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Mississippi Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Embrace the Rain

Published in Kindle Edition by Chances Press (2008-04-23)

Author: Michael Holloway Perronne

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Average review score:

Who editted this book?

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-01

For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. It is a little short, and I think there were some flaws with the character development (mainly, traits were given to us artificially, with heavy handed language)but for the most part the characters were relatable and likeable. That being said, the plot is well thought out and kept my interest throughout.

Despite the interesting plot and likeable characters, the editting is so poor that I was constantly distracted by problems with grammar and even names. Several punctuation marks are missing, an innocent mistake that I can forgive. However, on a couple of occassions, the author seemed to have rewritten a sentence and forgot to change the words to fit the newly formed sentence.

The most flagrent lack of editting was that the author couldn't keep track of the characters' names. One of the minor characters is consitantly getting a name change, alternately being called T.J. or A.J. In one of the more important scenes, the author confuses the names two of the main characters.

This book should be rereleased after being looked at by a proper editor.

A novel exploring traditional families dealing with radical change

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-09

The lives of three families intertwine in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. "Embrace the Rain" is the story of these families trying to rebuild their lives following the massive disaster. In addition to the trouble of rebuilding, a new family appears, Mexican American, bringing their culture into the community and causing rifts. The return of the expelled gay son of one of the families doesn't help things. A novel exploring traditional families dealing with radical change, "Embrace the Rain" is an intriguing read straight through, highly recommended for community library fiction collections.

Perronne is Back and Better

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-12

Perronne, Michael Holloway. "Embrace the Rain", Chances Press, 2008.

Perronne is Back and Better

I have been following Michael Perronne's writing since I fell in love with his first book. "A Time Before Me". It was a story that touched me because it was about my home town, New Orleans. Then in his two books that followed, I noticed a more disciplined Perronne whose writing was becoming more and more polished. Now with "Embrace the Rain", he is at his story telling best and his prose is the best he has written. (Of course the fact that the book is set near New Orleans and after Katrina did influence my opinion. There has not been a lot published about the storm that tried to carry New Orleans and the Gulf South away so when I do get a chance to read about it, I am like a kid eating popcorn at the movies. I was there during Katrina and did not know what was going on and I have not been back since I relocated to Arkansas),
"Embrace the Rain" is about teen romance and how it affects those involved directly as well as those on the periphery. The novel is set a year after Katrina in the town of Long Beach, Mississippi. Matt a high school football player is dating cheerleader Alison. Matt's family is wealthy and the family business is involved in the rebuilding after the storm. Sean, Matt's gay brother, who has been living in San Francisco, decides to come home only to face difficulties with his father who cannot accept his lifestyle. Matt's father has therefore put a lot of pressure on Matt to be a real "man" since his other son seems to have failed at the job. Matt, however, is having his own problems and is suffering from a personal crisis that began when, during Katrina, he had to be rescued from his bedroom. Matt has chosen not to share his problems with anyone and because of this has no one to confide in or talk to. He has begun to feel trapped in his own little world.
Into the picture comes another family. The Santos family moves from California to Mississippi so that Mr. Santos can find work in the construction that was going on. His family now has to deal with both social and cultural change. Moving from their Hispanic neighborhood, they now have to live among Blacks and Whites who have their own problems dealing with accepting each other and now a Mexican family enters the picture.
As can be expected Mr. Santos gets a job from Matt's father but no one was prepared what would happen when Javier, Santo's son, met Alison. Matt and Javier have a differing of the ways (to say the least). When Alison breaks up with Matt, Matt loses it and hits rock bottom and even though Alison and Javier had not done anything more than be attracted to one another, they feel to blame for Matt's depression and for what happens next.
Sean becomes involved in his family again but his father both rejects and disrespects him and he returns to California but when the family crisis peaks, Sean again steps in and his mother agrees to accept whatever help he can give. By opening the door to his world, she is able to see her son as the fine person that he is.
So what does "Embrace the Rain" do for us aside from being a wonderful read? I think what it does is show us that we all have the ability to overcome crises. In order to do that, however, it is necessary to be open to what we can learn when we are in crisis. Here is the story of a teen that needs help and people were too wrapped in their own worlds to see it or to even care. Almost everyone had to learn how to overcome guilt feelings and instead of waiting to do something, they should be ready to step in. We must all learn acceptance and understanding of ourselves and others.
Congratulations on a job well done, Michael. You just keep getting better and better.

An excellent novel

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-28

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (4/08)

"Embrace the Rain" begins a year after the devastation of hurricane Katrina. The story takes place in a small coastal town in Mississippi. High School cheerleader Alison and football player Matt are dating. Matt comes from a wealthy family whose business is now heavily involved in the rebuilding of the area. Matt has a brother, Sean, who is homosexual and living in San Francisco. Matt's father has difficulties with accepting his son's homosexuality. He puts a lot of pressure on Matt to be his idea of the perfect son. Nobody realizes that Matt is in an emotional crisis that began when he had to be rescued from his bedroom during Katrina. He is keeping his problems a secret, so he has nobody to turn to. As the situation worsens, he feels that there is no way out.

When the father of the Santos family uproots them from California and moves them to the area for work, his wife and children have to deal with the cultural change. They were used to living among the people of their Mexican-American culture. Now they are living in a predominately white and black area. The whites and blacks have had their own issues to overcome with each other. The Santos' do not feel well received or accepted.

Mr. Santos has gone to work for Matt's father. When his handsome son Javier meets Alison, Matt's girlfriend, they are both attracted to each other. Matt and Javier clash. When Alison breaks up with Matt, he hits bottom. Even though they haven't done anything wrong, Javier and Alison take the brunt of the blame on what happens next.

Sean finds himself getting involved in the family crisis. Initially, he is rejected and disrespected by his father. He leaves to go back to his life and new love interest in San Francisco. Because he is a person of integrity, when the crisis reaches its highest peak, he steps in again. His mother accepts his help. This time he is able to introduce her to his life and she can see what an incredible son she has.

"Embrace the Rain," teaches that crisis can be overcome if we learn from the lessons that are being taught while we are going through the experience. Several people in this story had to learn how to handle and overcome the feelings of guilt that they felt for not stepping in and doing something to help a teenager when he needed it. Parents and friends learned lessons about needing to try to do what is best for their loved ones, and not waiting until it is too late. There was also a strong theme about the importance of accepting other people from different cultures.

"Embrace the Rain" is an excellent novel that will impart some valuable lessons to the reader. It will be enjoyed by both young adults and adults.

FORTS OF THE WEST, MILITARY FORTS AND PRESIDIOS AND POSTS COMMONLY CALLED FORTS WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO 1898

Published in Hardcover by Norman University of Oklahoma Press (1965)

Author: Robert W Frazer

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Average review score:

I agree... a fundamental research tool for historians

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-19

My hardback copy of this work was printed in 1977 and it shows the wear. It's tried repeatedly to sneak back out of view on my bookshelves, but I always hunt it down and bring it back to the front where it belongs. I've referred to it thousands of times in my researches, in addition to reading through it entirely on several occasions. The data concerning the openings and closings of the individual forts, the reasoning for the need for each and the mentions of events and units involved are all invaluable.

This work has gone out of print several times through the years, but it always comes back and pays its own way for new readers.

If you love the history of the west you need to own this book.

I disagree - very poor

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-14

If you only care about the opening and closing dates, who it was named after, and a one sentence reason as to why it was established, then this bare bones book is for you. Do not expect any other information OF IMPORTANCE here. No history of important engagements near or involving each fort is given, which I find incredibly negligent.

Examples: NO mention is made of the Fetterman Massacre in the entry on Fort Phil Kearny, or the Wagon Box Fight for that matter.
NO mention is made of the Hayfield Fight in the entry on Fort C.F. Smith.
NO mention is made of the two huge attacks on Julesberg, CO by a thousand Cheyennes in which the town was burned to the ground just outside Fort Sedgwick. I could go on.

Don't expect ANY information on important engagements the various forts may have been a part of. However if you are really curious as to whether the fort was turned over to the Dept. of the Interior on its abandonment, then this book is for you. That fact is always listed. This book has exactly 4 photographs and 5 drawings.

Though out of print, I recommend Herbert M. Hart's western fort series: "Pioneer Forts of the West", "Forts of the Far West", and "Old Forts of the Northwest". These books have hundreds of B&W photos, detailed histories of engagements the forts partook in, as well as opening and closing dates, and a diagram of almost every fort discussed. You could just pick up the whole series (used) for less than the price of this book.

Excellent reference tool on western forts

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-19

In the introduction to this book, Frazer refers to his compilation of military forts as "brief biographies." Based on that description, the book is an excellent reference tool in identifying by name, location, length of service, and summary purpose all the known forts located west of the Mississippi River up to 1898.

The book is arranged by state, with forts listed therein alphabetically. Although Frazer warns that locations are only approximate, they are still given with enough detail to place them fairly accurately on a topo map. When forts changed locations even by just a few miles (Ft. Hall, ID, for example), both forts are described. This is basically a listing, and most of the forts are detailed only briefly; when important events occurred, however, they are mentioned (Ft. Cobb, OK, for example, being attacked by Indians on October 23, 1862). Even forts that were unnamed or in existence for only a few months are included.

I have used this book often, either for quick identification or as a stepping stone to more detailed investigations. The bibliography is one of the most thorough I've seen on the subject (36 pages long). The index is also very comprehensive, containing all the names and places mentioned in the text. As a reference tool for identifying forts and gleaming a brief account of their "biographies," Frazer's book is superb.

TOTALLY NECESSARY FOR WESTERN STUDIES.

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1997-11-06

This book names the forts, presidios, and posts west of the Mississippi River to 1898, and not only does the author give the location but he gives some historical facts. If I had the money, I would take this book, get me a good travel map and visit each of the places mentioned! Last month I went to several Texas forts, an old Presidio and an Arizona fort. The book was invaluable!

Ghosts of Medgar Evers, The: A Tale of Race, Murder, Mississippi, and Hollywood

Published in Hardcover by Random House (1998-01-27)

Author: Willie Morris

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Well written, interesting - Morris is a master at his craft

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-03

First and foremost, Morris is an excellent writer and is particularly adept in my favorite genre: Creative Nonfiction.

The book starts with a short Medgar Evers history lesson culminating with his assignation and two hung juries in the subsequent murder trials of Beckwith. The book picks up in present-day Mississippi and details the reopening of the case, investigation, and eventual prosecution and conviction of Beckwith. That probably comprises the first third of the book. The next two-thirds detail the conception and execution of the Movie: Ghosts of Mississippi. Morris is detailed in his descriptions of movie making, from nuts and bolts film making to Hollywood politics. Of particular interest, is how the locals in Mississippi reacted and how Hollywood got along in the Deep South during the filming. He was able to deftly weave in pearls (as well as substantial blemishes) from Mississippi's past, much as he did in "The Courting of Marcus Dupree". Morris takes us through the filming of the movie to its nation-wide release and eventually to what he calls "troubles". The "troubles" piece is essentially a description and commentary on the reception (and substantial criticism) that "Ghosts" received in Hollywood, Mississippi and around the country.

If you enjoy nonfiction and have interest in the South, Hollywood, and Civil Rights I think you'll enjoy it (regardless of your opinion of the movie it describes).

Well written account

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-03

First and foremost, Morris is an excellent writer and is particularly adept in my favorite genre: Creative Nonfiction.

If you enjoy nonfiction and have interest in the South, Hollywood, and Civil Rights I think you'll enjoy it (regardless of your opinion of the movie it describes).

A masterful interweaving of history and autobiography.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1998-02-23

A sixth-generation Mississippian, Willie Morris is particularly well known for his many books ("The Courting of Marcus Dupree," "New York Days," and the classic autobiography "North Toward Home"),and articles in which he compares his experiences and his long and complex Southern heritage to America's own history. Morris once again effectively juxtaposes and intertwines history with autobiography in "The Ghosts of Medgar Evers." He served as a historical consultant for the movie, "Ghosts of Mississippi," the true story of the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers and the 30-year pursuit of the assassin, Byron De La Beckwith. Morris not only provides an insider's view to Hollywood film making, discussing the making of the movie and why it failed at the box office, but lyrically blends the past and present as he examines his beloved Mississippi, the South, and racial healing. A compelling book by a first-rate writer and well-known commentator on the national scene. (And don't miss the wonderful reminiscences of his youth, "My Dog Skip.")

Great man!

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 1999-02-23

Medgar Evers was a great man! If Martin Luther King hadn't been born, Evers would have been the one to change it all!

Grady Baby: A Year in the Life of Atlanta's Grady Hospital

Published in Hardcover by University Press of Mississippi (1999-11)

Author: Jerry Gentry

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Informative, emotional reading

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-01-02

Gentry does an excellent job of getting the reader involved in the daily dramas that make up Grady Hospital. You could not begin to make up the tales of some of these characters! Riveting.

Grady Baby delivers gripping true life stories

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-29

I found this book hard to put down.

I constantly kept thinking of what the main characters might pull next.

This book demonstrates that life can be stranger than fiction.

This indepth study of a maternity ward is a winner!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-12

What an amazing book! Jerry Gentry studied the patients, nurses, and doctors that make up the Grady Hospital Maternity Ward in Atlanta. He follows several mothers on their journey through prenatal care, pregnancy, and the births of their children. He then follows up after the babies are born. I found this book compelling because it demonstrates every aspect of its subjects' lives. You feel like you personally know the people discussed. It is an emotional and monetarial journey of hardships for most of the mothers involved. Being an Atlanta native this novel has given me new respect for Grady hospital. A great ethnography for anyone interested in the subject and/or social behavior.

Excellent, different, riveting stories...

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-06

This book is very different. The stories themselves will urge you not to put it down.

Although these true stories are sad, the compassionate author weaves the storylines expertly. You know he looks at his main characters with empathy, not contempt.

All Atlantans know Grady Hospital and will understand and appreciate these stories. All others will find Grady Baby fascinating.

Haunted St. Louis: History & Hauntings Along the Mississippi

Published in Paperback by Whitechapel Productions (2002-01)

Author: Troy Taylor

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Average review score:

St Louis history..on the weird side!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-10

I expected the typical ghost book...spook in this house, haunt in that house...but this is a very interesting history of St Louis as well. I thought I knew quite a bit about the town, but this one opened my eyes. Very easy to read, even though you'll find a few typos, I enjoyed the book a lot!

If you liked this book, read 'Sons of the Profits' about Seattle. Both books take some of the polish of the founding of their respective cities! Fun book!

FASCINATING BOOK!!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-07

I was born in and lived as a child in or near the St. Louis metro area,and found this book to be FASCINATING.I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of St. Louis,whether they have any interest in "ghosts/hauntings" or not!Personally,both elements attracted me to the book (history & the paranormal)and found it to be a very interesting read.My favorite chapter has to be the last:an account of the exorcism that went on to inspire the film "The Exorcist" - reading this truly made my "skin crawl"!A fun book

Enough already

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-10

Only a fraction of this book is about St. Louis hauntings. Everything but the kitchen sink is pulled in--including St. Louis caves--and everything, but everything, in this book has been published elsewhere and in many cases in more detail. I keep buying Troy Taylor's books because they always sound so interesting. Then I get them and find they only deal partially with the promised subject as they wander through all sorts of other territory. This man's standards for facts versus fancy are nearly nonexistent, too, and he could use a strong editor to get his copy tight and focused. Not to bash him--he does select wonderful topics and is a great conversationalist in print. And there is a lot interesting to find in his books. He needs to ask more of himself and give us loyal readers better quality. I'll give him this--he's got my number and I'll bet you anything I'll also buy whatever his next book is. And be disappointed again.

A good read on St. Louis history

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-03

Although the title of this book is misleading it is a great source for the colorful history of St. Louis. I was disapointed on how little was dedicated to the ghosts in St. Louis but nonetheless it is very interesting and, in my personal opinion, worth picking up. You will learn a lot.

Inside Peyton Place: The Life of Grace Metalious (Banner Book)

Published in Paperback by University Press of Mississippi (2000-04-01)

Author: Emily Toth

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Average review score:

A trailblazer in blue jeans

Helpful Votes: 28 out of 30 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-17

Grace Metalious said that she highly doubted if anyone would remember the title "Peyton Place" after her death. Sadly, she died in 1964, from alcoholism, less than ten years after Peyton Place was published. Emily Toth's biography is a fascinating and compelling story of how two women (Metalious and publisher Kitty Messner)rocked the publishing world with a book that many publishers scoffed at, and dismissed as trash. Toth reveals how timing and crafty publicity tactics started a sensational buzz about a book that was ripe for America's stagnant and sterile 1950's. It broke all records for book sales up to that time, and held that spot for over 10 years. The financial success was liberating yet highly troubling for Grace. It led to a broken marriage, several unhappy afairs, tensions with her family and a fatal addiction to alcohol. Once Peyton Place took off, it had a life of it's own. Although it was continually associated with Grace, she had no control over the popular movie or sensational television series. Grace Metalious was independent, outspoken, and certainly not a conformist. She broke all the rules, succeeded, yet paid a hefty price.

Exceptional biography

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-06

I read Peyton Place at its fifty year mark for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my book group. The biography offered wonderful addenda to our discussion, and gave me a clear picture of Grace Metalious. It is very well written, and reads like a novel. Do both and do your book group a favor!

Unexpected pleasure

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-06

I picked up this book and thought it would be some old fashioned boring novel, I was verry surprised the book was sensational, I could not put it down. I am now reading Return to Peyton Place and am equally impressed. It is as current as any book written today. All things don't change.

Peyton Place

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 20 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-10

This is a good book but can't say it "blows the stagnant 1950s" away (there were exposes before PP and after so it would be a stretch to say that it affected the 1950s in any way!) That being said, there's another book that PP fans should read (if you can find it: Girl from Peyton Place) and is a bio of Grace written in 1964 before the tv series premierred and after her death. Very good! One thing to say about PP it was the first popular nighttime soap (One Man's Family from the 50s aside) that had all of us talking the next day on our way to work about what those:"depraved people were doing in that dirty little town!" Anyhow, good to see someone taking an interest in this subject as the book and its movies and tv series' were cultural icons of the mid 20th century.

The Joker's Love Tune

Published in Hardcover by Genesis Press (1998-09-01)

Author: Sidney Rickman

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Average review score:

An ace of a love story amidst the Gulf Coast casinos

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-04

Sam Bennett feels he lives the ideal lifestyle. He loves running a Reno casino and deeply cherishes his spouse Azia. However, heaven crashes when Azia dies in a camping accident. Five years later, Sam still has not gotten over his grief nor his guilt. However, Sam tries another new start when he takes over managing the new Sand Dollar Casino and Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi.

However, Sam was not ready for the restart of the beating of his heart. When he first sees his assistant Abby Thompson, Sam is stunned. He realizes for the first time since Azia died, he finds a woman attractive and fascinating. Surprising herself after a disastrous affair in Nevada, Abby reciprocates Sam's feelings. As they fall in love, a hurricane threatens to destroy their casino. Besides needing to overcome the specter of their previous relationships, they also have to surmount danger from a real sentient being out of their Nevada past.

THE JOKER'S LOVE TUNE provides readers a feel for the new Mississippi as the author brillainatly describes the clash of cultures between casinos and the old-time Gulf Coast residents. The subplots are quite interesting and add to the contemporary romance by providing the readers with glimpses behind the scenes of a casino and the terror caused by a pending hurricane. Abby and Sam are a perfect pair from the first moment they met even though they have a lot of baggage to recycle. Rolling a seven, Sidney Rickman proves he is no joker when it comes to scribing a warm, exciting tale.

Harriet Klausner

Well-written and Exciting!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-08

As a resident of the Gulf Coast and frequent visitor to the Mississippi casinos, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Rickman's book. The story is well-written and I found the details of the "behind-the-scenes" operations of the casino business exciting and informative. Also, the threat of the hurricane was very real and brought back recent memories. I'm looking forward to Ms. Rickman's next book!

Loved this book!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-29

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Joker's Love Tune." The characters are believable, the story is fast-paced, and the dialogue is intelligent. Abby, the chief character, is very appealing. She's a strong, independent woman, but one who has not lost her femininity. From the beginning it's obvious that she and Sam are perfect for each other, but the two of them have to overcome the shadows of their pasts before they can believe in love again. The book has an unusual setting in the casino world of the Gulf Coast, and it builds to an exciting thriller-like climax. I hope to see more books from this new author.

Fun/quick read of romance/mystery on Miss. Coast Casinos

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-21

Great Christmas gift for family or friend! As a Southerner, I found the Mississippi Coast as backdrop to this light romance/mystery both refreshing and enlightening. Not to give away the mystery, you'll find great fun in the mix of good ole boys and the world of gambling. The melding of the "Old South" with Mississippi's greatest new revenue is an odd, albeit, real marriage. If you like the potential of intrigue, "clean" romance and great scenery, peppered with a great hurricane segment, then this book's for you. It's clear that Sidney Rickman knows her subject. Those of you who know the South or gambling will find authenticity in her descriptions and events.

La Salle: Explorer of the North American Frontier

Published in Hardcover by Arcade Publishing (1994-05-06)

Author: Anka Muhlstein

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Average review score:

Very Credible

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-16

Well written and well documented, this book justifies France's North American claims like no other has. It is a very compelling account of one of North America's greatest explorers.

Very readable account of La Salle's life and explorations

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-27

Although I've lived in Canada for quite some time, all I knew about La Salle before reading this book was that he was one of the early French explorers of North America and that there are a few places in Canada named after him (like the suburb in Montreal). After reading this well-written and very clearlt set out account of La Salle's life and explorations, I'm a lot wiser. It's clearly written, easy to follow, well-written and interesting. Not at all a dry academic account which so many books like this unfortunately are.

Amazing voyages through the Great Lakes and down the length of the Mississippi by canoe. And on top of that he built forts and established settlements along the way. Many north americans don't have any idea just how far into the interior the French explored and settled back 400 years ago. This book really does give you an idea of what happened, how tough it was and how things could go disastorously wrong (such as happened on La Salle's last voyage where he attempted to find the mouth the of Mississippi from the seaward side and ended up landing in what is now Texas instead).

Riveting book. Some good illustrations too.

amazing story

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-27

This was a very readable account of LaSalle's journeys. It's truly amazing the conditions that people could survive back then as a matter of course. The language seems stilted sometimes, I believe because it was translated from French, but there is also an interesting slant, in that this is a european writing about our country, and our neighbor to the north. Keep an atlas handy to help track the story, and be prepared to be impressed. There is just enough well-researched information to bring the story alive, but not get too bogged down.

Dramatic and exciting. It would make a great movie.

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-21

A lot of people know that La Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682. Would they know that was probably his easiest trip? Anka Muhlstein gives you an intimate experience of real life in French America of the 1670s. Priests, civil administrators, trappers, and explorers fighting each other fiercely but living in peace with the Indians. Frenchmen in bark canoes with skate blades on the keel racing down a frozen river. It's the story about mosquitos, Iroquois attacks, shipwrecks, desertions and treachery and about the man who astonished both Indian and Frenchman with his perserverence and adaptation to each reverse and travail. This history reads like a good novel and would make a great movie.

Margaret Cape: A Novel

Published in Hardcover by Harcourt (1997-05-26)

Author: Wylene Dunbar

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Average review score:

Disappointed

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-17

Having read the other reviewer comments, I am disappointed in this novel. I have not finished it yet and I am dragging myself through the story as if I were the 85 year old title character.

In addition to finding the pace of the story to be slow, I find the use of time to be inconsistent. There is an obvious juxtaposition of time periods in the story, which is fine, but within the main time period shifts, there are also slippages between time periods that I find annoying.

There are sentence structures that I find difficult to follow, perhaps because I did not grow up in the South.

I may do this story an injustice by reading it while I am commuting by train but I am on page 229 of 344 pages, and I am still waiting for the story to catch my interest.

Move over John Grisham!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-27

I was haunted by the main character Margaret Cape. As a southerner reading a story set in the south, every word was believable and real to me. I don't understand why Wylene Dunbar was not heralded and made famous by this novel. She is as good a story teller as Grisham, Welty and other Mississippi authors who already have their fame! Books like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and many by Anne Rivers Siddons came to mind when I read this intriguing tale.

Winner, 1998 Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters award

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1998-05-11

This is a wonderful book, so it came as no surprise that MARGARET CAPE received this year's Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters fiction award, beating out nine other nominated books by top novelists in a state known for its writers. In his note describing Dunbar's award, Bob Summer (southern correspondent, Publishers Weekly) said that "[Dunbar's] stellar achievement is piercing the inner life of a searingly memorable woman in prose often simmering with sheer beauty."

Great story and well told--should get a book award!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1997-06-04

This is a superbly crafted and intricate story of generations, social conventions, prejudices, power, gender roles, and the thin veneer of gentility in the South. But don't mistakenly believe this is just another Southern novel. Dunbar's Margaret Cape is a most unusual protagonist who follows a highly unconventional path to discover and complete her own "story." There is enough psychological brutality, love, conflict, death, sex, and legal battles in this book to satisfy most "beach book" readers, and at the same time those looking for a more "literary" work will be impressed. The unusual plot turns, surprises, and strangeness are quite plausible because Dunbar recreates a world (the context of the South, the changes in the decades from the 1920's to the 1990's, the fragility of the human mind) that allows us to accept them as real. I'd be surprised if this novel doesn't get nominated for one of the book awards

Penumbra

Published in Hardcover by Thorndike Press (2006-08-02)

Author: Carolyn Haines

List price: $29.95

New price: $29.95
Used price: $9.00

Average review score:

Disappointed

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-10-03

I enjoyed the intrigue of the book, but found the ending to be completely unsatisfactory. Without giving away the story, I had a hard time with John Hubbard at the end, and what Jade was going to do. A very interesting, suspenseful story, with a less than satisfactory ending.

dark foreboding historical suspense thriller

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-04

In the 1950s in Drexel, Mississippi, the color barrier remains rigidly in place with each race understanding their sphere. Jade Dupree is raised by her black adopted parents, Jonah and Ruth, although her biological mother is the very socially powerful white Lucille. Jade's half sister Marlena is married to the wealthiest and most powerful figures in town, Lucas Bramlet. Marlena treats Jade like a servant paying her for services rendered including watching her daughter Suzanna.

Marlena accompanied by Suzanna meets her lover, a traveling salesman, by the river. However, men wearing masks attack them. Marlena is rushed to the hospital while Suzanna has vanished. Jade is there watching over Marlena but her husband is at home waiting for a ransom.. Jade has to be careful as some whites feel she needs to be reminded of her place and she has to be careful of the Peeping Tom who is stalking her.

Carolyn Haines known for her lighthearted amusing paranormal mysteries has taken a 180 degree turn around with this dark foreboding historical suspense thriller. Readers see how bad things can get for Blacks living in a 1950's deep South small town even for a woman who could easily pass as white. The audience becomes absorbed with the historical tidbits, but soon the question of who assaulted the mother and daughter takes center stage especially in light of a spouse who does not seem to care what happens to his wife and daughter and whether Jade faces retribution for breaking the color barrier. Ms. Haines writes a strong period piece.

Harriet Klausner

Penumbra is destined to be a best seller.

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-02

Bravo!!! This is by far Ms. Haines best contempory work of suspense and mystery. The town of Jexville has a wide range of characters, each with their own dark secret, which was typical of southern towns in the 1950s (when everyone knew their neighbors). Mix Jexville's characters with a splash of sexual misconduct, forbidden desires and unfulfilled dreams and you have a story that keeps the pages turning until morning.

If you read only one book a year, this should be it!

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-02

As someone who reads more books in one month than most people read in one year, I can attest that this one stands out from the crowd. Haines, who has entertained me well with her series of "Bones" books, made me sit up and take notice of just how good a writer she is with this book. I could barely put it down, finishing it in two days. Fiction set in timeframes other than the present rarely garner my attention, but Haines certainly did with this one. About the only other writer I can think of who has done that in recent years has been Dennis Lehane, whom I consider one of the top American fiction writers. Now, with this book, Haines has reached the top of my personal favorites list.