I couldn't put
Chasing the 400 down. I adored Vera and Bobby, and traveling back in time into a world I knew nothing about, yet what I loved best was how this novel made me think: about being black or white, about how we decide what is right and what is wrong, about how our lives unfold through our choices. This is a book to share with all your literary friends. --Jennifer Louden, author of
The Life Organizer and
The Women's Comfort Book<br /><br />I couldn't put
Chasing the 400 down. I adored Vera and Bobby, and traveling back in time into a world I knew nothing about, yet what I loved best was how this novel made me think: about being black or white, about how we decide what is right and what is wrong, about how our lives unfold through our choices. This is a book to share with all your literary friends. --Jennifer Louden, author of
The Life Organizer and
The Women's Comfort Book<br /><br />If you are looking for an upbeat novel to relax with after a stressful week at the office,
Chasing The 400 is the book for you. Although there were a few serious moments; I laughed all the way through this novel. The African American Caste System: When you think about the caste system you think of the poor in countries like India where there is a division of society based on differences of wealth, inherited rank or privilege, profession, occupation, or race. But unfortunately; back in the fifties there was a definite division between the Negro working class communities and the more achieved and affluent Black Bourgeoisie in America. The 400 refers to the upper class Black community or the social elite. Many formed groups you may be familiar with such as Jack and Jill; The Links; and the fraternities and sororities at Black colleges and universities. Chasing The 400, a novel by first time author Sheilah Vance is a humorous spin on this sociological phenomenon. I discovered this book at the Harlem Book Fair this summer and was drawn to the colorful cover. Set in the 1950s in Philadelphia; Vance tells the hilarious story of the Marshall family and their friends and neighbors. The main characters are Vera Marshall and her younger brother Bobby. Vera and Bobby are the oldest children of the local plumber on Philadelphia s Main Line. Along with his weary wife, they are raising their ten children in a single row house in the low income section of town. Vera and Bobby have hopes and dreams of moving past their parent s dull existence and making good on their own. Vera wants to be a high-fashion model and Bobby dreams of going to college and becoming a scientist. But the powers that be do nothing to help them on their journey. Instead; they continue to put roadblocks in their path. The story opens with Vera and Billy as students in the local high school which is predominately white but well attended by the sons and daughters of the doctors, lawyers and other professionals on the Main Line. The Main Line is a suburban community right on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The snobby black teenagers treat Vera and Billy even worse than the white students and Vera is determined to leave them behind in a gust of smoke as she moves into her high-living life after graduation. The tale that unfolds is full of laughs and good times. I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun read. Vera is a true diva. I really liked the way the author developed this character. She is well dressed, a real beauty and loves the finer things in life. Vera is also determined, smart and takes no prisoners as she hob nobs among the movers and shakers to make her way to the top. Her brother Bobby is more reserved, a real intellectual who eventually finds his niche in local politics. You will enjoy the family connections, as well as the portrayal of the closeness of the Black community. The author also di --African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) review by Idrissa Udquah
I couldn't put
Chasing the 400 down. I adored Vera and Bobby, and traveling back in time into a world I knew nothing about, yet what I loved best was how this novel made me think: about being black or white, about how we decide what is right and what is wrong, about how our lives unfold through our choices. This is a book to share with all your literary friends. --Jennifer Louden, author of
The Life Organizer and
The Women's Comfort BookIf you are looking for an upbeat novel to relax with after a stressful week at the office,
Chasing The 400 is the book for you. Although there were a few serious moments; I laughed all the way through this novel. The African American Caste System: When you think about the caste system you think of the poor in countries like India where there is a division of society based on differences of wealth, inherited rank or privilege, profession, occupation, or race. But unfortunately; back in the fifties there was a definite division between the Negro working class communities and the more achieved and affluent Black Bourgeoisie in America. The 400 refers to the upper class Black community or the social elite. Many formed groups you may be familiar with such as Jack and Jill; The Links; and the fraternities and sororities at Black colleges and universities. Chasing The 400, a novel by first time author Sheilah Vance is a humorous spin on this sociological phenomenon. I discovered this book at the Harlem Book Fair this summer and was drawn to the colorful cover. Set in the 1950s in Philadelphia; Vance tells the hilarious story of the Marshall family and their friends and neighbors. The main characters are Vera Marshall and her younger brother Bobby. Vera and Bobby are the oldest children of the local plumber on Philadelphia s Main Line. Along with his weary wife, they are raising their ten children in a single row house in the low income section of town. Vera and Bobby have hopes and dreams of moving past their parent s dull existence and making good on their own. Vera wants to be a high-fashion model and Bobby dreams of going to college and becoming a scientist. But the powers that be do nothing to help them on their journey. Instead; they continue to put roadblocks in their path. The story opens with Vera and Billy as students in the local high school which is predominately white but well attended by the sons and daughters of the doctors, lawyers and other professionals on the Main Line. The Main Line is a suburban community right on the outskirts of Philadelphia. The snobby black teenagers treat Vera and Billy even worse than the white students and Vera is determined to leave them behind in a gust of smoke as she moves into her high-living life after graduation. The tale that unfolds is full of laughs and good times. I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun read. Vera is a true diva. I really liked the way the author developed this character. She is well dressed, a real beauty and loves the finer things in life. Vera is also determined, smart and takes no prisoners as she hob nobs among the movers and shakers to make her way to the top. Her brother Bobby is more reserved, a real intellectual who eventually finds his niche in local politics. You will enjoy the family connections, as well as the portrayal of the closeness of the Black community. The author also did a great job with the setting and from her descriptions you could just imagine Philadelphia's affluent Black community back then. --African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) review by Idrissa Udquah
If you’ve ever wanted to change your life so that the abundance of your reality matched the size of your dreams, then this is the book for you. If you’ve ever wanted to rise above your circumstances and live your dreams big—especially if people tell you that you can’t—then this is the book for you. And, if you want characters that you can cheer for, laugh with, sympathize with, grow with, and even loathe, then this is the book for you. The novel has short, fast-paced chapters to appeal to readers like me—hard-working and busy people who collapse in bed at the end of the day, eager to read an upbeat book about characters they can root for, and equally eager to feel that they’ve accomplished something for themselves by reading at least one chapter. This is a work of fiction that is squarely placed in the very real towns of Philadelphia and Ardmore in Pennsylvania. The characters are fictional, too, but bits and pieces of the Marshalls are lovingly drawn from my own family. I didn’t grow up in the period that I write about, but I heard all sorts of stories from the members of my family who did. Chasing the 400 doesn’t recreate their reality; it pays homage to it. I hope you find that homage well deserved. Enjoy my book. I would love to hear from you. Please email me at Chasingthe400@comcast.net or write me at Box 207, Paoli, PA 19301.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
