Customer Reviews

Babe

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Babe is the third novel from Word Mistress, Delores Thornton. For those who thoroughly enjoyed her Ida Mae series, BABE will be another emotional and well written story.

BABE is an elderly woman who has suffered from headaches most of her life. Upon further examination, through hypnosis by Dr. Walker a psychiatrist, it is discovered that BABE as a child saw horrendous acts. The acts which included a beheading as well as the fiery death of a young white girl in her own livingroom, have been surpressed by BABE and she now at the age of 80+ has to come face-to-face with a tortured past. If you feel you have experienced this premise before, you probably have, however, it is with the supporting characters and the dialect that takes this heart-rendering story to another level. There is also a poem that deals with....when we were colored...it is that poem that fully reveals the depth of BABE's wonderful and enlightening character.

BABE will undoubtedly enjoy the same success as the other novels written by this talented writer, Delores Thornton. However, this story has "Movie of the Week" written all over it.

There are times and seasons in our lives when because of the past, we will have difficulties in moving forward in the present. At certain points, it becomes difficult to the point where we have to reach out and seek help & support. Author Delores Thornton explores this topic in the novel Babe.

In Babe, we are introduced to 82 year-old Beatrice "Babe" Pearl, a senior citizen with a style that is truly her own. After experiencing a series of painful migraines and nightmares, at the prodding of her daughter she goes in to see psychiatrist Dr. Walker Davis. As she goes through the initial sessions (group & individual), Dr. Davis suggests hypnosis to get to the root of Babe's problems. Under the power of hypnosis, Babe goes back to the roots of her past but is it enough to resolve the issues that will help her move forward in the present?

While Mrs. Thornton does an amazing job with presenting vivid imagery and strong dialogue, the story unfortunately falls short with the constant dominance of the supporting characters. Although overall the story is wonderful I felt that at times they received more attention than Babe who is meant to be the focus of the story. I found their stories and personal journeys interesting but I really yearned to learn more about Babe and her life. Despite this, I still intend to support Mrs. Thornton in her future projects-she shows great promise as an author.

Reviewed by Kanika Wade

This is the story of an 82 year old Mrs. Beatrice 'Babe' Pearl, who has recently been experiencing severe migraines and is also having a repeating nightmare of a headless man, a train ride and unrelenting rain. At the insistence of her daughter, Babe visits a psychiatrist, and is in group therapy with 3 other patients, and each of the patients, as would be expected, has serious issues of their own. Babe is convinced to try hypnosis in hopes of finding answers to what is causing the nightmares. She is transported back to her 5 year old childhood, where she was witness to a horrible event.

At times the issues of the other patients and characters seem to dominate the story, it's as if several different stories are about to take off and Babe's was not the most important one.

I give this book a 3 on the RAW scale.

Reviewed by aNN

Ms. Thornton cleverly blended stories from her mother's life with other intriguing tales to produce a powerful storyline that grabs you from the first page until the last. In this story the heroine Babe is persuaded to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Walker Davis, to determine why she is continually plagued with migraine headaches, after all other tests have proven that there is nothing physically wrong with her. She attended group sessions with Aloyishus Burns a recovering alcoholic, Vivian Delaney a depressed writer, and Dorian Simmons a union steward the Post Office. This diverse group had some interesting events taking place in their lives that kept me on the edge of my seat anxiously anticipating the next event. I especially enjoyed travelling back into Babe's early years as she retold some of the tragic, as well as joyful events in her life while under hypnosis. Under hypnosis Babe recalled different situations including a lynching in Georgia during the early 1900's, at the tender age of five. Octavia, Babe's best friend kept me laughing with her opinions of things that psychiatrists would do to someone under hypnosis and other tales that she had recalled from her elders. Babe contained an element of suspense with mysterious fires being set throughout the city of Indianapolis. Babe left me yearning for more when I reached the end of the book. Ms. Thornton has done a superb job bringing all of the characters together to share their stories. I truly hope that there will be more books down the road from this very talented writer.

Babe was a book with a Monday feel because you could complete it in the beginning of a busy weekday and still get a lot out of it. It was a good read that kept my interest without wasting time to get to the point. It also was full of mystery to keep you turning the pages. As I continued to read I kept asking, "What happened to Babe?"

The author made sure that you knew a lot about each character because she switched from character to character sharing their interesting lives and giving you an idea as to why they were together.

Babe is an 82-year-old woman who is having nightmares and really bad headaches. The nightmares have her waking up screaming after she dreams of being a child that sees a headless man on a train that makes her cling to her mother. With Babe's daughter's advice, she decides to see a doctor about her problem in order to get rid of the headaches and bad dreams. The doctor that she sees is Dr. Walker who is a group therapist who has helped many patients but is having trouble with one patient in particular-his brother who is constantly starting fires.

Dr. Walker has Babe sit in the groups along with Aloyishus a man battling the bottle and the breakup of he and his fiancée, Vivian, an author who is afraid of the highway and is still hurting over a failed relationship, and Dorian who is has a gambling problem and is stressed out from work.

Dr. Walker is trying to help Babe dig deep into her past in order to discover who the headless man is and why he appears in her dreams.

All of the main characters held their own weight in the story and if it was written just about Babe, I am not sure that it would have been such a great story.

I liked the book because there was no profanity and Babe kept my interest by the mystery and action of it all. Once you find out the reason of her dreams you will be relieved and drawn to the story as if there is a part two.

The message that the author was giving was that there is a solution to your problems and it is up to you to discover it and fix it. This is what every character did and it leaves you with a feeling of hope and eager to know what is next for these people. Hopefully, there will be a part two.
Again, Delores Thorton did an excellent job in her construction and I look forward to reading more of her works.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

S. Elitou

Babe is a good story. I especially enjoyed the genuine friendship that was shown between Babe and Octavia. Babe could read so she influenced Octavia into going through a tutoring program. Babe would write down recipes and cooking instruction to reinforce her literacy lessons. The book also contains some of those mouth-watering recipes. A job well done Ms. Thornton...

With all the emotional problems and stress people find themselves under today, seeing a psychiatrist is probably as American as apple pie. At least that maybe true for some folks, but the idea of seeing a psychiatrist for 82 years old Beatrice Pearl, better known as Babe, takes some getting use to. Babe has been suffering from recurring nightmares and severe headaches for quite some time. After visiting her own doctor, who finds nothing physically wrong, she is encouraged by her daughter, Valeeda, to seek help from the young psychiatrist, Dr. Walker Davis. Even though she joins Dr. Walker's therapy sessions, he decides the best method of getting to the bottom of what is causing her nightmares and headaches is through hypnosis. Adhering to the advice her long time friend, Octavia, never to lie down on the couch, Babe allows Dr. Walker to use hypnosis to unlock the mysteries to her dreams. It is through hypnosis that the reader is taken back in time to when at age 5, Babe witnesses something frightening and horrible that stays with her forever!

I found it very interesting that this book was titled BABE because so much detail and explanation was given to Dr. Walker and the members of his therapy session. There was Dorian Simmons, a compulsive gambler, Aloyishus Burns, an alcoholic, Vivian Delaney, a widow who suffers from depression, and Dr. Walker's pyromaniac brother, John, whose stories were just, if not more, riveting as Babe's. Still, I think what makes this book interesting is how Delores Thornton tells Babe's story through the process of psychiatric medicine. Mental competence is important and is a touchy subject for someone who is as old as Babe. Senility is expected for someone her age, but mental illness often carries an ugly stigma in society. So I commend Ms. Thornton on writing her story from this perspective.

A delightful story with a variety of characters readers can acknowledge and/or relate to. Babe,in particular, is an older woman with hidden secrets that made her a strong tower for everyone to admire and love. A story combined with light humor and serious reading. Another success for Delores Thornton!

Babe is a wonderfully written book. Babe is a sweet older lady how begin has migraines and nightmares. Finding nothing physically wrong with her, she undergoes hypnosis to go back in time to find the root of the problem. This story shows how sharing and loving each other can help you overcome ALL things. This is an easy read with a nice flow to the story. Grab a cup of tea, stretch out on the couch, and enjoy this fabulous book. You have done it again Delores! I can't wait to see what is next.

Thornton weaves a wonderful tale of 4 characters coming together by way of therapy. Even the therapist has his own issues to deal with concerning his brother. Well, as least we found out where Junebug was.

Can't wait to read Thornton's next novel "Anybody Seen Junebug?" coming February 2002.