Customer Reviews

Imitation of Life

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This is an oldie but a goodie, and although it may seem somewhat anachronistic, in fact, almost embarrassingly and offensively so, it is well worth reading. A best selling novel when it was first released in 1933, the reader should keep in mind that much of what is in the book would today be perceived as racist. The book is reflective of a paternalistic view of African-Americans that was prevalent at the time in which this book was written. It is certainly a view that is jarring in these more enlightened times, as the books reflects the nature of the racism that was then inherent in our society. This is not a book that would be written today, as modern society, though still racist in many ways, would view it as being totally politically incorrect.

That being said, the book focuses on two female characters, Bea Pullman, a white teenage widow living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her elderly father and a baby daughter named Jessie, and Delilah Johnston, a young black widow with a light-skinned baby daughter named Peola. Both women are struggling to survive in pre-World War I society, where the lot of widows in a man's world could be a difficult one. When they join forces, an alliance born of necessity is forged. Delilah becomes Bea's housekeeper and caregiver, taking on the traditional woman's role, while Bea struggles to be the breadwinner in a world not yet hospitable to the idea of a business woman.

When Delilah's culinary talents merge with Bea's innate business acumen, they are both on their way to fame and fortune. Before you know it, Bea is making a mint with Delilah's recipes, running a successful chain of B. Pullman waffle emporiums, which are presided over by a mammy figure imitative of Delilah, as well as a successful line of candy called Delilah's hearts, bearing Delilah's beaming image on the box. Delilah, thus, becomes a beloved icon, a sort of revered mammy, but a mammy, nonetheless. Bea, on the other hand, remains somewhat of a behind-the-scene enigma, eventually branching out into real estate development and becoming a phenomenon for a woman of that time.

Meanwhile, Delilah continues to remain with Bea, living with her and waiting on her, always the perennial mammy. While Bea always treats Delilah with affection and care, there is not a level playing field between the two. Delilah treats Bea with worshipping servitude, while Bea treats Delilah as if she were a beloved family retainer. There is something reminiscent of the old master/slave dichotomy in their relationship. Moreover, while Bea is cognizant of Delilah's contribution to her financial success, they are not contractual business partners, as Bea pays Delilah a salary, though a lesser one than Bea would like, as Delilah refuses raises. Moreover, although there is great affection between the two, the issue of color is always there, both overtly and covertly.

Meanwhile, the years have passed, and Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, clearly knows the score. She certainly has no intention of being anyone's mammy and wants to pass for white, as she does not wish to be relegated to second class citizenry. She does not try to do this because she wants to be white, but rather, she wants the advantages associated with being white in that time. She simply wants what Jessie has. Hers is not a decision based upon race self-hate, but one that is based upon a realistic assessment of how she could be all she could be. Peola's philosophy is that there is nothing wrong in passing, but rather, the wrong is inherent in a world that would make such necessary. Still, Peola breaks Delilah's heart by doing this, and Delilah is sustained only by her stalwart faith in God. When Delilah dies, a waffle queen icon to millions, the person dearest to her heart, her own flesh and blood, is missing from her funeral cortege.

Bea is not without her share of heartbreak, as well. She spends years struggling to make that almighty buck and ensure that everyone within the sphere of her hearth is taken take of financially. She rises to great heights in the business world, leaving little time for that man lovin' that Delilah is always talking about. Bea struggles to give her daughter Jessie all the advantages she never had. When Bea finally falls in love with Flake, a man several years younger than her and a trusted business confidant, she finds that her daughter has already laid claim to his heart. Without that man lovin' and with her beloved Delilah having gone to meet her Maker, Bea is left to face her imitation of life.

This is really a wonderful soaper of a book. From it would flow two successful, though controversial, film adaptations. Both the 1934 version with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, as well as the 1959 one starring Lana Turner and Juanita Moore, are terrific and well worth seeing. Though both are loose adaptations, it is the 1934 version that is probably the one truest to the book. In the context of today's society, however, each film will shock the viewer's sensibilities with its political incorrectness, as will the book.

The reason you didn't really get the lesbian connection is because it isn't there. In the book and in both versions of the movie, maids/live-in-housekeepers were the norm and friendship of any kind was rare between the classes, much less the races, ...the whole point of the story! (Bea treating Delilah like a business-woman and business-partner is the more heartwarming part of the story.) You can see this in the 1934 movie by the fact that Delilah is answering a newspaper ad for a colored maid and in the 1959 movie by the fact that they are put up in the room behind the kitchen (Sarah-Jane whines about "why do we always have to sleep behind the kitchen")...servants quarters in smaller houses and apartments were always a small room behind the kitchen, often w/a back entrance (in the 1934 mansion it is a downstairs entrance) near the kitchen so as to be close to where the maid spent most of her time cooking and so as to be out of the way of white guests. Your friends should re-read the book in the context in which it was written in 1933 and not the context in which they wish it to have been written in 2005.

This is an oldie but a goodie, and although it may seem somewhat anachronistic, in fact, almost embarrassingly and offensively so, it is well worth reading. A best selling novel when it was first released in 1933, the reader should keep in mind that much of what is in the book would today be perceived as racist. The book is reflective of a paternalistic view of African-Americans that was prevalent at the time in which this book was written. It is certainly a view that is jarring in these more enlightened times, as the books reflects the nature of the racism that was then inherent in our society. This is not a book that would be written today, as modern society, though still racist in many ways, would view it as being totally politically incorrect.

That being said, the book focuses on two female characters, Bea Pullman, a white teenage widow living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her elderly father and a baby daughter named Jessie, and Delilah Johnston, a young black widow with a light-skinned baby daughter named Peola. Both women are struggling to survive in pre-World War I society, where the lot of widows in a man's world could be a difficult one. When they join forces, an alliance born of necessity is forged. Delilah becomes Bea's housekeeper and caregiver, taking on the traditional woman's role, while Bea struggles to be the breadwinner in a world not yet hospitable to the idea of a business woman.

When Delilah's culinary talents merge with Bea's innate business acumen, they are both on their way to fame and fortune. Before you know it, Bea is making a mint with Delilah's recipes, running a successful chain of B. Pullman waffle emporiums, which are presided over by a mammy figure imitative of Delilah, as well as a successful line of candy called Delilah's hearts, bearing Delilah's beaming image on the box. Delilah, thus, becomes a beloved icon, a sort of revered mammy, but a mammy, nonetheless. Bea, on the other hand, remains somewhat of a behind-the-scene enigma, eventually branching out into real estate development and becoming a phenomenon for a woman of that time.

Meanwhile, Delilah continues to remain with Bea, living with her and waiting on her, always the perennial mammy. While Bea always treats Delilah with affection and care, there is not a level playing field between the two. Delilah treats Bea with worshipping servitude, while Bea treats Delilah as if she were a beloved family retainer. There is something reminiscent of the old master/slave dichotomy in their relationship. Moreover, while Bea is cognizant of Delilah's contribution to her financial success, they are not contractual business partners, as Bea pays Delilah a salary, though a lesser one than Bea would like, as Delilah refuses raises. Moreover, although there is great affection between the two, the issue of color is always there, both overtly and covertly.

Meanwhile, the years have passed, and Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, clearly knows the score. She certainly has no intention of being anyone's mammy and wants to pass for white, as she does not wish to be relegated to second class citizenry. She does not try to do this because she wants to be white, but rather, she wants the advantages associated with being white in that time. She simply wants what Jessie has. Hers is not a decision based upon race self-hate, but one that is based upon a realistic assessment of how she could be all she could be. Peola's philosophy is that there is nothing wrong in passing, but rather, the wrong is inherent in a world that would make such necessary. Still, Peola breaks Delilah's heart by doing this, and Delilah is sustained only by her stalwart faith in God. When Delilah dies, a waffle queen icon to millions, the person dearest to her heart, her own flesh and blood, is missing from her funeral cortege.

Bea is not without her share of heartbreak, as well. She spends years struggling to make that almighty buck and ensure that everyone within the sphere of her hearth is taken take of financially. She rises to great heights in the business world, leaving little time for that man lovin' that Delilah is always talking about. Bea struggles to give her daughter Jessie all the advantages she never had. When Bea finally falls in love with Flake, a man several years younger than her and a trusted business confidant, she finds that her daughter has already laid claim to his heart. Without that man lovin' and with her beloved Delilah having gone to meet her Maker, Bea is left to face her imitation of life.

This is really a wonderful soaper of a book. From it would flow two successful, though controversial, film adaptations. Both the 1934 version with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, as well as the 1959 one starring Lana Turner and Juanita Moore, are terrific and well worth seeing. Though both are loose adaptations, it is the 1934 version that is probably the one truest to the book. In the context of today's society, however, each film will shock the viewer's sensibilities with its political incorrectness, as will the book.

This is an oldie but a goodie, and although it may seem somewhat anachronistic, in fact, almost embarrassingly and offensively so, it is well worth reading. A best selling novel when it was first released in 1933, the reader should keep in mind that much of what is in the book would today be perceived as racist. The book is reflective of a paternalistic view of African-Americans that was prevalent at the time in which this book was written. It is certainly a view that is jarring in these more enlightened times, as the books reflects the nature of the racism that was then inherent in our society. This is not a book that would be written today, as modern society, though still racist in many ways, would view it as being totally politically incorrect.

That being said, the book focuses on two female characters, Bea Pullman, a white teenage widow living in Atlantic City, New Jersey with her elderly father and a baby daughter named Jessie, and Delilah Johnston, a young black widow with a light-skinned baby daughter named Peola. Both women are struggling to survive in pre-World War I society, where the lot of widows in a man's world could be a difficult one. When they join forces, an alliance born of necessity is forged. Delilah becomes Bea's housekeeper and caregiver, taking on the traditional woman's role, while Bea struggles to be the breadwinner in a world not yet hospitable to the idea of a business woman.

When Delilah's culinary talents merge with Bea's innate business acumen, they are both on their way to fame and fortune. Before you know it, Bea is making a mint with Delilah's recipes, running a successful chain of B. Pullman waffle emporiums, which are presided over by a mammy figure imitative of Delilah, as well as a successful line of candy called Delilah's hearts, bearing Delilah's beaming image on the box. Delilah, thus, becomes a beloved icon, a sort of revered mammy, but a mammy, nonetheless. Bea, on the other hand, remains somewhat of a behind-the-scene enigma, eventually branching out into real estate development and becoming a phenomenon for a woman of that time.

Meanwhile, Delilah continues to remain with Bea, living with her and waiting on her, always the perennial mammy. While Bea always treats Delilah with affection and care, there is not a level playing field between the two. Delilah treats Bea with worshipping servitude, while Bea treats Delilah as if she were a beloved family retainer. There is something reminiscent of the old master/slave dichotomy in their relationship. Moreover, while Bea is cognizant of Delilah's contribution to her financial success, they are not contractual business partners, as Bea pays Delilah a salary, though a lesser one than Bea would like, as Delilah refuses raises. Moreover, although there is great affection between the two, the issue of color is always there, both overtly and covertly.

Meanwhile, the years have passed, and Delilah's light-skinned daughter, Peola, clearly knows the score. She certainly has no intention of being anyone's mammy and wants to pass for white, as she does not wish to be relegated to second class citizenry. She does not try to do this because she wants to be white, but rather, she wants the advantages associated with being white in that time. She simply wants what Jessie has. Hers is not a decision based upon race self-hate, but one that is based upon a realistic assessment of how she could be all she could be. Peola's philosophy is that there is nothing wrong in passing, but rather, the wrong is inherent in a world that would make such necessary. Still, Peola breaks Delilah's heart by doing this, and Delilah is sustained only by her stalwart faith in God. When Delilah dies, a waffle queen icon to millions, the person dearest to her heart, her own flesh and blood, is missing from her funeral cortege.

Bea is not without her share of heartbreak, as well. She spends years struggling to make that almighty buck and ensure that everyone within the sphere of her hearth is taken take of financially. She rises to great heights in the business world, leaving little time for that man lovin' that Delilah is always talking about. Bea struggles to give her daughter Jessie all the advantages she never had. When Bea finally falls in love with Flake, a man several years younger than her and a trusted business confidant, she finds that her daughter has already laid claim to his heart. Without that man lovin' and with her beloved Delilah having gone to meet her Maker, Bea is left to face her imitation of life.

This is really a wonderful soaper of a book. From it would flow two successful, though controversial, film adaptations. Both the 1934 version with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, as well as the 1959 one starring Lana Turner and Juanita Moore, are terrific and well worth seeing. Though both are loose adaptations, it is the 1934 version that is probably the one truest to the book. In the context of today's society, however, each film will shock the viewer's sensibilities with its political incorrectness, as will the book.

This was written about 1934. I really enjoyed this book and the author's rhetoric, and the story line. I saw both versions of the movie and they are nothing like this book.
If you want to read a VERY good book- get this older version.

I bought this movie for my mum, every once in a while when it comes on tv she would just sit there and watch it. and then bit by bit we would watch it with her. it is a good movie, its black and white but you dont always need colour. there is a lot of colour issues in the movie so just enjoy it plain and simple

The book was in good condition (as advertised) sort-of, but it was sticky and quite gross with some sort of gum/goo all over it. Email to the seller were ignored. Be wary of buying from them.

Fannie Hurst's 1933 novel IMITATION OF LIFE concerns a recently widowed young mother, Bea Pullman, who by chance teams up with Delilah, a homeless black woman who is in the same situation. The women move in together and become business partners. Delilah's daughter Peola is so light-skinned that strangers are surprised that the two are related. Thanks to Delilah's culinary talents and Bea's business sense, the women manage to build a chain of successful restaurants and become wealthy. But success has a price. Peola abandons her mother to "pass" in white society. Delilah ultimately dies of a broken heart. Bea devotes herself to her business so much that she misses out on the passionate love of a man. When she finally meets a man she really likes, he falls for her daughter. She ends up bitter, thinking that she has only had an "imitation of life." Who would have thought that such a downbeat story could be successful? But successful it was, becoming not only a best seller of 1933, but also inspiring two hit films (in 1934 with Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers and in 1959 with Lana Turner and Juanita Moore).

I have to admit that I found it very compelling reading on many levels. I had seen both film versions before reading the book. The most striking thing about the novel is the subtle racism that permeates the entire book. I believe the book's racism is unconscious and probably is an accurate reflection of prevalent social attitudes of 1932. There is no hatred directed toward the blacks in the book. Delilah is depicted as a good-hearted soul whose only failing would perhaps be an over-eagerness to please. But there is a subtle condescension that is discomforting for modern readers. For example, Delilah is at least once addressed by a restaurant customer as "Mammy." Another time a woman says of Delilah to Bea, "What a charming mammy!"

But what really shocked me about the book was its coded lesbianism. I have heard it suggested several times that only a physical attraction between the two women makes plausible their so quickly moving in together. I didn't really get that so much. Bea has a lesbian relationship with a business tycoon named Virginia Eden. It is not obvious. The giveaway is when Virginia Eden sends Bea violets. In the lesbian underground, when one woman sends another woman violets, she is indicating to her that she wants to have a physical relationship. (Marlene Dietrich supposedly rang Greta Garbo's doorbell and shoved a bouquet of violets toward her.) Only those "in the know" would recognize this as a lesbian proposition. Someone should examine Fannie Hurst's work for other examples of coded lesbianism.

I found this book a very curious relic from a bygone era. What was really enjoyable about the book for me was its depiction of New York at the time and contemporary social attitudes. One thing that must have been shocking at the time is the book's ultimate condemnation of motherhood. Both the women sacrifice for their daughters and do not live happily ever after. That gave me a lot to think about.

Every once in a while it is rumored that there will be a new updated film or TV version of the story with current stars, but I don't think that will ever happen. America has changed too much for that. There would be no need to "pass for white" today. I did enjoy the book, although perhaps not in the way that the author intended.