Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden (Book Review) and Giveaway

Title: Glorious
Author: Bernice L. McFadden
Publisher: Akashic Books
My synopsis: This is the story of Easter Bartlett. Her life started in Waycross, Georgia, where her sister survived a rape and her mother died of a broken heart when she discovered her husband's affair.  The lynching of a friend that she witnessed is what drove her out of the south and eventually to Harlem. 

This was the Harlem of the 1920's and 1930's.  A time now referred to as the Harlem Renaissance.  Easter was one of the few black people who could read and write and she spent much of her time writing stories.  This is a work of fiction but there are many historical people written into the story - Marcus Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen that gives the book a very believable thread. 

We learn much about Easter, that she married, how she became a widow, how she first got published in The Crisis under the byline E.V. Gibbs.  At this time Easter had a benefactor by the name of Meredith Tomas, a white woman.  Meredith was a wealthy widow in love with an old female friend of Easter's named Rain.  Rain and Easter both lived with Meredith and enjoyed the good life - for awhile.  Meredith began to do great amounts of what sounded like it could have been opium.  She began to behave rather strangely, going through her servants and friends belongings when they were not home, painting all the windows in her Penthouse black and even stopped receiving callers. 

She stumbles upon a manuscript of a novel that Easter is working on that is marvelous.  She becomes jealous that Easter is not sharing this work with her as she shares all of her other writings with Meredith so that Meredith can help her "polish" them.  This novel does not need that polish. What happens next is tragic, appalling and I wanted to jump up and tell the people involved to not be so stupid!  But it is this event that shapes the rest of Easter's life and eventually comes to fruition back in Waycross, Georgia.

My thoughts:  When I finally had the opportunity to pick up this novel I devoured it.  I carried it around with me for a day and a half until I was finally able to finish it.  Bernice McFadden is a wonderful story teller and even though the story takes place from Georgia to Chicago to Harlem it just flows.  The people and events that really happened are woven seamlessly with Easter's life and they bring the story to life.  The character of Rain is very colorful and I never really did decide whether I liked her and whether or not she was good for Easter.  I knew that I did not like Meredith and found her selfish from the beginning.  Easter I found to be brave, steadfast, always moving forward to the next place, the next "time" in her life - always accepting of what life had to offer her or not offer her.  My words cannot do justice to the struggle that you could feel in this story.  I highly recommend this novel.

~I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my review.~

GIVEAWAY!

The author has generously offered two autographed copies of her book to two of my readers!  To enter - just leave me a relevant comment with your email address.

Additional entries - Follow me on Google Friend Connect, Twitter, Tweet or blog the giveaway - or follow Bernice McFadden's blog or follow her on twitter.  Each entry must have it's own comment to get full credit.  This giveaway will end May 15 at 11:59PM CST.

Glorious
Publisher/Publication Date: Akashic Books, May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-936070-11-4
240 pages



BLOGMANIA IS HERE! WIN - WIN - WIN!

WELCOME TO BLOGMANIA!!


My blog is #50 of 123!

You’ve arrived at exactly the right time to explore lots of new blogs, all of which, ARE GIVING AWAY A VERY SPECIAL BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY (For One Day Only – April 30th) . (Don't forget to come back the next day though to sign up for my other giveaways on going in the right sidebar! - all g/a ending april 29 will be extended through the weekend!)


We’ve done all the work for you. No hunting or surfing. Each blog will have a number and each new blog link will have a number. These numbers will allow you to keep track of which blogs you’ve visited and how many are left to visit. Why not take a moment to make a list of blog numbers 1-123 and check off the blogs as you go.

I know you’ll want to visit as many blogs today as you can. So, if you see something that interests you on any of our participating blogs, why not bookmark that site. Later, when you have more time, you can discover all its fabulous treasures.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
 
MY GIVEAWAY and RULES:
 
From the list of books below 2 winners will be able to choose as many books as I can get to fit into one of these boxes. 

This will be limited to U.S. only - I am sorry that I don't have the funds to ship a box of books like this elsewhere.  This giveaway will end tonight - April 30th - at midnight CST.
 
All you have to do to enter is tell me how wonderful I am leave a comment WITH your email address.  You don't even have to follow me - but if you already do, or decide to - leave me another comment and you can have another entry.  That's it!  Easy!
 
To keep you rolling along - there are a few blogs listed below - each blog should give you some links to continue on - but if you should get lost, overwhelmed, kidnapped by pygmies, or have to stop to feed the kids - just check back here to pick up another link and get rolling again.
 
(Blog- 1 – HOST OF BLOGMANIA) Between The Pages
(Blog -2 – CO-HOST OF BLOGMANIA) The Black Sheep Dances
(Blog-43 - CO-HOST OF BLOGMANIA) Books, Books Everywhere
(Blog-101) Sarah's Blog of Fun
(Blog -89) Crush
(Blog-15) Survey Junkie
(Blog-44) The Neverending Shelf 
(Blog-17) Tairon’s Image
(Blog-115) The Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network
(Blog-24) Shelley’s Swag

Now - for the list of books!  (I may add more before the contest is over. . .)
  1. Disrupting Grace: A Story of Relinquishment and Healing
  2. A Touch of Scandal
  3. Alexandra, Gone
  4. How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly
  5. Waking Up in the Land of Glitter: A Crafty Chica Novel
  6. Here Burns My Candle: A Novel
  7. Obsession: An Erotic Tale
  8. The End of the Alphabet
  9. A Black Tie Affair
  10. Flirting with Forty
  11. Dad, Dog and Fish
  12. The Keys to the Vault
  13. The One-Day Way: Today Is All the Time You Need to Lose All the Weight You Want
  14. The Travelers
  15. Tales for Delicious Girls
  16. Angel and Apostle
  17. Hollywood Is like High School with Money
  18. Thirsty: A Novel 
  19. Countess of Scandal (The Daughters of Erin)
  20. Montana Legacy
  21. Catch of a Lifetime
  22. Tall, Dark & Fangsome (Immortality Bites, Book 5)
  23. One Scream Away
  24. Knight of Pleasure (All the King's Men)
  25. It Happened One Night
  26. Sins of the Flesh
  27. To Tempt the Wolf
  28. The Treasures of Venice: A passion they never expected and a danger they cannot escape
  29. A Highlander's Temptation
  30. Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz: A QuinceaƱera Club Novel (Quinceanera Club)
  31. Show No Fear (Navy SEALs)
  32. Chosen by Desire (The Guardians of Destiny)
  33. Never Blame the Umpire
  34. Enduring Justice (Defenders of Hope Series #3)
  35. When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir
  36. Unplanned Journey: A Triumph in Life and Death
  37. Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life
  38. The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper: A Novel
  39. Surviving High Society - Lots of Love Trumps Lots of Money
  40. Messages to Myself: Overcoming a Distorted Self-Image
  41. Nibble & Kuhn
  42. Ginger High
  43. The Cost of Dreams
  44. Blue Jean Baby: One Girl's Trip Through The 1960s L.A. Music Scene
  45. Dominatrix-Online.com - Mistress Blackheart: Policeman's Prerogative
  46. Painting the Invisible Man
  47. Family Plots: Love, Death & Tax Evasion
  48. Daniel's Den
  49. Bo's CafƩ: A Novel
  50. Ms. Taken Identity
  51. Searching for Tina Turner
  52. Hero's Tribute: A Novel
  53. Sugar Time
  54. On the Bluffs
  55. The Night Watchman (Ray Quinn Series, Book 1)
  56. Smart Girls Marry Money: How Women Have Been Duped Into the Romantic Dream--And How They're Paying For It
  57. The Unquiet Bones: The First Chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon
  58. Critical Care (Mercy Hospital, Book 1)
  59. Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker
  60. 100 Answers to 100 Questions About Being a Great Mom
  61. 100 Answers to 100 Questions About Being a Great Dad
  62. The Lake That Stole Children: A Fable
  63. The Age of Orphans: A Novel
  64. Never the Bride: A Novel
  65. Hot and Irresistible
  66. Abide with Me: A Photographic Journey Through Great British Hymns
  67. Gold of Kings: A Novel
  68. Jesse's Girl
  69. The Evolution of Shadows
  70. "You Wanna Go To Willard?" (Volume 1)
  71. Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and hat Really Goes on in the Kitchen
  72. Saint John of the Five Boroughs
  73. Abbeville
  74. Kids, Wealth, and Consequences: Ensuring a Responsible Financial Future for the Next Generation (Bloomberg)
  75. The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister
  76. Cole...I love You to the Moon and Back
  77. Comes a Horseman
  78. Love You to Death 

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...