All-Bright Court [Hardcover]

Connie Rose Porter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 1991

A compelling first novel covering two decades in the lives of the Taylor family and their neighbors in an African-American working class neighborhood in Buffalo, NY. In a clear, quiet but powerful prose, the author draws the gaudily painted, rundown bungalows of All-Bright Court and peoples it convincingly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With clear-eyed simplicity, Porter's first novel sketches a portrait of community. Despite its name, All-Bright Court is a dreary and crumbling tenement resting beside a steel plant outside Buffalo, N.Y. The inhabitants are, for the most part, black steelworkers and their families who have migrated from the South. Samuel Taylor and his wife, Mary Kate, move to All-Bright Court in the early '60s and fill their home, No. 18, with children and hopes. Over the years, as Samuel worries about supporting his family and as Mikey, the oldest son, is labeled gifted and sent to brave a white prep school, the family struggles to reconcile hopes with reality. Other inhabitants of All-Bright Court make brief appearances, such as childless Venita and Moses, whose quiet sorrow pervades their daily lives, and crazy Isaac, whose childhood anger sets the tone for a bitter adulthood. Through the '60s and early '70s, the dying steel industry is reflected in the decay of All-Bright Court and the deterioration of its residents' dreams and spirit. Porter's vision is sound and her tale poignant, but her lyrical narrative and spare writing style require a tighter underlying structure. BOMC selection.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In her resonant first novel, Porter lays bare a modern social tragedy through a pointed, compassionate portrait of one family and their neighbors on crumbling All-Bright Court. Sam Taylor represents the scores of southern black men and families who migrated to the industrial North and the mythic promise of security and fulfillment. Sam, his wife Mary Kate, and their ever-growing family find in Buffalo what Tupelo would not offer: gas heat and running water, apparent social equality with European co-workers, and a privileged education for prematurely wise son Mikey. Porter, a survivor of Buffalo tenement life, reveals the betrayal of the Taylors by society, company, expectations, and even by racially confused Mikey, in this accomplished telling of a bittersweet story. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/91.
- Janet Ingraham, Worthington P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (September 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039553271X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395532713
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,525,091 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL READ, June 23, 1998

By 

Annika Smith ([e-mail]) (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All-Bright Court (Paperback)

This was one of the most honest protrayals of african-american life I've ever read. The characters were true to life, refreshing, and interesting. This book could not be put down! Connie Porter truly is one of the best authors around.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars believe the hype, it's great..., December 16, 2001

By 

Erren Geraud Kelly - See all my reviews

This review is from: All-Bright Court (Paperback)

throughout the 20th century, blacks saw the northern united states as an area where they could go to be the people they couldn't be down south, under the cover of jim crow; they arrived in droves, finding work in factories, often living in tenements that were substandard, yet a far cry from the dilapidated accomodations they endured in the south. some blacks went on to live pretty good lives, others barely survived, often feeling as if they gave their soul to the devil to live like white people...

connie got it right: the language, the speech, the atmosphere, the feeling of time and place black people lived. the book starts out with a monstrously good first chapter, introducing samuel as an orphan working in a resteraunt saving up enough money to go north, and the strory gets stronger from there. he goes north and sends for his bride, mary kate, who is idealistic, yet is aware of a black person's place in white society. they go on to have a family, their oldest son, mikey, turns out to be gifted and gets the chance to go to private school, but in an attempt to better himself, he loses site of his identity. samuel and mary kate are aware of this, but at the same time, they encourage him to better himself, looking to him as a ticket to a better life.

it was interesting the way connie portrayed the two young black males, mikey and issac: mikey becomes educated and sophicticated and eventually becomes ashamed of his blackness, while issac, the same age as mikey, is ruined by the public school system and spirals downward into ruin. some the black people in the novel try hard to adapt to " whiteness" in order to survive. issac, in one scene cuts lawns for one of the bosses,and when he offers samuel the chance to make some extra money( their steel mill is on strike ) samuel refuses, calling issac an " uncle tom " and vows never to be " a white man's n----r. " there is another scene which mary kate is getting mikey ready for his first day at prep school; she checks to see if he is totally clean, finds out he isn't and proceeeds to scrub his body with clorox. that scene was very disturbing, just to show the lengths black people will go to keep up with whites... connie also did her homework in regards to the steelworkers and the life they lead: it's like you're working with them first hand. she also touches on quite a few other issues, most notably the racism blacks have for other races. this becomes apparent when she brings spanish characters into the all bright court. spanish people can be either black or white but are often look down on by some blacks and whites. the book reminds me of " the women of brewster place, " because of the tone and the way the chapters are set up. the writing is flawless,poetic and beautiful. in the chapter " november 22, 1963 " she talks about the kennedy assaination, but doesn't address it directly, instead she speaks through metaphors. you will never look at cotton or snakes the same way again...this book has a healthy dose of black folklore and magical realism. i can see why it got the praise it deserved.

4.0 out of 5 stars funny, July 25, 2000

By 

"July Lady" (MS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All-Bright Court (Paperback)

this was a good book, i especially liked the family scenes between samuel and the rest of the family, they were so funny, i didn't like how mikey starting changing after going to the all white school.the only thing that i didn'tlike about this book, was that some of the chapter seemed like short stories instead of part of the novel.