Life Is Short But Wide [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

J. California Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2009

Beloved writer J. California Cooper has won a legion of loyal fans and much critical acclaim for her powerful storytelling gifts. In language both spare and direct yet wondrously lyrical, LIFE IS SHORT BUT WIDE is an irresistible story of family that proves no matter who you are or what you do, you are never too old to chase your dreams.
Like the small towns J. California Cooper has so vividly portrayed in her previous novels and story collections, Wideland, Oklahoma, is home to ordinary Americans struggling to raise families, eke out a living, and fulfill their dreams. In the early twentieth century, Irene and Val fall in love in Wideland. While carving out a home for themselves, they also allow neighbors Bertha and Joseph to build a house and live on their land. The next generation brings two girls for Irene and Val, and a daughter for Bertha and Joseph. As the families cope with the hardships that come with changing times and fortunes, and people are born and pass away, the characters learn the importance of living one’s life boldly and squeezing out every possible moment of joy.
Cooper brilliantly captures the cadences of the South and draws a picture of American life at once down-to-earth and heartwarming in this-as her wise narrator will tell you-“strange, sad, kind’a beautiful, life story.” It is a story about love that leads to the ultimate realization that whoever you are, and whatever you do, life is short, but it is also wide.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With another multigenerational, wonderfully crafted Midwest ensemble cast, Cooper (Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns) presents the town of Wideland, Okla., through the eyes of folksy nonagenarian Hattie B. Brown. This community sentinel, though sometimes short on memory, acts as tour guide and historian, introducing the town at the beginning of the 20th century, when the railroad first arrived and, with it, a growing population. Among the new residents, Hattie introduces the industrious, loving African-American cowboy Val Strong and his Cherokee brother-friend Wings; Val's hardened but beautiful wife, Irene Lowell; and their two strong-willed daughters, Rose and Tante. Following the Strong family and their associates through the better part of the 1900s, Hattie finds history running roughshod through their lives, crushing some and strengthening others, introducing new generations and obstacles to love, home and happiness. Cooper's characteristic motherly wit carries an appealing raft of characters through a world tougher than it is tender, but touched with beauty and wisdom. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

This is “a story about love: hard-to-find, hard-to-get, hard-to-keep love.” The narrator is 91-year-old Hattie B. Brown, who, along with her 105-year-old mother, relates the saga of a family that begins with Val Strong, a Native American cattle driver, and Irene, the African American woman he comes to love. Between them they build a life in Wideland, Oklahoma, with a house and some land. Their daughters, Rose and Tante, want different lives. Tante gets her PhD and moves to Paris, while Rose stays in the home she grew up in, continuing to teach poor children. Another family story, that of Herman Tenderman, emerges parallel to this one. It is when the two stories, or families, come together that the “hard” love story begins and winds its agonizing way to happiness. Cooper tells her story with simplicity and grace. No apologies are made for the foolishness or baseness of any of her characters, and she freely sermonizes and moralizes whenever she feels it is called for. The result is a poignant and often-funny story of people trying to survive and find someone to love. --Elizabeth Dickie

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385511345
• ISBN-13: 978-0385511346
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J. California Cooper was honored as Black Playwright of the Year, and has received the American Book Award, the James Baldwin Writing Award, and the Literary Lion Award from the American Library Association. She lives in California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars J.California Cooper is always worth waiting for., April 28, 2009

By 

Flknr.W (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life Is Short But Wide (Hardcover)

I own each and every book written by J.California Cooper and I wait anxiously for her next book after purchasing the most current. Life is Short but Wide is an emotional roller coaster. Happy times, crying times and even times of anger(that's me reading the book). I've always appreciated the writing style of the author, like two friends looking at people and how they let life live them. With each book comes the gems of wisdom while the story is being told. I shared my first J. California Cooper book with my then 12 year old daughter because of those gems of wisdom. Life is Short but Wide is a good read and I often purchase her books as gifts because I want people to experience a true storyteller.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Life's Stories..., April 1, 2009

By 

Phyllis Rhodes (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life Is Short But Wide (Hardcover)

Author J. California Cooper takes us to Wideland, Oklahoma to chronicle the lives, loves, and losses of two families in her latest offering entitled, Life Is Short But Wide. A 91 year-old narrates the story and immediately espouses Cooper's signature edicts of loving life, yourself, one another, and God. The "do right," work hard, save money, importance of education, etc. lessons are also overtly and repeatedly layered in the stories of Val and Irene, Joseph and Bertha, and their children. Their courtships and hardships are fodder for the take-away lessons of living life to the fullest and appreciating who and what one has in life.

Those familiar with Cooper's earlier work might experience deja vu with this new release. The characters evoke familiar auras of protagonists past; even their actions and reactions to physical, financial, and social challenges were evidenced in similar backgrounds and scenarios in The Wake of the Wind, In Search of Satisfaction, and Family. The reading experience is further diluted with some elongated passages and a tad too much repetition for this reader's liking. Of course, this will not deter die-hard fans of the author who will want to purchase the novel to complete their collection. However, newcomers might want to consider this literary legend's earlier works to experience her trademark bits of heart-warming anecdotes, down-to-earth wisdom, and folksy advice.

Reviewed by Phyllis

APOOO BookClub

April 1, 2009

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So Wide You Never Find A Goal., July 21, 2009

By 

S. Haskins "PoetryDiva" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Is Short But Wide (Hardcover)

I love J. California Cooper's works, but this book was dry as a dessert and as boring as watching paint dry. The beginning was kind of funny and interesting with the two elderly characters, but eventually you're like, okay tell the story and get to the point. Cooper spent too much time having the two characters lecture, and too much time in meaningless details about Wideland, Oklahoma. The plot she was trying to build got lost somewhere between page twenty and thirty. I mean I was yawning by page 10, rubbing my eyes by page 20, in and out by page 30, and completely gave up by page 50. Sorry but this is one book that is not worth the investment.