Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Mother of Pearl
Book Review: Too Scattered
Summary: 2 Stars
This novel is full of people on the outside of society in the 1950s South: the black orphan, the daughter of the town's whore, the old lesbian couple, the witch who lives in the woods, the white boy raised by a black woman after his mother has a stroke giving birth to him.
All of these characters meet throughout the story. They pair up and fall in love, discover the truth about their parents, tempt fate and death, and accidentally get pregnant.
A lot happens in this novel, but I didn't feel like it really came together. There were connections, some unusual, between characters, such as the relationship between Val's aunt and Joleb's priest. However, there was no unifying "Aha!" moment in the book when everything clicked. I felt like the author tried too hard to link everyone, but it didn't quite work out. Furthermore, I thought the mystical elements, such as the dreams and Joody's abilities, were out of place in a book that otherwise was grounded in realism. This book simply went in too many directions to keep my interest.
Book Review: Too much symbolism makes for a "blah" novel
Summary: 2 Stars
The characters were interesting, my favorites were Val, Joleb, Canaan, and Grace. The plot for the most part kept me interested--the romance between Val & Jackson (and their true blood relationship), the romance between Canaan and Grace, the friendship between Canaan and Even, the flood, and the pregnancy. Joleb was a surprise for me. At first I did not like him (how he treated Val), but after he had a breakdown, his character and the stuff that came out of his mouth were so funny-- the only light part of the book.
What kept stopping me from really enjoying this novel, was all the symbolism and metaphors and dreams. I didn't understand what they meant and how they were related to the theme, plot, or characters. Symbolism means a lot to me in a book but too much of it (as in this case) cripples it. Mother of Pearl had large sections of incomprehensible metaphors, and I ended up skimming whole chapters, which is something I hate to do! This image of a pig appeared three separate times and I still don't understand the point. Anytime a chapter or section was devoted to one of the main characters, Joody Tu-Soon (or whatever it was), I skimmed those as well.
Book Review: Trying too hard?
Summary: 3 Stars
I wasn't completely put off by Melinda Haynes' 'Mother of Pearl', but neither was I completely satisfied. I have debated with myself if I should award two or three stars, and I decided on three stars, because there are some well developed characters in this strange story. The reader will sometimes get the feeling that the author is trying too hard making this story the story of the century, and I am not sure this book deserves it.
Perhaps it is just me, but there were parts I had to skim. I had trouble understanding what the whole thing was about, and I felt too many things were left unsaid. It is not that a story needs to be pinned out, but too much symbolism and too many unsaid things makes one confusing story. And I was confused at times. And it is not like the plot is so unusual that you'll HAVE to make it that difficult to read.
All that said, the plot was good, and the book well written for the most parts. It is about the girl Valuable, growing up with her grandmother in a little town in Mississippi in the 1950'es. Due to coincidence (or is it?) Valuable make friends with black 'witch' Joody TwoSun, who lives by the Creek. Through this 'friendship', she also meets Joody's lover, Even Grade, his friend Canaan and Canaan's woman-friend Grace. There is also Valuable's boyfriend Jackson, and the troubled teenager Joleb. All of them has a voice in the story, and it is not always pleasant what they'll have to say. There is much drama in the story, most of it circling around Valuable and Jackson's relationship and around Even Grade, and his thoughts on life, him having grown up as an orphan. The racial problems in the South in the 1950'es and 60'es are touched upon, but it it not this story's main plotline, although it lures in the back of your mind while reading.
It took me a long time to plow through this one, and I am torn between recommending it or not!
Book Review: Very hard to follow
Summary: 2 Stars
The language in this book is very hard to wade through and the story seems to skip around quite a bit. Overall, it's a confusing read. I have read several books in the Oprah book club, but this by far is the hardest one to get through. If you like complex, winding stories, this might be the book for you. On the other hand, if you like quick, light reads that don't require much thought, skip ahead or better yet, you might just want to skip the Oprah books altogether!Book Review: Wanted SO bad to give it five stars
Summary: 4 Stars
(... How) did Jolib know his mother said "call Joe Lieb---" when she was giving birth? ('they' thought she said call him Jolib--thus how he got his name) Grace wasn't in the picture yet. She was hired as wet nurse after the birth. His mother had a stroke GIVING birth and his father never knew anything about Joe Lieberstein. How did Grace know her husband told a joke before being hung. She wasn't there. Word of mouth?
And a black man being allowed to raise a white child in 1961??
I loved the way the book was written but these things bothered me.