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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Should love hurt?, April 19, 2005
This review is from: Intimate Chaos (Paperback)
Almost everyone has experienced an unhappy or bad relationship at one point or another in their lives; it just happens. But in how many cases does the unsatisfied person continue to fight for the relationship, hoping that one day their love will be reciprocated? This is what happens in INTIMATE CHAOS by Cheril N. Clarke. One spends all her time giving and showing love, the other spends her time taking and running from love. Knowing it's best to move on, but failing to take action, Sadira Cooper continues the up again, down again romance with Jessie, ignoring the obvious signs Jessie gives her and feedback from those around her.
Eventually Jessie commits to the relationship and the lesbian couple move to another city and buy a condo together, making their relationship official. Unfortunately, being a couple is not much better than the times they spent dating. Jessie is incapable of showing her love to Sadira and Sadira is unwilling to just let it go, for good. When her eyes begin wandering towards a new woman in the neighborhood, Sadira scolds herself and tries to stay the course with her relationship. Jessie doesn't really know how to show her love. Though she has strong feelings, she holds them back, afraid Sadira will eventually hurt her. When she opens up a bit more and shares her feelings, will it be what the two need or will it be too little, too late?
INTIMATE CHAOS was a slowly paced exploration of love and the journey taken through the various pit stops on its course. Sadira's emotions made this novel speak to me in many ways, but specifically her hunger for Jessie. I felt her pain, her happiness, her desires, and her love. Clarke has done a remarkable job of sharing the story of love, that deep down feeling which causes its host to do anything, say anything, and put up with anything for the possibility of having that loved returned to them. It shows the emotional and physical levels of intimacy in which relationships are built upon, and the hurt, heartaches, and chaos that can come about, especially when one hasn't let go of past hurts. As an extra bonus, though this is the story of a lesbian relationship, the message transcends gender. Anyone who has ever loved someone, lost them, or been the recipient of unconditional love will be able to relate to this story.
Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Much Depth, May 21, 2007
This review is from: Intimate Chaos (Paperback)
It almost pains me to write this review, as I am about supporting my sistahs' creative efforts - so long as they really are creative. This book has a great popularity among Black Lesbians simply because it tells a story that graces too few texts. For this, Black Lesbians feel compelled to go out and buy it; finally, some voice given to the complexities of our lives. Well, maybe. While I commend the author's courage in telling the story, it is not a well-told story. The plot is thin and repetitive. The characters lack depth, and well.. Character! The author DOES have talent as a writer, but it is not used well as this short novel would have worked better as a short story. There simply is not enough here to carry a lengthy work. The book reads like a Lesbian chat relationship on the rocks. There is sudden intense attraction that is spurred on by anonymity and fantasy of what one hopes a person should be. There is even the proverbial pick-up and move to another state without any true relationship foundation storyline here. In fact, in the foreword, the author says that the story was born out of chat conversations. The dialogues read like such. As a short story, Clarke might have done a superb job. I am reading this book with a group of Black Lesbians and across the board we agree that there is not enough of a plot her to make a good, strong novel, even though it does tell a common tale amongst Black Lesbian circles. Hopefully, Clarke will continue to write and develop her craft. She does make good use of humor and perhaps is just touching the surface of portraying human emotion, but if you want to read a very well-written novel about Black Lesbian/Women relationship and our emotional, socio-psyche complexities read Odessa Rose's Water in a Broken Glass. Otherwise, you can go to a Black Lesbian chat room and watch this type of story play out!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Imperfection is in everyone., March 13, 2007
This review is from: Intimate Chaos (Paperback)
"Intimate Chaos" is one of those books that takes you on a journey from bliss to turmoil and back again with its dramatic twists and turns. That to me keeps me interested in a book all the way down to the very end. In this book we have Sadira, who's desperately searching for love and intimacy, finds Jessie, who displays a desire to be loved but runs from it when it is given to her. These two women struggle to learn lessons from past mistakes and apply them to future attempts at making things right. Waves of sabotage and temptation crash against their already unstable foundation which ends up testing the strength of their relationship.
After reading this book I felt a lot of resentment and sympathy for Jessie, as for Sadira she got under my skin quite a bit because she seem too needy to me. My initial thoughts were of 'lots of physical action between the main characters'. However the book takes you on a journey of character insight, the love, pain, heartache, fun and happiness. Your eyes are opened to the fact that even though its a same sex relationship, they go through everything that heteros do.
Cheril N. Clarke done a great job with "Intimate Chaos"! She tells the story from the heart through pain, erotica, and the unknown. I think any woman could find herself in these predicaments but most of all through this book.
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