Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice [Paperback]

April Sinclair (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

Jean "Stevie" Stevenson, the indomitable heroine of Coffee Will Make You Black, is back -- somewhat older and wiser, with some experience and a college degree -- diving headfirst into the hot tub, free love, yoga, and vegetarian lifestyle of 1970s San Francisco. In this liberating new world of raised consciousness, mind-expanding, and disco-dancing, a soul sister with passion and daring has room to experiment with life and love to find out who she really is.Jean "Stevie" Stevenson, the indomitable heroine of Coffee Will Make You Black, is back-somewhat older and wiser, with some experience and a college degree-diving headfirst into the hot tub, free love, yoga, and vegetarian lifestyle of 1970s San Francisco. In this liberating new world of raised consciousness, mind-expanding, and disco-dancing, a soul sister with passion and daring has room to experiment with life and love to find out who she really is.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If a novel about a bisexual black woman's pilgrim's progress through the 1970s can be said to conform to the aesthetic of Norman Rockwell, this is it. Jean Stevenson, aka Stevie, the heroine of Coffee Will Make You Black, leaves her native Chicago for college in an unnamed Midwestern city. In Sinclair's cursory treatment of those years, Stevie settles in with a mixed group of friends and takes her first female lover. A graduation trip to San Francisco results in an extended stay, and she meets Traci, an attractive feminist, and moves into her extra bedroom. After the women become lovers, Traci guides Stevie through the worlds of sex, drugs and gay politics. When the relationship dissolves, Stevie moves in with Sterling, a gay drag queen. Now employed, and with new friends, she continues to explore her sexuality through affairs with Sterling's brother and a female co-worker. When her grandmother takes ill, Stevie gains some much-needed insight, leading to a resolution that ends the novel on a happy note. With the exception of Stevie and Traci, Sinclair's characters are all types: effeminate gays, militant black nationalists, etc. Stevie narrates all this with good humor. She's engaging enough, but the sunny earnestness of it all will make some readers long for at least some of the layered wit that Armistead Maupin brought to me-generation San Francisco in Tales of the City. There's a lot of self-exploration here, but it's much wider than it is deep: Sinclair surrounds everything with a nostalgic haze that does justice to neither the personal nor the political aspects of her themes of feminism, sexuality and race. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this sequel to Coffee Will Make You Black (Hyperion, 1994), Jean "Stevie" Stevenson returns, now a freshman in college. There she struggles with racism, experiments with drugs, and tries to come to terms with her sexuality. However, it is not until she graduates and moves to San Francisco that she feels free to explore her homosexual desires, all the while concealing them from family and friends. Sinclair captures the essence of a young woman's endeavor to find a job and a sense of self in a town where she is virtually alone. Stevie is as lovable, believable, and humorous as in Sinclair's first novel; it is a joy to see her maturing. Recommended for most libraries.
-?Shenise Ross, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380727943
• ISBN-13: 978-0380727940
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Journey Of Sorts, June 12, 2000

By 

Melissa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice (Paperback)

This book chronicles the sexual journey of Jean Stevenson, a continuation to Sinclair's first novel, "Coffee Will Make You Black." In "Ain't Gonna Be The Same Fool Twice" we find a more confident Stevie--confident in who she is sexually and as a human being. Away from home, she is able to find herself and BE herself. In the first novel, she questioned her sexuality. In this one, there's no doubt about it. Although, Stevie finds that a relationship with a woman can be just as trying as one with a man; that being yourself means having to defend yourself while maintaining who you are--to please yourself, not other people. Of course, finding herself means she has to be truthful with others (read: her family) in order to fully be comfortable with who she is. I'm not gay myself, but I find this tale of stumbling across one's homosexuality more realistic than E. Lynn Harris' work. If you are liberal--and not squeamish about homosexual encounters--then this is a good read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but expecting much more, May 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice (Paperback)

I really enjoy reading Coffe Will Make You Back, and I couldn't wait to read the sequel. I was hoping Steve would have made up her about what she wanted. Stevie was stronger in the first book and in this book I found to be to much of a follower or pushover. I enjoy April Sinclair's writing style, and I like the way the book flowed, but I was just expected so much more at the end.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice seqel -- true to the original, August 21, 2001

By 

S. Thompson "casual reader" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ain't Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice (Paperback)

I loved "Coffee" so I picked this book up. I really liked it, and thought Sinclair showed a lot of courage in allowing Stevie to explore her sexuality in this way. Stevie's innocence is gone, but she's making choices and figuring things out on her own in much the same way she did in Coffee. Though this book may seem foreign to anyone who didn't grow up in the 70's, the feminist movement & post-60's San Francisco are so apparent in pop culture and history books that it will feel familiar none the less.