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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Favorite Book Ever.,
By jarogers@wireweb.net (Texas via Maine & Chicago) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mama Day (Paperback)
Gloria Naylor is a master storyteller. Her characters are vividly drawn, her humor is by turns laugh-out-load funny or subtlely sarcastic, and her prose quite often caused this reader to sit back and savor the sheer creativity, beauty and freshness of the images Ms. Naylor creates.She uses an interesting narrative technique where two chapters describe the same events, only one is from the perspective of Cocoa and the next from the perspective of George, the niece and 'nephew-in-law' of the title character. This creates a compelling love story, where the reader is allowed into the minds of both participants. Mama Day, the title character and a wonderfully realized force of nature, is the matriarch of both the Day family and the entire population of Willow Springs, an island loosely a part of the United States but not any particular state. This setting seems reminiscent of the Gullah Islands, where African-Americans have had freedom, land, and relative isolation since the early 1800's, and it allows Naylor to create characters who appear to be much more victorious over life than in some other novels by African-American authors. This novel is not about suffering with dignity. Rather, the inhabitants of Willow Springs have an idea there's something not quite right with those on the 'mainland', ie the rest of the country. In many ways, they appear to be right! This is a masterpiece of contemporary literature, a pleasure to experience. "Mama Day" is an entertaining and original look at family, community, and love. With a litte voodoo sprinkled in for good measure.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Poignant and Powerful Love Story!,
By
This review is from: Mama Day (Paperback)
Mama Day is an exquisitely well-written story! Naylor does a stellar job of giving us a "classical novel" with a complex plot which includes doublings and foreshadowings and the folk tale combination. It's a contemporary love story, a timeless generational saga and tale of the supernatural. The storyline spans two worlds. One is the southern island Willow Springs, inhabited solely by the descendants of slaves a place with its own rules and exempt from many of the racist laws of the mainland. The other world is New York City with its millions of people and what seems like madness everywhere. The two worlds meet when Ophelia aka Cocoa(Willow Springs) and George(New York City) meet and eventually fall in love and get married. Of course, it was the intervention of Mama Day who brought them together. I loved Mama Day the nearly 100 year old great-aunt who helped to raise Cocoa. Mama Day was said to know the working of roots, herbal cures and could summon lightning with her walking stick...uum some thought she could even make lighting strike in the same place twice. Mama Day was wise beyond her days and was said to know the true story of "the great, grand Mother" Sapphira Wade, who in 1823 persuaded her master to deed the island to his slaves and supposedly bore him seven sons in just a thousand days...yeah right she had 7 sons in 2.7 years...hmm...that's definitely supernatural. Anywho then Sapphira Wade went onto to kill her master before she vanished in a burst of flame. And since that event there's been a lot of 18 & 23 going on an enigma of an island called Willow Spring. But while Mama's Day world is steeped in superstition and the supernatural, George's world is one of logic, the present and city life. And unfortunately because George cannot believe what he can't understand the two worlds will clash for him.Naylor's writing is ambitious and complex yet smooth, fluid and compelling in Mama Day. Naylor expertly explores and effects several kinds of reconciliation: the rural past and the urban present; myth and history; individuals and communities; faith and logic; the living and the dead. Naylor provides much insight and wit regarding how we should live but most importantly we take away "everybody wants to be right in a world where there ain't no right or wrong to be found." The characters are colorful and sometimes reminiscent of folks we know. I loved rereading this book because there was so much more I discovered the second time around. Gloria Naylor takes a romance and infuses it with the magic,mystery and tragedy that accompanies true love. MAMA DAY has strong political tones, lively social commentary, and yet still manages to warm the heart. I will probably read this book again and again as it's quite simply a great book!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gloria Naylor is bad to the bone, that's all I can say,
By A Customer
This review is from: Mama Day (Paperback)
Ms. Naylor is the woman!!!! This book was required reading for an undergraduate English class and let me tell you after years and years of required reading this is the only book I felt was worth the time and the money I spent. Ms. Naylor is a great writer. She has such a great sense of character development. She has great descriptions of people and places she has a way of making you feel like you are right there with the characters. I would say this book is almost, better than the Women of Brewster Place, which was an excellent read also. Naylor is a great writer, and this book deserves more than five stars.!!!!!!
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