Customer Reviews

Jump at the Sun: A Novel

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I was looking for "Taming It Down" where I laughed, cried, booed, applauded & cheered throughout my read but "Jump for the Sun" had me looking at myself, my life, my choices and decisions, my mother, my sisters, my grandmother and my daughters. What have I passed on to them? What was passed on to me? Did I hurt them when I was only trying to prepare them for their journeys? A must read for young and old, if they are ready to look at themselves and want to push forward. We can learn from our pass but only if we are willing and able to look and accept life experiences for what they are....life experiences. It will have you saying hmmmmmmm.

This novel is a thoughtful and honest exploration of the meaning of marriage and motherhood--always a dangerous thing in a society where the mere questioning of these concepts is considered hubris. The issue has been raised before by other writers but it is especially interesting to explore these within the context of contemporary middle class African American society. In spite of attaining academic, economic and professional success, marriage and motherhood are still the arbiters of a fulfilled life for a woman. What if, once having attained 'the good life' the woman finds herself unfulfilled and feeling just as bound as her poverty-stricken, uneducated ancestors? What if contemporaty middle class values and social respectability are just as limiting as physical and historical slavery? Within the context of family, has the role of the black woman changed at all in the past century? Given all the external changes, should her role within the family change? To what degree does she subjugate her own needs for the needs of others? And what price will she have to pay if she turns her back on the 'ideal' family? I suppose the central question of the novel to the main character is Now that you've 'made it', what more do you want and what are you willing to pay to get it? An interesting question asked of any woman. And an even more interesting question asked of a black woman.

Ph.D. Grace Jefferson seems to be living the American dream. Her husband adores her and her two delightful daughters cherish her. They reside in a wonderfully large suburban home in the Boston area where her spouse is a highly regarded scientist and their kids attend the best schools.

So Grace asks herself why she is unhappy. Perhaps it is in her DNA to want to flee family responsibility as her sharecropping Grandma Rae did in Mississippi and her mom Mattie did not. In fact she wonders if she fears she is sacrificing her life for her family just like Mattie did. Though guilt threatens to suffocate her thoughts, Grace knows she loves her husband and their two children though currently their nagging demands are driving her crazy as she considers leaving the nest like Rae did and Mattie did not; grandma seemed to have pursued happiness while mom sacrificed hers.

JUMP AT THE SUN is a deep character study starring a fascinating woman who feels conflicting emotions that make any decisions difficult and somewhat unsatisfactory. Grace is a superb character as she is the epitome of Martin Luther King's I have a Dream with her education and her lifestyle but has doubts that is all there is as she is unhappy with her upper middle class existence. Though she openly detests de jure prejudice and proud of her state rejecting gay bashing laws like legally limiting marriages (Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country) and de facto prejudice (racial and gender poverty), Grace struggles with a deeper personal disaffection in this excellent thought provoking drama.

Harriet Klausner

This book kept me turning the pages because it was so honest. If you are a mother, you have probably had some of the same feelings the main character, Grace, has; however, more than likely you have not voiced those feelings. I'm a mother and have felt some of them and would never have voiced them. I was really captured by one line in the book--"to be a mother is to be a slave". I've never viewed motherhood that way, but I can identify with that view. As spouses and parents, men and women, we sometimes lose our identity and become disappointed with life but continue doing what we're doing because we've been told that's the correct thing to do. Ms. McLarin has done a very good job of writing about those true honest feelings that we're too afraid to admit and voice.

This is a difficult book to admit to liking because of the subject matter. The author is not a good mother or wife and thus not real likeable, which was fine too. She is selfish, just this side of neglectful. Motherhood is supposed to be sacred, and what good mother would ever admit to understanding the feelings of the author, but I did. For 300 pages, the author agonizes about leaving her two daughters and husband. I kept saying to myself that the kids were spoiled, but that was partly her fault. The husband was not a perfect, but far from the hunchback of Notre Dame. Within the first 50 pages, I empathized with her, but what happened to active and open communication? She never says what would make her happy. Since the beginning of time women have had to abandon and delay dreams because they had no right to choose their path. The author was struggling due to her own mistaken steps. And now she could not see herself following through with her choices. I kept thinking she should leave, what was taking her so long? Could you raise happy, healthy children being so detached? Does she hurdle the sun or get fried like toast? The author is a very talented writer, I will definately read her again. The passages from the past were very, very good. The author ties in similar situations with her own mother and grandmother 'abandonment issues' and the imagery and descriptions of their lives reminded me of just how far weve come in race and female equality related issues. This book won't easily be forgotten.

I zipped through this book in three days. The character of Grace embodies today's ideal American woman--the kind that most of us women aspire to be: successful, intelligent, highly educated, and financially stable.

However, she also carries some traits that fulfill the more traditional female role: her eagerness to please others (including her husband) at the expense of her own happiness, and her dedication to being a good and responsible mother despite her ambiguity toward motherhood. She works hard to sustain this image, but it all unravels toward the end of the novel.

Although race is one of the forefront issues in the novel, a reader of any ethnicity can enjoy this book, because the story mainly revolves around the prickliness of motherhood and mother/daughter relationships--universal issues that any woman can relate to. The author approaches these issues with a sensitive touch, and she questions the value of motherhood and the role of the wife without insulting their importance.

Sometimes, we can't have it all and be happy, OR what we think are the things that should make us happy is the result of sociocultural influence, and we have to come to terms with what REALLY makes us happy and fulfilled women.

Grace Jefferson is a 35, highly educated, professional woman, married to a doting husband, with 2 kids "in the burbs" who seemingly has it all. She just doesn't want it. Jump At The Sun is the story of a woman who desires to be a mother, wife, daughter, and professional, but slowly admits to herself that she is losing herself as an individual in trying to excel in these roles. Simply, she is a woman in search of herself. She hopes to learn about herself by learning about the women in her family. Grace hopes that it will explain her decided lack of enthusiasm with dirty noses and cartoons. Her daughters and her husband seem blissfully unaware of her unhappiness, assuming, as we are led to believe, that her life is full. Grace's reaction to a possible pregnancy is a frantic call to public clinics around town looking for the morning after pill. That is our first introduction to her as a character. Through Grace we see the choices that women make, as lived by her mother and grandmother, one completely selfish, and the other completely selfless; in the end; neither ultimately successful.

Ms. McLarin has taken a rather prickly subject, and dissected it through the prism of easy wit and poignant observation. With apologies to George Carlin, Ms. McLarin has blown the roof off of "the cult of the child." Grace loves her children; she's just not in love with childhood (once having been enough). As a reader, I imagine there may be some (more mothers than not) who may find her narrative a bit harsh. Those of us without children or the requisite desire may find a secret smile for all the thoughts we've had and never felt comfortable voicing. Either way, Grace is a hero--anti or genuine is up to the reader.

Although I was unsure of what to expect, I must admit that I truly enjoyed this novel. Ms Mclarin has skillfully fleshed out what could easily have been cardboard characters. The most compelling passages are the unflinching clarity of Grace's observations, even as she struggles to recreate her jig-sawed family history. It is womanism from a slightly different angle, and lets face it, it takes some stones to explore a possible disconnect, supposedly present from birth. Familial leanings aside, Grace's character will stay with me for a long time, a pleasant and haunting aftertaste; long after her story has dissolved.
Reviewed by: Angela T. Hailey, Black Butterfly Review

What price are you willing to pay to be free? For Grace Jefferson, the main character in Kim McLarin's Jump at the Sun, the hefty price tag may be worth it. As a wife and mother of two, Grace is destined to relive the pasts of her mother and grandmother. The question for her is which one. As both women's lives are revealed through brilliantly written flashbacks and character dialogue, the reader learns why one selflessly sacrificed everything for her children and why the other didn't. The two women's actions ultimately lead Grace to a decision that will not only affect her, but also her family lineage.

This book touched me in a personal way because I have seen through my own family how one choice can radically change an entire generation. I was completely intrigued by the social issues in the story. Each one, from slavery to economic status, played an intricate part in the personal development, or lack thereof, for each character in the book. My grandmother always said, "We all are who we are for a reason." Kim McLarin demonstrates the realness of that statement.

Although some may be instantly drawn to the books major themes of the harsh realities of motherhood, family life, or social structure, I walked away pondering how one decision can influence future generations.

Jump at the Sun shows the power of one's choice. How it can build or destroy and regardless of what we think, it is never just about us.

Reviewed by Tifany Jones
Founder and Talk Show Host
Sistah Confessions Book Club

This is one of the rare books that I was able to personally relate to the main character and her particular set of circumstances. If you've ever wondered about your parenting style being nature vs. nurture, I believe you will find this book interesting.

I savored this book. The self-discovery journey of Grace, suffocated by her "W town" existence and society's expectations of motherhood was often heartbreaking but it was like eating fiery salsa - you just can't stop. I appreciate that the author did not sugar- coat the very real feelings of many women as they suffer from ientity crises intermingled with depression as they transition from career to motherhood. Kim wove into the novel poignant stories of the generations of the women who came before Grace, and their struggles with race, sacrifices, motherhood, men, and the impact their decisions had on those around them. I'm looking forward to Kim McLarin's next novel.