The Blues for Annie Mae [Paperback]

D J Parhams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1600471056 | ISBN-13: 978-1600471056 | Publication Date: June 5, 2007

Twenty-Eight year old Annie Mae, a Blues singer, returns home. For the first time in ten years, she must face her troubled past, a past that is permeated with violence, bloodshed, drugs and deceit. Can she finally gain the acceptance of her overbearing, manipulative and mentally-ill mother? Can Annie Mae come to terms with her own life-altering secret, a secret that is sure to shatter her life and the lives of those around her?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Ms. Parhams hits the ball out of the park with her first effort "The Blues for Annie Mae". She captures the wit, whimsy and human struggles in her characters that we all identify with, and must suffer through to become better people..A+...a good read. -- Cameron Scott, musician, artist and Chicago teacher

This story is so riveting, beautiful and so close to my heart, a powerful story of a young woman overcoming adversities in her life...splendid...brilliant...sometimes raw...an entertaining page turner. -- The Black Opal Book Club

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

...WHOOSH...WHOOSH..."I'll pick gravel in HELL before I stand up and let you fuck over me!" she shouts.

Mrs. Selma Louise Jenkins has grabbed hold of the broom and is whacking me upside the head with it.

WHOOSH... "Don't you...ever...come...up...in...heah..."WHOOSH... dis...respecting,"...WHOOSH... "me..." WHOOSH... "and...dis- respecting..." WHOOSH "my...house..." WHOOSH! I try to run, but the bristles get tangled up in my hair.

"Turn me loose," I scream. "Turn me loose!"

"Oh, I'll turn yo ass loose alright." And Mama gets a good grip on that broom handle and slams her foot into my back. She sends me hurling down the hallway. Now, I'm determined not to hit the floor, so my body is doing a herky-jerky dance to stay afloat. Because I know once I'm down there on that floor, Mama's going to have a prayer meeting on my behind. WHOOSH...WHOOSH, she's at me again. I take off, like the devil from Holy Water. That broom is steadily singing in the breeze and pounding down on my back. WHOOSH...WHOOSH! At this point I'm so busy running, and screaming and looking back at Mama; I'm not watching where I'm going. I can feel the straws of the broom cutting and scraping into my skin, like steel wool to a pot. And I don't even notice that one of her rugs is rumpled up in the living room...until I trip over it...BOOM. For a moment it seems as if I'm suspended in mid-air. Desperately, my hands grope for thin air. Mama helps the situation along with a powerful WHOOP of the broom handle upon my back. I crash down to the floor with a cruel thump, and I land in a perfect `T' formation. And Mama is whipping me with that broom as if her very life depends on it!

WHOOSH...WHOOSH...WHOOSH...after each whoosh my body jumps and vibrates and her heavy breaths floats above me. After each breath she pants and sighs like a dying animal. At this point I hear another pair of footsteps running up behind me. It's my sister Gloria, she grabs the broom in mid-air and screams, "Don't hit her anymore Mama! Pleeze don't hit her!"

You see, it isn't Gloria's place to stop Mama from whipping me. I want her to whip me for all of the wrong I've done. I want her to whip all the pain away...gashes and lashes of pain. They're both in back of me now and I just lay here and stare at the wiggly, flowery shapes on the red rug.

My truth has me locked to this floor. And all I can do is lay here and look at the flower pattern on the rug. And I feel as if these very flowers are unhinging themselves and they're swirling and twirling all around me. And my mind unhinges itself too and swirls and twirls with the flowers and it dog-paddles back in to time, gathering up threads from the past at a lightning speed. And I remember, I remember who I was, and how I was.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Wasteland Press (June 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600471056
• ISBN-13: 978-1600471056
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,150,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SWOOSH SWOOSH!!!! Girl you need to step away from that broom!, August 13, 2007

By 

Jenny J.J.I. "A New Yorker" (That Lives in Carolinas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Blues for Annie Mae (Paperback)

D.J. Parhams debut novel was simply amazing. I've never laugh so hard during the first chapter in my life. You're surrounded with mental illness, desolation, drugs, hope and resolution. You might not know too much about this author in this book but you will know that she has a high passion for the blues.

In here we have an overly determine mother by the name of Selma Louise Jenkins who has two daughters- Gloria and Annie Mae. After their father left Selma becomes more determine as ever not only for herself but for the life of her daughters. Although she wants the best for her daughters it resulted them having to walk on eggshells in constrictive household and after school activities that really didn't fit their personality. Throughout this book resentment and bitterness takes a major role between Selma and Annie Mae. Perplexed as she was she had to understand why her mother seems to favor Gloria more and why her father treated her so before he deserted his family; Later in the book Annie Mae strive for answers while still trying to please her domineering mother as life takes full affect.

The characters in this book was flesh out rather nicely to the point that you knew them well enough except for her sister Gloria because I was curious to know what she was all about and why she choose to have her life that way beside what was giving to me. I thought Selma Louise Jenkins was one of the most interesting characters in the book because her determination and stance in life was profound. The turbulent relationship between Annie Mae and Selma was raw and affecting yet important in understanding their dynamic personalities between each other. I got to say the scene in the nursing home was hilarious and I got to give to D.J. Parhams for being very expressive in this book by not only with the characters but what goes on in it.

The story was well written and emotional at that. "The Blues for Annie Mae" kept my interest to the very end with surprising twists but a happy ending! Annie Mae's passage is a miraculous one that anyone can read. I'm looking forward to more books of this nature. Keep writing D.J. Parhams.

5.0 out of 5 stars DJ Parhams, Author, November 4, 2007

By 

D. J. PARHAMS "BLUES AFFICIANADO" (CHICAGO, ILL.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Blues For Annie Mae (Paperback)

I thought I was finish with Annie Mae, but I wasn't. I had to add another chapterto this novel. I'm sure that the readers will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent debut novel!, November 1, 2007

By 

Luis A. Limardo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blues For Annie Mae (Paperback)

This woman knows her way around a good story! I find it a panarama of drama. The only real difference in this one is that there is an added chapter. This new chapter adds even more depth to the main character. Great writing, great job, I can't wait to read Ms. Parhams' next novel. I'm sure it'll be a stand out!