Customer Reviews

Before I Forget

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Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr. is a story of three generations of black men who are related by blood, but each struggles with their role of being a father and do not understand the heritage that bonds them and makes them who they are. The main character, Mo Johnson, a former soul star of the 70s, has just found out at age 49, he suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's, which will have him forget who he is before the disease kills him. This news, as expected, spins his world out-of-control. Trey, his son, at 19 also has a son, spends his time dreaming to be a rap star and has no means of supporting himself beyond what his mother and father provide to him, and he has just been arrested for robbery and murder. Jack, Mo's father, is dying of cancer and would like to see the son who has not spoken to him in 30 years, once more before he dies. While Mo's initial reaction to this request is no, the circumstances on why Mo refuses to speak to his father forces him to change his mind, as there are some things Mo needs to say before his memory is gone. So, Mo decides to embark on a trip back home to L.A. from Maryland, taking Trey with him as while Mo has supported his son financially he has not given him time and attention and wants to now spend time with his son.

Leonard Pitts weaves a wonderful story which is both painful and truthful, yet with compassion so the reader is able to view the lives of each of these characters and understand who they are. As Mo and Trey drive across country, the story unfolds in a series of flashbacks, alternating with action in the current time. The characters' voices for each of the generations were true to their times and I found myself smiling as I also heard the voices of the older and younger generations in my family. The most poignant of the storylines to me was the unfolding of the effect of Mo's early-onset Alzheimer's on him and his son, Trey.

Fathers are a major theme that affect both the major and secondary characters. The underlying question for the characters is what is a father and how do you effectively fill this role and more importantly, this book shows how black men wrestle with this issue and the different ways they come to terms with it. The author has the courage to address an issue that is on the minds of many in the black community and whether you agree with the characters' decisions or not - you will appreciate the honest portrayal.

I recommend this book to all readers who are interested in a well-written story on current topics. This is a wonderful debut novel and I look forward to reading Mr. Pitts' next book.

Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO BookClub
March 3, 2009

This is a book that could easily have been hard to believe. James Moses Johnsons: three of them (grandfather, father, son). Okay, so that isn't unusual. But what about the father who writes a hit song titled "Prophecy" and the son changes it a generation later to "Profit See." Oh, yes, and add this ingredient: the grandfather is near death and wishes to have his best friend shoot him while the son has purchased a rifle to end his life because he has learned he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's and not yet fifty. Oh, yes, and the 19-year-old son has been arrested for his involvement in a robbery turned bad when a killing occurs. It has all the makings of a really bad black people soap opera.
But this book is in the hands of Leonard Pitts, Junior. I am one of thousands who have read his syndicated newspaper column for years. So when I heard he had written his first novel, I had to read it as soon as possible. And it has been a wonderful ride. The dialogue is so believable. The characters are also well developed and completely believable. In many ways this could have been a stereotypical black family. Men who are very distant fathers. The grandfather with the father. And the father with the son. And, oh, yes, 19-year-old Trey (James Moses III) has a 4-year-old son who lives with the unmarried mother. It is all there. And yet it is so well developed.
This is a brilliantly conceived novel that tells a very powerful story. I highly recommend it.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. has the wonderful skill of taking a series of words and making an incredible sentence out of them. I have long been an admirer of the syndicated column written by Mr. Pitts--this esteem led me to purchase his novel, "Before I Forget." I was not disappointed--the author tells a story just as masterfully as he writes his opinions. The book is about three generations of African-American men--the eldest dying of cancer, the middle generation who discovers he has Alzheimer's, and the youngest who has participated in a serious crime--all with serious problems and all who need to be understood. It is a sad tale, but one that leaves the reader with a feeling of hope and redemption. I am a senior citizen who learned so many things from this wonderful story and look forward to more books from this talented and prolific writer. Don't let us down, Mr. Pitts. Keep on writing!

I've been reading Leonard Pitts' columns that appear in my newspaper weekly for about a year now and really enjoy them so I was excited to learn that he had a book published. I bought it and read it in record time. It was SO GOOD! I thoroughly enjoyed it and the climax of the story is gripping! What a good book! What a great moral for today! I can't wait for his next work.

This book was chosen as our book club selection and oh my goodness what a ride! The characters are thought provoking and real in the sense that each character has good and not so good qualities. The road trip to California and back is an emotional journey for the men and the self discovery is wonderful. Do yourself a favor and read this book. It is worth the sleepless nights to get to the end of the journey.

Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr. is a story about men, their relationships with each other, themselves and their sons, as well as how their past relationships affect their present relationships. This is a novel about James Moses Johnson II, a once famed crooner whose diminishing fame, along with a recent medical diagnosis that threatens his very livelihood, stabs at his ego. Now, James Moses Johnson II sets out on a journey to give much warranted attention to his own son, Trey, as well as his own father. Each of the men, in their own way, have faced or are facing life's challenges that have affected their relationships with each other. Pitts offers dramatic underlying subplots that add steam to the story and also helps readers understand the connection, or lack thereof, between each father and son pair. It is through the main character's recent diagnosis that the emphasis of the story turns to father and son relationships, and hopes of forgiveness and a better life for the future Johnson lineage emerge.

I liked how this story flowed and the awareness brought to the challenges people face as they age and the emotional turmoil a medical diagnosis can bring, not only to the individual but to their family and friends as well.

First off, I must say, the publisher, Agate, sent me this novel a while back before it was published. At the time, I wasn't feeling it, but deep down, I felt just from the little I have read, that it had some promise; Sadly, I left it alone until I got the need to get it out and read it, and was I ever so glad I did!! First off, all the brothers reading this, GET THIS BOOK!!!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! no lie, no doubt. the author isn't paying me, don't know him or he me, but still I ask, I beg and plead with you, GET THIS BOOK!! borrow this book from your local library. Do what you gotta to do(legally) and read the story about three generations of men and how they dealt with things. I should say four because the youngest has a son only four and yet in them four years of life, he has seen and suffered enough. Don't want to give too much away but let me give you a taste. All three generations are James Moses Johnson; but each generation likes to be called by their own name. Anyhow, out of the three, the second, who calls himself Moses or Mo, made something good out of his life. He became a singer and musician who wrote a hit song and became famous in the 70s; but sadly he becomes diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and is barely 50 years old. At the same time, his father, James or Jack, is dying from prostate cancer in California and Mo, don't want to see or speak to him and hasn't since his mother died thirty years previously. Then you have Mo's son, Trey, 19 and already running afoul of the law and father of a four year old. In spite of Mo's misgivings, he feel a road trip to California is in order and together, father and son travel together to see Jack. still, the story don't end at that. There's the brother of one of the guys who was in the robbery gone bad torn between his duty to family and starting one of his own; then there's Tash,Trey's mom, who years, after raising a son, has found someone new to share a life with. Then there's Devonte, Trey's son, who in the end, really matters. I would get deeper, I won't. This is probably the best book I have read this year and no lie. The brother who is a journalist has some serious skills, and hope to see more of his works in the future.

There's a reason why Leonard Pitts won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.

Mr. Pitts interpretation of disjointed family relationships, particularly between fathers and sons is brilliant and insightful.

The lucid and well-structured storyline bring the characters to life as if you can look into their souls and feel their anguish, pain, joys and sorrow.

I recommend this book to all readers!

This was one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I didn't expect to be pulled into it, but I was! It's a great story with memorable characters that make you feel their experiences. I would recommend this to everyone as a MUST READ!

I haven't become so involved in the storyline of a book in many months; I read quite a bit--smile. "Before I Forget" by Leonard Pitts, Jr. is as much a saga about the relationships between fathers and their sons as Ernest Gaines' poignant "In My Father's House" was in an earlier decade! Why is there still a disconnect between fathers and their sons? How can a son reconnect with his father--and why should he; THEN, at the same time forge a relationship with his only son---when he himself, is dying? That is Mo Johnson's predicament in Before I Forget.

Acclaimed journalist and non-fiction writer, Leonard Pitts, Jr. has penned his first novel "Before I Forget," about a 48 year old, one time famous R&B crooner, who discovers that his mind is being destroyed by Alzheimer's, that his son has been arrested for armed robbery and murder, that his estranged father is dying of cancer. This should be enough for you check out this poignant new novel. TRUST, you will not be disappointed in the storyline or the impeccably detailed imagery Pitts displays throughout the novel. If the well-crafted story isn't enough, all you need do is pull out your classic 1970s R&B Solid Gold hits to play as you read--smile. Pitts, unlike some journalists, has made a successful leap into the fiction genre with "Before I Forget."