Customer Reviews

Betsey Brown: A Novel

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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Betsey Brown is a coming of age story set in 1957 St. Louis. Betsey has to come to terms with being of the first to integrate a white school, but Shange does not give us the same-ol'-same-ol' blues about how bad it is. Betsey is an individual and the experience has its ups and downs. What is very interesting is her home life and the issues many black girls face. Her mother is lighter skinned with relaxed hair. Her maternal grandmother, also light skinned, is color struck. Her father is very black and not too well-liked by the grandmother though he is a good provider. Betsey wonders why her mother's hair is different than hers and finds out innocently during her first trip to the beauty shop. The book also has the reader experience Betsey's first experience with boys. She truly has no idea what to do when a boy comes to visit. Of course grandma is snooping. Betsey Brown is not as fast as most girls today, but I think her innocence is appealing, and most girls still have the same issues no matter how fast or slow they are. Shange is lyrical and truly literary, however, I think kids today will enjoy the book if it is "book-talked" correctly. As a matter-of-fact, I think it belongs on school reading lists. The book is not the same ol' black vs. white blues. The book is about being young, black, and female, per se.

For anyone who has read Cypress, Sassafrass and Indigo by Shange, this book will seem mediocre in comparison. On the other hand, what it is is an excellent social document depicting the experiences of an African-American family in St. Louis of the 1950's. It describes the pressure that the combat of racism puts on a family---Betsey Brown runs away at the age of 12 because she is being bused to a school full of "crackers." Betsey doesn't want to have to do everything for the "race"-she just wants to be a comfortable 12 year old girl with her neighborhood friends.

Other tensions happen between the husband and mother when the husband (Greer Brown, a doctor) and the wife (Jane Brown) a nurse argue over whether their children should participate in civil rights demonstrations. The mother, like her daughter, is forced to leave home as she does not want her children to participate. Later she returns to the man she loves, and her lovable, if noisy and rambunctious children.

Another important sub theme to this novel is that of class. The Browns are the creme de la creme of African-American society, (Greer is one of only 5,000 African-American doctors in America at that time) Yet there is a constant stream of characters who are not so graced; Miss Calhoun, a maid who lasts only one day because the children don't like her, Regina, who is dismissed by the Browns for having a boyfriend, and Carrie, who is forced to take care of the children and work as a domestic. Betsey herself is shamed by one of her friends for making Miss Calhoun miserable-as the childs mother is herself a maid, and Betsey begins to re-examine her attitudes from that point on. Later she encounters Regina working as a prostitute-she has been apparently abandoned by her boyfriend. All this quickly sends Betsey running back to her middle-class home.

If I learned anything from this book it is that life was hard for everyone characterized at this time period. While being forced to confront prejudice forces both Betsey and her mother out of the home, confrontation with life outside the home sends them running back. The lesson of this book seems to be that upper-middle class black women are forced to confront racism whether they like it or not-either on behalf of their lesser favored sisters or because they wish to keep their families together. Their priviledged status does not make them exempt from any fights on behalf of everyone else in their community.

BETSEY BROWN is the story of a young Black girl growing up in St. Louis in the late 1950's. She is the eldest child in a large upwardly mobile family. Her father is a doctor and a socially conscious "race man" who takes his children to sit-ins and protests. Her mother is a social worker who wants to shield her children from the racially charged environment in which they are coming of age.

Like any young girl, Betsey fantasizes about her young life, longs for the attention of a certain young boy and is fascinated with the idea of love. While she is going through the ups and downs of growing up, integration takes place in the South. Betsey and her siblings are bussed to white schools in the name of racial advancement. The children have fears of what may lay ahead of them and the parents are conflicted in their decision. While in their new enviroment the children have various experiences and emotions. Betsey often feels like the weight of the entire race is on her shoulders and no one understands her struggle.

Ntozake Shange gives all of the children who grew up in the era of southern integration a voice in BETSEY BROWN. The storyline is written in simple language with traces of southern dialect dispersed throughout. The novel gives a more visceral feel to the fear and uncertainty that children and their families had during the time of integration in America. This fear was pushed aside for the overall principle of advancement and not told in history books. While reading the novel, I felt like I was taken back in time to experience what, until now, I have only read about in textbooks and I enjoyed it. My only complaint is that Betsey's story ended too soon.

Reviewed by Aiesha Flowers
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Betsey Brown is me when I was 13, and is still me 11 years later! I saw myself in the book and I was pleasently surprised to find that out. I fell in love with the book within the first few pages. The only complaint that I have with the book is that its not LONGER!!!!

Betsey Brown is the story of a girl named Betsey Brown who lives in the extremely racist city of St. Louis in 1959 with her big, black family. Betsey is trying to grow up this discrimitive community, and do normal things a kid would do. Her father, Mr. Brown, is obsessed with the Civil Rights Movement and his job as a doctor. Betsey's 7 brothers and sisters all provide a bizarre and interesting life for Betsey who is just trying to be a normal kid.
What does it mean to be an American? Betsey and her family, although African Americans of racist times, still practice their rights as American citizens. This is what America truly stands for. The equality of all people. Mr. Brown continually goes to Civil Rights rallies with his children. They express their opinions in movements that also show their American spirit.

Betsy and her family is just trying to make it through everyday family problems. Betsey and her siblings school is integrated for the first time. The story is set in St Louis 1959. Betsy is a nice read.