Rating: Summary: Interesting in more than one way! Review: The book Mama Day was a very creative book. The sorcery that was represented in this book seemed to be old country knowledge. The main character Mama Day was full of wisdom because of all the things she encountered throughout her life. Gloria Naylor used many wonderful techniques in writing this book. This is an excellent Novel for anyone who enjoys a modern or contemporary book, or even a good love story. I wish that I could find out how Cocoa carried on with her life.
Rating: Summary: An intelligent read Review: Mama day lacks the character and spirit of Gloria Naylor's earlier novel in her "Women of Brewster placE" trilogy, Bailey's Cafe, but continues to explore the lives and destiny of the Christ child born in Bailey's Cafe. The issues explored are important, and the novel stands as a strong cultural symbol, and I reccomend it to any Gloria Naylor fans.
Rating: Summary: Mama Day Review: I am an avid reader, and this is by far one of the most powerful books I have read in years. It is a love story unlike any love story I've ever encountered. It tells about love of one's home, one's family, one's life, one's passion, and one's lover. It is filled with a wisdom that I can only hope to have by the time I die. The book is set in both the Sea Islands off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia and in New York City. Being from the South and having vacationed on various sea islands, as well as embarking on a new life in New York City in the next few months, I could not have been more enthusiastic about reading this book. Once started, I could not put it down. I feel like I've been allowed in on all these little secrets I would never know on my own - and I can't wait to go stand in the middle of the George Washington Bridge in order to add to my appreciation of New York. You'll have to read the book to discover what that is all about! To say I'm obsessed with this book is an understatement, and I've already bought it for every person that I care about. I could not give it a higher rating - truly added to my favorite book list (the other two are The Awakening and Anna Karenina). You MUST read this book!!! It will impress you in a way unlike any other...
Rating: Summary: A Thin Line Between Myth and Reality Review: Gloria Naylor's novel touches our inner conscience and causes us to question the thin line between myth and reality. Naylor describes a world where mankind controls the elements of the air, their own destiny, and reality. Her descriptive passages allows her readers to enter into her world of magic in such a way, that one could delightfully lose themselves in the expression of her words. Willow Springs is a place where the whispers of our ancestors tingle our ears with secrets of the past and future. It is an excellent book to sit down, relax, and cross over a mental 'bridge' into an unmapped dimension.
Rating: Summary: Page-turner Romance Review: Gloria Naylor's book Mama Day was wonderful. The story is told from the perspective of several main characters. The voice switches back and forth from character to character. You become attached the the characters and what is going on in their heads. You sympathize with them, want them to be happy. The romance between Cocoa and George is so honest and vibrant. They are not perfect, but they love each other. Mama Day portrays relationships as works in progress, not perfect ideals to be attained. Some of the themes include a search for identity and love of family and traditions. The community of Willow Springs is a community all its own, which hails no state affiliation. Naylor's phenomenal book makes the reader question his own identity in relation to his family history and relationships.
Rating: Summary: Thank You Gloria Naylor. Review: I first read Mama Day 11 years ago and reread it immediately because I loved the story and characters so much. I am now reading it again and am still enthralled with the characters, events, and words. This is wonderful love story. It is about the love of oneself, others, your past, present and future. I always recommend this book because it is so beautiful.
Rating: Summary: Totally engrossing and extremely compelling Review: You will be compelled to read this book over and over again. The characters will draw you into this story set in New York City and a fictional small island town located somewhere between Georgia and S. Carolina. The supernatural aspects of the book will leave you breathlessly in awe of Naylor's ability to weave times, events, and characters into an intrinsic quilt of fictious reality. There were times I forgot the characters were not real people and that Willow Springs does not actually exist. Naylor's words alone create the smells, tastes, and colors of a rural island town, as she brings the characters alive with colorful dialogue and imagery, placing her on equal ground with authors like Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler (Kindred). Each time you read this book, you will discover pieces of a complex puzzle that you might have overlooked the first time. This is a books that requires you to stay aware while reading it.
Rating: Summary: Thought-Provoking, Powerful and Compelling story of family Review: I had to read this book for my African American Literature class this past semester(April 2000) at Texas Southern Univ. and what a powerful, powerful story. The book tells the story of a family troubled by their past and secrets and how elders of a family can hinder your growth as individual. How you can pass your fears onto your own family members and keep them from truly living their lives. Mama Day is a renewing story of power, faith, courage and strength. How we can overcome the fears of our past and move on to true earthly glory. The story focuses on the Day family, Mama (Miranda),her sister Abigail and Cocoa. Black women who's family has owned an island that borders Georgia and South Carolina, since 1891. They live simple and at times very eventful lives on this island, along with other local residents such as Bernice and Ambush, Dr.Buzzard, Ruby, Junior Lee, Pearl and countless others. What a beauitfully woven story that's sure to keep your attention and leave you questioning what's more important to you and your family.I thank Dr.Taylor-Thompson for assigning me this book, as well as Gloria Naylor's other novels to read and present to the class. I truly feel blessed to have been in her class both of my first semesters at Texas Southern University. She's a beauitful and wonderful mentor, who's inspired me in so many ways.
Rating: Summary: Mama Day Review: I've been in love with Naylor's text since I randomly picked "Bailey's Cafe" off of the library shelves one August afternoon. Naylor's great gift is character development. Her characters are at once vividly realistic and too exotic to exist. She balances on a tightrope stretched between anecdote and the mythical, and does it admirably well. Her style is highly feminized and full of integrity. Grittier than Morrison, but with the same taste for the spontaneous, Naylor writes enchantingly from start to finish, making any of her books hard to put down. "Mama Day" has become my favorite of her works. Granted, it is not entirely typical. Instead of being a piecemeal of viewpoints and stories, "Mama Day" reads as a more full and well-bodied text. The story here is a clever balance between a story of modern-day-woe and disillusionment and the magic of community and family. As well, this is a story about colonialism of the soul and acquisition of identity, a theme tough to tackle under any circumstance. Naylor, however, uses her easy-to-read prose and her glib-tongued characters to intrigue and entrap, writing the story around both reader and text. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
Rating: Summary: An Old-Fashioned Modern-Day Romance Review: If my review title doesn't intrigue you, I don't know what will. Mama day is an amazing love story, but on a different level than most. Gloria Naylor uses her normally powerful language to create a rich storyline that will captivate the readers. In Mama Day, she combines love, magic, superstition, and sacrifice all into one cohesive plot loaded with strong, well-developed, distinct characters. She brings modern day ideas to the traditional residents of the island of Willow Springs, which makes for interesting reading. This book brings together many extraordinary beliefs and instills the factors involved in having good stong family values. Mama Day is a wonderfully written book, mainly because you bond with the incredible characters all the way through to the amazing climax. You cannot go wrong with Gloria Naylor's Mama Day.
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