Customer Reviews

Baby Brother's Blues: A Novel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Pearl Cleage returns to the West End of Atlanta, the crime-free utopia where ex-crooner Blue Hamilton and trusty sidekick, General Richardson, keep the peace ala "Godfather" vigilante style. Fans were first introduced to Blue, his wife, Regina, and other West End residents in Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do and Babylon Sisters.

In Baby Brother's Blues, we meet Wes Jamerson aka Baby Brother, an Army deserter who breezes into the West End in a stolen car in search of Zora, an anti-war coed he met a few days earlier. Trouble rides in his wake and it does not take long for Baby Brother to land a job with Blue Hamilton despite General's urging otherwise.

Cleage continues to dabble in the supernatural by mentioning a bit more of Blue's mysterious past lives and continues Aunt Abbie's prophetic visions. This time, she delves even deeper into the spiritual realm with the suggestion of the reincarnation of General's deceased lover in the unlikely form of an uncouth exotic dancer named Brandi (with an "i" because it sounds classier) who is nearly half his age. The plot thickens when unbeknownst to General, Baby Brother and Brandi connect at a primal level and things turn downright deadly when Baby Brother's hustle for extra income allows him to stumble across a marriage and career ending secret for a close member of Blue's family. The blues invades the Hamilton household when Blue's late night excursions to "handle business" begin to take its toll on his pregnant wife, and the blues take root when one solitary impulsive act upsets a lifelong bond between key characters.

As in her other novels, the author's ardent trademark themes of pro-family, pro-community, friendship, loyalty, and sisterhood ring with resounding clarity and instant recognition. Cleage weaves an intricate multi-layered plot that folds current events into the story (increased domestic violence among war veterans and a sprinkling of political and police corruption). Strong, familiar, and beloved characters (Blue, Aunt Abbie, Regina) return but their storylines come across merely as afterthoughts amid the crux of the story that focuses more on the antics of several new yet forgettable and underdeveloped characters (Lee, Teddy, Zora, Brandi, Bob, Kwame, Wes) and their ill effects on the West End community. The pacing was slow and deliberate from the beginning through about two-thirds of the novel but rushed and somewhat abrupt near the end. The "action" was too little and came too late in the story and the tidy summarized subplot conclusions left a lot to the imagination.

Despite my misgivings, I still consider myself a fan of the author - I love her work - her novels typically contain positive, uplifting messages and heartfelt lessons. Baby Brother's Blues is a well-written and well constructed novel that will no doubt provide much fodder for in depth discussions among reading groups and book clubs because there are some enlightening, thought-provoking elements and a few memorable quotes within the pages. However, it still basically rounds out as just a notch above an average offering for me, hence the 3.5-star rating.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub

I just finished Baby Brother's Blues, Pearl Cleage's new novel, which will be released at the end of next month. The copy I have is an early copy from the publisher-no images on the cover, not a hint of what to expect. The blurb on the back said that it was a continuation of the story of Regina and Blue, the lovers from Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do. However, this is not a sequel. While Pearl's earlier novels can be loosely classified as "contemporary romances"-though I call them "Trojan Horse Romances", owing to the political messages she slips in- Baby Brother's Blues is more of a noir thriller. Maybe she has made a new genre, "Trojan Horse Thriller."

You don't have to read many pages to know that you are reading something very different than what Pearl usually writes. For one thing, it is in the third-person point of view, and the opening character is a man: Baby Brother, the title character. But I wouldn't say that he is the main character. As crazy as this may sound, this is a book that doesn't really have a main character. Instead, this is a novel about a community. General wisdom says that the protagonist is the character to whom the story happens. Well, the events in this powerful and serious novel don't happen to any one person. The community, the city, the neighborhood, Atlanta's West End-this is the main character.

The novel's cast includes Blue Hamilton, the self-appointed Emperor of the West End, his right-hand man General, and General's lover Brandi (who works as a stripper at Montre's). Precious Hargrove, the righteous sister-politician is back, along with her son Kwame who has a terrible secret. Baby Brother, a Iraq War deserter with a rap sheet and bad attitude, is our guide through an underground world of down-low brothers and other parts of Atlanta that most people don't talk about. While most of the characters live in the West End which has been made safe by Blue Hamilton's rule, this book is extremely gritty. There are crooked cops and strange bedfellows, betrayal and revenge, murder and suicide. The violence is not for the faint-hearted, but it is though Pearl is saying, "It hurts you to read about it, but there are people LIVING this life!"

Usually, when I get one of Pearl's books in the mail, I make some tea, grab some animal crackers and gobble it up in a single sitting. But this is a book that makes you slow down and take your time. You have to ponder it, read every word, because it's not a story that goes where you think it's going. The characters are many, but fully drawn and haunting. The choices they make aren't easy and the consequences are not always pretty.

But even through the ugliness and corruption, Pearl Cleage's optimism still shines through. As always, she writes with a big heart and gives the reader hope that self-love, black-on-black love is what we need if we are going to make it through these terrible times. Regina and Blue are expecting a baby and you feel like their love that has endured lifetimes will be here for a few more. And of course, we have our own Pearl, who tells it like it is, unflinching but tender with a compassion and honesty that always reminds us that the power is ours.

BABY BROTHER'S BLUES by Pearl Cleage
March 5, 2006


Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

Where two worlds collide in an Atlanta neighborhood, a man named Blue Hamilton "imposes" his rules to keep the peace among his people, but outer forces seem to be tearing the neighborhood apart. This is one of the themes in BABY BROTHER'S BLUES, the latest by Pearl Cleage, known best for her Oprah pick WHAT LOOKS CRAZY ON AN ORDINARY DAY. In this latest venture, Blue and his family and friends are part of the focus of the story, but when Baby Brother enters the picture, some lives are disrupted and tragedy is one of the results.

With a number of charismatic characters that fill these pages, I enjoyed the story that followed Blue, his wife and unborn child. Baby Brother, the negative element, is on leave from Iraq and has no intention of going back, and his presence in Blue's neighborhood, The West End (in Atlanta) causes tragedy among a number of people that are part of Blue's life. Namely, General Richardson, Blue's right hand man, finds himself inadvertently caught up in the world of one woman, Brandi, who he thinks is a sign from his deceased lover, Juanita, who also happened to be Blue's mother. And, Kwame Hargrove, the son of a prominent Atlanta politician, has a secret that could ruin his mother's career and his own.

BABY BROTHER'S BLUES is an intricate weaving of stories that are entwined together and end up back to Blue Hamilton. With a full cast of characters, not everyone has a happy ending, but that is what I liked about this book. This is not a Hollywood-happy ending type of book. It felt real and that is what kept me reading. I am definitely a fan of Pearl Cleage now, and look forward to reading the read more by her.

Book: Baby Brother Blues
Author: Pearl Cleage
Rating: 8 on a 10-point scale
Interesting to know: This book can(and does)stand alone, but the reader might want to know that it continues the story Cleage began in her novel "Somethings I Never thought I'd do."

Reaction #1: Book starts slow, but if you plod through its first 30-40-50 pages, it will begin to hold your interest. For me, it never became anything close to a page turner, but it did have enough meat in its plot to make me pick it up a few minutes each night to see how incidents would work themselves out.

Reaction #2: The central character "Blue" Hamilton is the most unbelievable character since Santa Claus, but the female characters--of whom there are several-- are familiar, compelling, entertaining, and unforgettable.

Ending: For me, the ending was very unsatisfactory, but there is enough about the book's characters and the way they resolve their conflicts to make this a good book to choose for a Reading Club selection or a lonely Saturday night.


Memorable:

[ Blue Hamilton ] . . . doing what a man was supposed to do if he was really a man--i.e. saving the world.

Street scene: Old black man and old black woman strolling arm in arm, laughing and talking [ and kissing at night in inner city Atlanta GA]--their strides in perfect sync like they had been walking together for more years than they had walked apart.

Married men on the "downlow"

If you read "Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do" you have to read this book! It brings a lot of story lines to a close and ties up a lot of loose ends from that novel. Regina, Blue, General, and Abbie are back with a few surprises and they are great ones. Even if you didn't read that novel, go ahead and read this one. It's a great one!
Also recommended by Pearl Cleage: What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day

I was disappointed with this novel. It introduces several characters and plots, but never really develops any of them. It was like traveling down a winding road and then the road just ends with no signs or warnings.

Baby Brother's Blues is the continuation of a story about Blue Hamilton, a local man of influence. He is the behind-the-scenes enforcer and real estate mogul who has created an oasis of safety and crime-free family living in the heart of urban Atlanta. The West End, an area he unobtrusively controls, is an approximate 10 square block area of African-Americans of mixed incomes living in the heart of a modern city, replete with problems and dysfunction. He has created a buffer zone, in which the elderly walk the streets all hours of the night without fear, women can find refuge from violent partners, and children can grow up to become young professionals, returning to give back to the community. He is married to a gentle but powerful woman, Regina, whom he loves fiercely, and who loves him with a completeness tinged with quiet desperation. Desperation because, in addition to Blue's social philanthropy, she understands that his benevolence requires him to demand and oversee an orderly existence that sometimes takes him beyond the boundaries of the law. Blue attributes his powerful presence to his past lives as a just but firm ruler of a great kingdom, crime boss, and ruthless businessman. He feels that he shirked his earlier responsibilities as a leader, and feels that he has been chosen by fate to provide leadership for his people, and is doing so by carving out the safe haven of West End. He is accompanied by the ever-present and faithful General, who stands as his lieutenant and enforcer. Blue's aunt, Abbie, a seer, understands and encourages Blue's compulsion, and serves as his psychic guidepost. The story describes the entwined lives of the characters that Blue touches, his fingerprint, faint but present in all their lives. The climactic ending, perhaps more than any other element of the story reinforces Blue's understanding of his purpose in [this] life.

The book is written in a simple but flowing style. The individual story lines move rapidly from once scene to the next, but never with too much dispatch. Although there are many characters who make significant appearances, they are never confusing, and never crowd each other. The book is obviously contemporary, with references to recent events, and in spite of that, there is a warm cocoon of mysticism that envelopes the story. The writing is sharp and crisp, exemplary of Ms. Cleage's books, and conveys the story with maximum impact and minimum drag. I found the book highly readable, and while the book is presented as having a somewhat mystical vector, I did not find the references jarring or disturbing. Ultimately, the main character is not a person, or even a place; I'd have to classify it as a motive, best described by Blue's description of himself as a "truly free man."

I really enjoyed this novel. I congratulate Ms. Cleage on creating a mood of mystery and suspense that lingers long after the last page. Although I began at the third book in the Blue Hamilton series, it is my understnding from the enthusiastic responses of other readers, that the other books introducing the characters are equally as engaging, and therefore, on my 'to read' list. Ms. Cleage has taken elements of the old ancestors and seamlessly tied them to modern day characters, and the gap never presents itself. Reviewed By: Angela T. Hailey, Black Butterfly Review

I enjoyed reading this book and following all the characters. Initially they are introduced and eventually you find out that they are all connected. The descriptions are very vivid and you can really imagine the characters. The story was interesting and kept me reading.

But at the end of the book I felt like I was watching a show on tv and they were hurrying up to wrap up the plot before the end. There were so many other twists and turns that could have happened, but it was almost as though the writer thought she had written enough and that was it.

This is definitely a book you would get from the library.

I really wanted to like this book, because I've loved all her other books. However, the usual magic just wasn't there. I felt Regina had serious issues that should have at least been talked out with Blue concerning his "mission" and instead there are just alot of doubts that she has that they never really address. They have a five minute conversation, but not the kind of talk a woman has with a man who is the father of her child who is doing things that could land him in jail (b/c lets face it, as poetic as it is, it's also illeagal and if some of the thugs he takes out wanted some revenge, it wouldn't be impossible to get...which is the kind of thing a woman should consider when she's contemplating raising a child in that environment) Secondly, with the exceptions of Blue, Abby, Peaches, and Regina, there just aren't any real sympathetic characters. You have the trifling brother army deserter, the General who is clearly losing his grip on reality a little more each day, the dirty cop, crooked politicians, the loving husband who's secretly [...] and frequents many DL nights at clubs, and the stripper with the heart of gold....wait, wrong novel, i mean the stripper/[...]who's mostly motivated by money and a desire to go to vegas. It's just pages and pages of losers justifying their selfish, irrational, and/or dangerous behavior. And the whole relationship between General, Blue's Mom, and the stripper? Just sick. I go to Miss Cleage's books, because as a 19 year old black female, its good to see books where black people have hope and act like real people instead of wannabe thugs and/or people who are acting like they just got out of Africa the other day and slavery just ended two hours ago. I mean, respect the past but it's time to move on to gather our strength as a psople and rise. And usually her books give me that, but this time there was nobody for me to really cheer for. Although Blue's vision, and the way he made people get respect by forcing them to act in a way that garners respect was pretty awesome.

This book was not one of her better books. This story just seemed to drag, I finally gave up on it after 212 pages and I really hated to put it down since I had tried to read most of it but I juat could not get into it. It took me a week just to read that and I can usually read a good book within a day or two depending on how good the book was. This book is not worth the time or money.