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Lovell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 06:05 pm: | 
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I've read an amazing novel, LEAVING - Author: Richard Dry. The novel tells the story of three generations of an African-American family. Each chapter of the book details the lives of a different generation's family members, which can be confusing with all the characters involved. Dry, However, provides a family tree in front of the book and at the beginning of each chapter he sets forth the characters with their names, ages, and years. LEAVING is a groundbreaking novel that explores family turmoil and racial discrimination. It's truly a must read and should be given the literary attention it deserves.
I just have a few questions for anyone out there who has already read the book.
1. What is your impression of the novel?
2. What is your overall impression about the way the Richard Dry wrote the novel?
3. Did you get confused or distracted moving back and forth while reading the novel?
4. How do you feel about the characters and their situations?
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Anita
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 06:39 pm: |
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1. I loved it. I read it last summer and instantly felt a kinship to each character.
2. Superb. I appreciated the manner in which he made me think as a reader. I knew there had to be a reason for the tension amongst the characters. I don't want to flub the names, but Lil Pit, his flawed mother, and the uncle most haunted me.
3. Not at all. I appreciated the build-up, the tension, and the multiple perspectives. As a reader, I like to know what makes characters tick, what ails them, what they fear, what they desire. The characters were exposed in a multidimensional fashion. I was literally breathless at the end of the novel. I was so moved that I e-mailed Richard and commended his writing.
4. I viewed the book as a different Great Migration story. Often, when AA literature highlights the migration, we see characters in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. I never expected a California tale, nor did I foresee so many twists and turns. The characters and their situations typify life; they also are a case study in the importance of healing generational curses.
So, what did you think? |
Thumper
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 09:52 pm: |
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Hello All,
Lovell, I have to agree with Anita on all counts. I LOVED Leaving!! Dry hit a home run on this one. At first, I was somewhat leary about the book because I'm scared of BAB. But, once I got to reading it, I was hooked! The time shifts didn't bother me as I thought it would. But, I have to take my hat off for inclusion of the excerpts from the histroy books, slave narratives and biographies that was placed at the end of each chapter. Brilliant. Easily one of the best books I read this year!! |
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