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If This World Were Mine: A Novel
 
 
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If This World Were Mine: A Novel [Paperback]

E. Lynn Harris (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 15, 1998
Four friends, all graduates of Hampton Institute, keep a collective journal they call "If This World Were Mine," and share their personal diaries each month at a gathering filled with humor, gossip, and affirmation. The four group members are as different as the seasons, yet they all share a love of one another. Yolanda, a media consultant, keeps it going on with a no-nonsense attitude and independence that are balanced by the theatrics of Riley, a former marketing executive whose marriage has reduced her to a "kept woman with kids." Computer engineer Dwight's anger at the world is offset by the compassion of Leland, a gay psychiatrist whose clients make him question why God ever invented sex.

But after five years, the once-strong bonds of friendship are weakening, and the group must handle challenges of work, lost love, and a stranger in their midst. As the group members confront their true feelings toward each other, resentments and long-held secrets surface, and the stability of the group begins to disintegrate. Is their past friendship strong enough to survive the future?

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Four former classmates of a prestigious African American college have a "journal club" where, nearly 20 years later, they still meet regularly to talk about what's going on in their lives. Dwight is filled with resentment towards whites, and it's about to raise some serious conflicts at his job. Leland is still coping with the death of his partner, Donald, from AIDS. Riley's afraid that the love's gone out of her marriage, and that she'll never be able to achieve the success as a poet-singer she's dreamed about. And Yolanda... well, Yolanda's just started a romance with former pro football player Basil Henderson, but longtime E. Lynn Harris fans just know where that's going to lead. The multiple first-person narration can be confusing at times, but the convoluted plot does sort itself out neatly in ways sure to entertain Harris's previous fans, as well as anybody who likes Terry McMillan or Gloria Naylor. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Two women and two men, former classmates at African American Hampton Institute, meet monthly to share from their journals and to keep their friendship fresh. Nearing 40, the four have left behind spouses, lovers, and, in the case of Riley Woodson, still married to her college sweetheart (now an immensely successful, workaholic businessman), passion. But if the thrill is gone for Riley, for media consultant Yolanda Williams, it has rebounded big time in the person of pro football player Basil Henderson. Meanwhile, psychiatrist Leland Thompson is still enduring single bliss in the now years-old wake of his lover Donald's death from AIDS, and computer engineer Dwight Scott, whose anger over white condescension toward blacks still burns as strongly as when he was a student, faces losing his job because he refuses to lie to a black customer who is being wooed by his white-owned employer. Thus the stage is set for the overlapping romances and revelations that Harris spins out effortlessly, if a trifle woodenly as far as his prose goes. More in the vein of Terry McMillan than of Toni Morrison, Harris' buppie melodrama, full of happy outcomes (if not resolutions: Harris holds the door open for a sequel), is his bid to win an even larger audience than And This Too Shall Pass brought him. Ray Olson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor; 1ST edition (June 15, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385486561
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385486569
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #789,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E. Lynn Harris (1955-2009) is the author of ten previous novels and the memoir What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. His recent novels Just Too Good to be True, I Say a Little Prayer, A Love of My Own, and Any Way the Wind Blows hit the bestseller lists in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and other publications. He founded the E. Lynn Harris Better Days Foundation, a nonprofit company that provides support to aspiring writers and artists.

 

Customer Reviews

89 Reviews
5 star:
 (57)
4 star:
 (19)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, June 14, 2000
By 
Years after graduation from Hampton University, this circle of friends keeps in touch through periodic meetings and journal writing. This is E. Lynn Harris' fourth novel so you know that at least one of the main characters is a gay man with a good heart. The infamous Basil Henderson appears in this story as well and adds twists to the lives of many. This time, though, E. Lynn sheds a little more light on Basil's background and you can, at least try, to understand why he behaves the way he does.

I liked this book because it is real about the friendships it portrays. Nearly 20 years after college, these characters are still fighting, loving and learning from each other. The familiarity of the families, college life and professional pursuits make this book very easy to read and relate to. For those who love his stories, this is a good one.

If This World Were Mine is crying for a sequel to tie up lots of loose threads.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A RELAXED READ, July 9, 2005
This review is from: If This World Were Mine: A Novel (Paperback)
Really a good book. It was a page turner, it's got dramma, love, friendship, all that stuff that makes a good book. I recomend it if you want a relaxed read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!!!, November 15, 1997
By 
Dawn R Reeves "tamardi" (Harrisburg, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I've read all of Mr. Harris' novels and I anxiously await his next release. I never thought that I would enjoy reading about the gay underworld and how it relates to the heterosexual community. Mr. Harris' novels have helped me to keep an open mind when dealing with and accepting differences.

I also enjoy how the character Basil slowly but surely creeps into Mr. Harris' novels. With this book I was able to finally realize what issues Basil was dealing with. I hope the character, Basil and his healing is explored in furture novels. A great, great book.

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I've just stepped out of the shower and I'm standing in front of the full-length mirror on the bathroom door of my junior suite at the Omni Berkshire in New York City, near Fifty-second and Madison. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
world were mine
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Wanda Mae, Raymond Tyler, African American, Basil Henderson, Miss Thing's Wings, New Orleans, Merry Christmas, Yolanda Williams, John Henderson, Bertha Lee, Dwight Scott, Park West, Aunt Thelma, Leland Thompson, Lynn Harris, Motown Cafe, New Jersey, Thank God, Digital Plus, Douglas Thompson, Edwin Jackson, Eric Hughes, Marvin Gaye, Miss Yolanda
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Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
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