloria Mallette

"Flesh and the Devil"--Kola Boof

"Brick Lane"--Monica Ali

"Dark Corner"--Brandon Massey

"The Good House"--Tananarive Due

"AFTERBURN"--Zane (the girl is BACK with a really good one!)





Rating:
Summary: An Unusual Story by a Gifted Writer
Review: Some People, Some Other Place tells the story of a young girl who leaves her mother and lots of brothers and sisters in the South to make a better life for herself in Chicago. Eula Too's mother depends on her to help her raise these babies she keeps having. Finally, Eula Too has enough and starts on her way. Along the way tragedy strikes Eula Too and she is rescued by a kindly woman who happens to be the Madame of a brothel. The woman nurses Eula Too back to health and gives her work to do. Eula Too becomes educated, saves money, and learns about the finer things in life while working for Madame. The Madame grows attached to Eula Too and is in desperate need of a friend which she finds in Eula Too. Madame grows to depend on Eula Too more and more and steadily increases her responsibilities and privileges in her home.

The first half of this book had me eager to read page after page to see what would happen next. I thought Eula Too had more sense instilled in her than she did. I thought she would have had sense enough to get out of the brothel and into a better environment. Eula Too was not one of the "ladies" upstairs and neither was she judgemental toward them, but after awhile when I saw that this was going to be the main setting, I was turned off and stopped reading for a few days and then started only reading a few pages a day. I also got tired of reading about the Madame's social dinners and her wealthy, "perfect" lifestyle.

Soon after I grew bored, the story became exciting again. The second half of the book is about when Madame returns to her hometown to care for her mother (Eula Too goes with her). J. California is vivid in describing the characters who live on Dream Street. I liked how she would introduce the character in the present and then go back in time showing you why that person is the way he or she is. These descriptions and plots with various neighbors made the book move and made me eager to know how things were going to turn out. J. California really knows people and how to write about them.

I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that Eula Too's character was not that developed. She was almost like a stock character in many parts of the story. She worked hard, saved money, helped other people, but sometimes things just happened a little too easily for her to be believable.

I give this book four stars because the story is interesting and reading about the various characters' lives was fascinating. I have read all of J. California Cooper's books and admire her down to earth style of writing. This wasn't my favorite book by her, but I definitely did enjoy it (except in the middle) and will reread it soon.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: This was some good read. I like the way J.California Cooper tells a tale. The story was engrossing I found it hard to put down. The charcters are so feelable. This is one of the best books I've read. You won't be disappointed with this.

Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly Beautiful
Review: What can one say about Ms. Cooper's work? Fabulous. Each book simply outshines the next. A delightful tale that you will certainly enjoy. Also, check out the novel LUST OF THE FLESH. A compelling, enlightening, riveting pageturner of love, lust, deceit, murder, mystery, suspense and sex, sex, sex. An enjoyable read. Happy reading!