Customer Reviews

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (10th Anniverary Edition)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is, indeed, a tribute to the author's mother. In it, the author, a man whose mother was white and his father black, tells two stories: that of his mother and his own. Tautly written in spare, clear prose, it is a wonderful story of a bi-racial family who succeeded and achieved the American dream, despite the societal obstacles placed in its way.

The author's mother was a Polish Orthodox Jew who migrated to America at the age of two with her family during the early nineteen twenties. They ultimately settled down in Virginia, where she led an isolated and lonely life; shunned by whites because she was Jewish and shunned by blacks because she was white. She was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood, where her father, a despicable and harsh man who brutalized his handicapped wife, ran a local grocery store, where he priced gouged his black clientele.

She left home and moved to New York when she was nineteen and never looked back. She met and married the author's father, a black man, when mixed race marriages were still frowned upon by both whites and blacks. Still, she always felt more comfortable around blacks than around whites. When he died sixteen years later, she married another black man who nurtured her eight children by the author's father and proceeded to give her four more children.

The author tells of his childhood, of his family, and of the issue of race that ultimately colored his life while growing up in predominantly black neighborhoods, where his mother stood out like a sore thumb because of the color of her skin. It was always an issue his mother avoided discussing with him, as for her it was not an issue. It was not until the author wrote this book that his mother discussed the issue of race within the context of her own life. From this dialogue emerges a fascinating look at the issues of race, as well as religion, and how it impacts on an individual's identity within our race conscious society.

It is also a very personal story. While the author's family was economically disadvantaged, his eccentric and independent mother always stressed education. She was a strict disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense from her twelve children. A convert to Christianity through her first husband, with whom she founded a Baptist church, she provided her children with the will to succeed. Consequently, all twelve eventually went to college and did her proud. The story of this unique family is told from two distinct, parallel perspectives: that of the author and that of his mother. While both are interesting, it is his mother's story that dominates this beautifully written book, which is, indeed, a tribute to her. It is truly a story told from the heart, as the love that the author has for his mother is evident with every written word.

I feel almost silly adding another review when others have said so much already. So, I'll keep it brief. This is an extremely well written book. It flows seamlessly back and forth between time periods and generations until, before you know it, it's over. And, contrary to what some others have written, it is not obsessed with race. Race, as McBride presents his struggles, can be seen as a metaphor for exclusion. McBride's experience brings to life the consequences of the unfortunate human tendency to separate people into in-groups and out-groups, and to denigrate those who belong to any out-group. Most of all, this is a heartwarming story about the power of love to overcome trauma. I recommend it to everyone, and most especially to anyone who has ever felt that they didn't fit into someone else's dichotomous box.

This book is a true story by james Mcbride. He wrote this masterpiece as a tribute to everything his mother went through for him and his siblings. The racial problems they went through describe a story many have gone through before and shows a side of society that not many understand. I also beileve it shows a side of this country some would like to deny exists or acknowledge. As to the one star review i would like to point out that what you have stated is a false accusation as well as ignorant beyond belief. Your view point does not represent the message the book is trying to send which i believe is that though there may be obstacles in one's life, they can overcome them and make their situation better. Ruth did this for her children by making them get an education and teaching them about racial ignorance and how to overcome it. Your statement however is saying the only reason this book is applaued is it was written by a black man whos mother happened to reject and renounce her jewish faith and it offends you because of this. Further more you say that if it were a jewish man who wrote a story such as this it would be rejected and deemed outrageous. This however just shows how close minded people are when they think opoinions such as these. It shows the same intolerance and slander against one ethnic group. Statements such as that one is what brings hatred and anger into this world. The book however is nto this at all. It is more however showing the side of not only racial boundries shattering but the loving care a ffamily really gives. It shows how a mother has the greatest impact on a child and to them seem bullet proof and act in such a manner. When you really see the side so many hide, you see struggles and hardships many face but bury away for they have something greater to think about, they think about their children, familys, loved ones and close friends and making it better for them. As a final note I beileve you have to understand that the author tells the truth and cannot hide the reality of what really happened. His mother is also human and like many humans has flaws. Readers must get that this book shows the flaws as well as how strong and a great mother Ruth really was.

James McBride creates a not-very-flattering portrait of race in America in this outstanding story of his white Jewish mother and black father and stepfather. Ruth McBride was born an Orthodox Jew who came to America at the age of two. The product of a traditional, arranged, loveless marriage, her family lived in the South, and from a young age she found warmth and love only in the black community. As a teenager she left home for New York, married a black man, raised 8 children, founded a church in Brooklyn, and married again as a widow and raised another 4.

Her Jewish family cut her off as if dead, and so too was her Jewish self dead, as she lived in the black community in a white world that treated her with contempt and treated her children as black. And that was fine with James, who was deeply ashamed to have a white mother, at least until he became an adult and realized her extraordinary strength and courage and faith. It took him 14 years to unearth her story, and when published 10 years ago, this memoir was a literary sensation.

Ruth had the good fortune to marry two extraordinary black men, and her Christian faith carried her past all the obstacles society created in the post-WWII period. White society scorned her for marrying black men, and her children were segregated as all other black children at that time--there has never been a "half-white" category in America. But Ruth did not let this stop her from sending her children to the best schools possible, and all 12 today are college graduates, with a good number of doctors thrown in for good measure. Throughout she was accepted and supported by her black neighbors and friends and churches. We may balk now reading of her iron discipline and corporal punishment, but it was always tempered by the love of both a mother and father. We may wonder if it would have been better for her to be open about her past with her children, but she transformed herself from Ruchel Shilsky to Ruth McBride as a matter of survival. This is an extraordinary story of an admirable woman's survival in the less than admirable society of the time, and well worth your time.

While I admire the chutzpah of Mr. McBride's mother and Mr. McBride's easy writing style, this story left me wanting to know more about the challenges faced by his mother and siblings on how they decided what careers to select and why (was it because of their family experiences or an unrelated incident?) and how they managed as a family to afford it. I believe a huge opportunity was missed to show their strength and solidarity as a family to successfully put 12 children through higher education. It left me with an image of a white woman walking amongst blacks and yet oblivious to them. I really wanted to be left with how she and her children worked as a unit to achieve the astounding educational feat that they did.

For nearly 10 years now, I have given this book to others as a gift, especially those who are interested in profound, moving literature. This book FLOWS and speaks to all of us: black, white, Jewish, gentile, young, old. I recommend this book to those I work with, to my son's high school English teachers, to anyone who is searching for a satisfying, uplifting experience. I say experience rather than 'book.' To me, reading this book is an experience. I pull it out and re-read it every year. It encourages me to face hardships, to count my blessings and to recognize that all of us are put on earth for a reason. Thank you, James McBride, for a book that has become a cornerstone in my life.

In his book, The Color of Water, James McBride tells the story of his mother's life and the story of his own search for identity. It is the remarkably moving story of a young woman who is compelled to leave her home, her family, and her Orthodox Jewish faith and heritage behind her. Rachel Shilsky moves from Virginia to Harlem and marries Dennis McBride, a Christian black man. When her family learns what she has done, the entire family (collateral relatives included) declare Rachel dead and sit shiva. At that point, Rachel realizes that all ties to her past are severed. She becomes a Christian, changes her name to Ruth, and wholeheartedly throws herself into her new life without a backward glance. She founds the New Brown Christian Church in the Red Hook projects in Harlem, and raises twelve outstanding and highly accomplished children.

Ruth's path in life is filled with crises, obstacles and painful situations. But Ruth's journey is one that is driven by love, compassion and determination. Fortunately, Ruth is equipped with a strong will and an amazing insight. When one son asks her the color of God's skin, her response is "God is the color of water". Like everyone else in this world, Ruth makes mistakes and has to deal with personality flaws. This woman does so with grace.

James McBride shares his personal struggles as well. Throughout the majority of the book, young James grapples with racial identity issues, anger and anxiety. When James loses his stepfather in his early teens, his grief is so profound that he becomes unmoored for a few years. I am mixed race and was raised in a household of conflicting ideologies. I have to say that James McBride puts my feelings about my mixed upbringing into words -- and he gets it right.

I alternately cried and laughed as I worked my way through the final five chapters of the book, its epilogue and afterword (I even cried and laughed through McBride's acknowledgements). I identified with virtually every sentence. This book has my highest recommendations.

Some reviews here say it all. This is indeed a remarkable biography/autobiography, so I would only add my praise for such a loving, touching homage to a very special lady and her remarkable family. I loved the forthright descriptions of this numerous mixed-race family and was touched by Mrs. McBride Jordan's personal tale, kept inside for so long. Her buried past and the author's own reminiscences entwine flawlessly, making this an emotion-stirring book. By writing it, James McBride is finally able to piece together his own past and that of his mother, thus quenching his desire to learn more about his origins.

The difference with the original edition is an interesting Afterword, summarizing the 10 years since its first publication (1996) and the impact its success had on the author himself, his family and, above all, his mother. I shall not disclose anything here, but it is worth to look into.

I truly think this is a standout among the various memoirs I have read so far, an inspiring and remarkable contribution to race-related literature.

I started to write first rate mixed-race memoir, but hell, this is just plain first rate writing no matter how you slice it. As one of 12 kids in desperately poor conditions, McBride survived and triumphed, as apparently did all 11 of his siblings. And they owe much of this to their mother, who did her best for them. This is a "double memoir," being the story of both the author and his mother, a Jewish immigrant who survived an abusive and nearly loveless childhood, but finally found love - twice - and somehow successfully raised all those kids, the products of two good matches with men who took their parenting responsibilities seriously. I wonder if Barack Obama has read this book. There are undoubtedly personal and racial identity problems here to which he could relate. If I could call him up, I'd certainly recommend it to him. I'm also recommending it to another author I know, Stella Suberman, who wrote the warm memoir of growing up Jewish in the south, THE JEW STORE. But hey, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a little more about the nature of being a human being. - Tim Bazzett, author of Reed City Boy

This was the second copy of this book I purchased after the first disappeared into circulation among my friends. A timeless story interstingly structured and skillfully told. A worthwhile read.