Customer Reviews

Fifth Born: A Novel

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I knew I was in for an intense journey by the book cover and the book blurb, but I had no idea how much this story would take me up and refuse to let me go.

It has been a while since I experienced such agony for a character while reading a book. The last time I can recall was when I was reading "Push" by Sapphire. Then, as now, I wanted life to get better for the main character with every paragraph I read. I wanted all the 'bad' people to go away and for the love she so deserved, to arrive. But "Fifth Born" is no fairytale. It's the story of a little black girl name Odessa and the horrors of her family's past. A past that makes her an innocent victim, but too, a past that will ultimately set her free.

Ms. Lockhart had written a stunning debut. I finished the book an hour ago and I am still breathless by it. A thousand times I wanted to reach into the pages and rescue Odessa. I wanted to do away with her 'deddy' and shake up her mother. I wanted to bring back her dead grandmother, the only person whom she felt really loved her. This is what a great book does--it makes you reaction strongly and intensely. Ms. Lockhart had crafted an intimate, heartbreaking story, one that I will not soon forget.

Margaret Johnson-Hodge
Author of "True Lies"

Fifth Born is the heart-wrenching debut saga of Odessa Blackburn, the fifth born child to verbally and physically abusive parents, in the tenements of St. Louis, MO. From as far back as she can remember, she has treaded lightly and second-guessed her moves to be the good, obedient child who seeks the love and approval of her parents. However, chaos and neglect reign supreme in the Blackburn household. Her father, an alcoholic and incestuous pedophile, nearly blinds Odessa in one eye during a drunken stupor and ultimately molests Odessa and other female members of the household whenever her mother is absent. Sadly, her mother discovers the incident and does nothing.

Throughout Odessa's young life, she sporadically gets encouragement from a teacher, an older sister, an uncle, and the belief in her deceased grandmother's unconditional love for her. She learns hard lessons but eventually becomes more self-reliant, self-assured, and starts to exhibit some traits of self-love. The salvation to her dark and painful existence comes from an unlikely source in an unexpected ending. She discovers that her search for truth was not in vain and it is a liberating reward for her lifelong quest. Lockhart's writing style reminds me of Alice Walker's - it is intense and pointed, but this new author has a unique voice all her own. A great debut novel!

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO Bookclub, Nubian Circle Book Club

`Fifth Born' held my attention from cover to cover! This story drew out a series of emotions; it evoked compassion for this child, and brought forth an inevitable---necessary indignation for her plight that was as intimate as if it were your very own. I felt the pain she suffered at the hands of her family.

Odessa Blackburn is a brown-skinned angel who's struggling to find her way after the death of her grandma. No one chooses her family, but Odessa's takes the cake. Her "Deddy" is a strong-willed drunk who can hardly stand the sight of her and subjects her to abuses he can't even remember. Her Mama is too busy birthing babies and appeasing Deddy to worry about what happens to her fifth born. An older sister, Towanda, and a cousin, Gretal, are the only ones who offer Odessa comfort through her suffering. But, soon, as she matures, she'll discover a new identity and a new love that she'd never known existed. Odessa exemplifies the strength of the human spirit and a drive to survive even in the midst of what seems to be insuperable odds and circumstance.

Lockhart's writing style reminds me of Alice Walker's - it is intense and pointed, but she has a unique voice all her own. She didn't attempt to tell a pretty, fairy tale story and some of the subject matter might be disturbing to some readers. But, truth is truth and everyone needs a dose of reality and all the ugly things in society that we try to hide from. This is a great novel that comes highly recommend.

In the story of Fifth Born, the author gives us a pretty good description of who the main character is. Odessa is the main character and she is not the perfect little daughter. She wines a lot and loves attention. In the beginning of the story she is the baby of the family, but in due time her mother has more children. That is when she adores her mother, but her mother doesn't treat her special anymore because she is not the baby. Everyday she wishes her mother would reach out and hug her like she used to, but all she gets is her mother yelling at her everyday. Through out her adolesence she deals with all of her older siblings making fun of her: they make fun of her because she wears glasses, and laugh at her because she cries all the time. Through out the story you learn about Odessa's family, her personality, and her life struggles.

In the story, Odessa experiences a lot more than the usual child. She has survived her father molesting her, her mother hitting her, and seeing her uncle being murdered. All these incidents effect her in a major way. The author describes in great detail every scene and emotion that all the characters are feeling. When you are reading a paragraph, you feel as if you are sitting in the house with the family.

The plot doesn't seem to change from the beginning of the story and that is probably the thing that I do not like about this book. There is drama from the beginning of the story all the way until the end. But you get sick of hearing how disfunctional this family is and it starts to get predictable. There are some shocking points in the story, but for the most part, it stays at the same pace through the whole thing.

I wouldn't recommend this book for someone that has a short attention span, because it gets old after you get through half of it. But if you are a patient reader then it is somewhat interesting. I do love how the author makes you feel exactly what the characters feel, and how she makes you feel like you are in the story. The way the author writes gives you exactly the perfect picture you need to picture the image in your head. I just do not like how the story is predictable and boring.

fifth born is a poigniantly told tale of a young girl who is trapped in a woefully dysfunctional family. the author zelda lockhardt,brings to light
the unfortunate situation of odessa, a girl who hails from a large southern family that migrates south in search of a better life.
in the story odessa's family is no stranger to dark secrets, as she at an early age learns the harsh realities of life. being shunned by an inefectual mother along with her older siblings and being brutaly raped
by an abusive and alcoholic father, odessa turns retreats deep within her self to escape the inferno she's in. constantly she remebers the trips to
mississippi, there she shared fond memories with her grandmother. but soon
these rare moments end with her sudden suicide. the world turns slowly for this girl as she unwittingly stumbles across even more secrets as she witnesses her uncle being murdered by her father and even enduring a second molestation. all through the book it is would seem hopeless for odessa until the family commutes back to mississppi for the summer.
no longer the fifth born, odessa is largely ignored and feeling the weight of all this she wanders into the company of a long shunned relaitve.
there she learns the beginning of her family's secrets, and even some darker ones of her beloved grandmother.

This book was very moving. The title; very fitting you will have to read the book to get the just of the title. A job will done and very touching. This author is a great story teller.

If you ever felt like you are treated "like a stepchild," this book will have you counting your blessings. Fifth Born is a touching story that strikes home to St. Louisans as it discloses the lives of a dysfunctional family living in the West End of St. Louis.

Odessa, the novel's protagonist, is the "middle child." She's weepy, timid and delicate. She sucks her thumb well into middle school. She's ugly, black and she's country. Her family's mode of communication consists of name-calling, arguing and cursing. Neglect can not be alleged as the children are always neat, clean and fed; but neglect is the crime as obvious signs of sexual abuse is ignored and denied, angry tirades fueled by alcoholism are a regular occurence and an ugly family secret that fosters resentment toward the "Fifth Born."

Odessa has no idea what it's like to have a loving family, but she does know that she is not loved. Her brothers and sisters seem to be able to cope with the hopelessness by playing cruel jokes, snitching, stealing and lying on each other in the name of familial affection. The older sisters and brothers suffered sexual abuse from "Deddy" in their younger years, but they learned to "stay out of his way" by getting involved with activities after school.

Every summer the family heads "down south" to Mississippi, as so many families did in by St. Louis neighborhood. Odessa longs for her deceased grandmother as they occupy her home year after year in the sweltering summer heat of Mississippi.

After witnessing her uncle's murder and being raped a second time, Odessa begins to empower herself in her middle school years as she finds hiding and sheer disobedience as her only means of defense. This leads us to the beauty of irony as Odessa discovers her past and her destiny.

I loved the vernacular Ms. Lockhart used in this book; such as daddy being pronounced as "deddy," which is the way I pronounced it all my live here in the Gateway city.

Fifth Born, Zelda Lockhart's debut novel, was on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Her writing career began with poetry. Fifth Born is an example of irony at its best, giving way to justice and hope for a precious little girl that you will grow to cherish.

My heart simply weeps for Odessa, the fifth born daughter of a neglectful, irresponsible mother and a pedophile, child abuser father. Odessa's childhood was anything but happy. She suffered mightily at the hand of her father, who through one of his drunken rages almost rendered his daughter blind in one eye. Her mother, more content with having a man in her life than having happy, healthy, well adjusted children, became very adept at making excuses for that sorry excuse of a husband at the expense of her children. Odessa desperately sought love and attention from her mother but instead received orders, conflicting messages, and merciless taunting from her immediate family. Her father eventually took it upon himself to have his way with Odessa and her mother chose to ignore and pacify this horrendous act as well. Odessa's only solace was her undying belief in the love that she remembered being lavished upon her by her grandmother when the family went back to visit her each summer.

From all accounts, this doesn't seem like a nice novel to read. It's not for the faint of heart because the topics are difficult to talk about and even more difficult to understand but let me assure you that this book should be read. Ms. Lockheart has a different perspective on the situation that causes the reader to keep turning the pages. Odessa has resolve, Odessa has character and she is occasionally reassured by her older sister and other members of her extended family that know what a child needs. The ending is spectacular and for that reason alone endeavor to read Fifth Born. Generational curses are followed in this novel and I can see how Odessa's mother didn't learn how to handle crisis as a child. She never saw her mother handle situations appropriately but thankfully someone realized that wrong was wrong and shouldn't be propagated any further. I can only hope that this was purely fiction from the author's standpoint. This debut novel has excellent writing and immediately draws you in.

Heart wrenching, yes this novel is, but well worth the read. For all of the Odessa's in the world this fictionalize accounting of the atrocities of childhood, the time it takes to read and let Odessa sink into your psyche is well worth it. If I were the author, I would hope that this work would spur people to pursue with vigor, the protection of innocence in children.

There must be something special about being the fifth born. Odessa Blackburn get extra loving from her grandmother, at least for the first 3 years of her life, before her grandmother's death. She also gets to be the spoiled baby of the family, until the younger children come along and replace her status as baby. ....

The family journeys to Mississippi every summer. During her last summer vacation in Mississippi, Odessa leaves her grandfather's home and goes into the woods. She is found by her aunt Elizabeth AKA Aunt Ella Mae. Ella Mae was also the 5th born. She tells Odessa stories about her grandmother that are not so flattering and reveals secrets about her own life, which was just as troublesome as Odessa's. They form a bond as they are both outcasts in their respective families.

The author presents an interesting story about how family secrets and unresolved abuse can affect a family over time as history tends to repeat it self. While I thought the writing was clear and easy to read, at times, the storyline would get confusing as time appeared to jump fairly quickly. I thought it was a very interesting read. It actually rates a 3.5 on the APOOO scale.

Jeanette
Apooo BookClub

Whew! This is a book that is heavy on the heart. We grow up with the main character and voice of the book, Odessa. We are with her from her first memory of her grandmama dying when she (Odessa) was three years old until her life comes full circle when she approximately thirteen years old. We enjoy her memories of a loving Grandmama and adventurous summers in Mississippi. As time progresses we also have to cope with the demons of the past, present, and future along with Odessa.

This book really deals with some heavy issues. There is molestation, incest, violence, and murder which all happens within one family. All the time I was reading, I wanted Odessa to simply grow up. I did not want her to continue to be a little girl and keep getting hurt. The author really made you feel the emotional anguish of each character. She also captured "southern life" the way that I know it to be. This book was quite sad even though the ending really weaved things together and was somewhat redeeming. This book parallels to Push by Sapphire in a lot of ways to me.