Finding Makeba [Bargain Price] [Mass Market Paperback]

Alexs D. Pate (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

While at a bookstore signing copies of his first novel, an African-American author recognizes the teenaged daughter whom he had abandoned years earlier, and the two struggle to bridge the gap between them. By the author of Losing Absalom. 22,500 first printing.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this charming little novel, the author's second, a black writer is forced to confront his past when the daughter he had abandoned approaches him at a book signing. Alexis Pate tells the story of how Ben Crestfield meets the woman he loves, marries her and then leaves his wife and daughter, Makeba, despite his promises to himself that he will never be that kind of man. Ben's story is entertwined with excerpts from Makeba's journal, as he and Makeba struggle to bridge the gap created by the years they have been apart. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In a Philadelphia bookstore, African American writer Ben Crestfield asks a young woman for her name so that he can autograph a copy of his first novel for her. When she replies, "Makeba Crestfield," he realizes she's his only child, the daughter he hasn't seen and he left her mother when Makeba was 10. Ben's novel is the thinly disguised story of his marriage to 19-year-old Helen, who was pregnant with Makeba when he was a 22-year-old part-time English major studying on the G.I. Bill in the 1970s, and how the relationship unraveled over the next decade as he tried to be both an artist and a responsible family man, churning out copy at an ad agency to pay the bills. Makeba, in turn, hands Ben a letter and a journal in which she has recorded her reactions to his version of events. The ensuing narrative interleaves Ben's book's chapters and Makeba's journal entries into a dialogue between father and daughter. Pate draws Ben, the passive but possessive Helen and Makeba with keen psychological insight. He's less successful with Helen's mother, Lena, a problematical character who has special powers that seem to combine voodoo and natural paganism. The story is further complicated by the introduction of Ben's personified guilt in the form of a spiritual force called Mates, an entity that exists only to punish whoever unintentionally or deliberately destroys love. Despite its flaws, Pate's second novel (after Losing Absolom, named 1994 Best First Novel by the Black Caucus of the ALA) is a sensitive exploration of an African American male's struggle to be a man.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• ISBN-10: 0380731525
• ASIN: B000H2M6XU
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,522,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative, Honest, and Thought-Provoking, May 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding Makeba (Mass Market Paperback)

Finally. There is finally a book by a black man that radiates love instead of rage. A novel that is honest AND beautiful instead of being brutally honest. Alexs Pate is the most prolific and innovative black writer of our time. And Finding Makeba is proof. This novel breaks the societal stereotypes that portray black men as bitter, cold, violent, and insensitive by presenting to us a protagonist who is gentle, soft-spirited, sweet, and passionate for things such as love, family, and work. Oh, by the way, the protagonist is BLACK. This novel is for anyone who struggles with finding and then maintaining the love you've found in your life; it is for anyone who wants to see black men portrayed for who they really are-intelligent, strong, and loving; for anyone who wants to beautify their lives with a novel that speaks in both prose and poetry at the same time; and for anyone who has been separated from a parent or a child. For those of you who have read his other works, Losing Absalom and Amistad, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterfully crafted story of restoration and redemption, February 6, 2001

By 

Cydney Rax "rmn1994" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Makeba (Library Binding)

"Finding Makeba" is the story of Ben, a writer from North Philadelphia, whose life's circumstances turn him into an absentee father. It's not that Ben doesn't love his wife, Helen, and his daughter, Makeba. It's just that he feels such a struggle to be everything his wife expects him to be, and is torn between her expectations and those of his own. Ben yearns to write; writing is in his soul, his heart, but Helen doesn't seem to understand and ridicules Ben about his dreams. With mounting bills and pressures from his odd-acting mother-in-law, Ben feels inadequate, restless, and needs space from his family. Years later, after Ben's dreams of becoming a writer materialize, he is confronted by the daughter he abandoned at one of his book signings and is forced to come to terms with his manhood.

The story weaves you through a lyrical wonderment; a fascinating tale of a daughter's quest to make sense of her father's questionable decisions, and a story of a father's desire to reconnect with his child. The writing here is pure, emotional, deeply affecting, and may stimulate the readers' mind, soul and heart. Pates is a superb writer, a "writer's writer", and his impressive skills are highlighted throughout this book. An absolute joy to read, "Finding Makeba" is satisfying to the full, a winning story in every aspect, and is highly recommended.

Cydney Rax

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grippingly Honest, March 1, 2000

By 

Lisa Turner (Lithonia, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Makeba (Mass Market Paperback)

I was completely impressed with the topic and content of this novel. This was an honest take on what it must feel like for a man to have two loves in his life. One being the family and the other his passion for his work. The sad thing is sometimes these two loves can not coexist, as seen in this case. I was deeply moved by the father's pain over leaving his family to pursue his dreams despite his anguish over the decision. But I felt more deeply for the daughter (Makeba) who did not ask to be brought in to this world but had to endure the sadness brought on by her parents decisions. I applaud the author for showing an accurate display of how decisions we make in life need to be thought out seriously for the consequences can be life changing for everyone involved.