The middle of three sisters, Pamela is a quiet, thoughtful girl with a huge hole in her life-the space her father used to fill before her mother kicked him out. Occasionally, Pamela conjures up Kwai Chang, David Carradine's character, from the Western action series Kung Fu, to give her spiritual guidance and advice she would normally turn to her parents for. But with her father gone, her mother has fallen into a pit of confusion and mental disarray. So it is up to Pamela and her sisters, Nona and Theresa, to run the household.
When their money runs out, the family must leave their beloved East New York house and move to the projects. It is a change that will alter their lives forever-and even wise Kwai Chang cannot alter their destiny. But as Pamela discovers, "Everyone searches. The real challenge is in the finding and the keeping."
In this powerful literary debut, vividly set in the 1970s, Bonnie Glover has written a marvelous story about a young black woman struggling to define her identity-and make her family whole.
The Middle Sister: A Novel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Read,
By
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This review is from: The Middle Sister: A Novel (Paperback)
I loved this novel. Glover uses the gritty setting of black American urban culture to portray a very human and universal story of growing up, facing challenges, and taking bittersweet leave of childhood things.
I found the cultural aspects very interesting - I like learning about environments and settings I know very little of (I grew up and live in Asia), and this added immensely to the book's appeal- but I reckon this is no more a "black American" story than, say, Heart of Darkness is a travelogue about a group of men going up an African river. Told from the appealing and genuine first person voice of Pamela, the middle of three sisters, it's really about family, and as in all great novels, the immensely engaging characters, while grounded in the setting (and necessarily so), transcend the setting to speak to everybody. The story unfolds naturally and organically and authentically-nothing is forced, no shoe-horned happy ending, but the ending is deeply satisfying nonetheless. The novel deserves to bust through to a wide readership.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Picking Up the Pieces,
By
This review is from: The Middle Sister: A Novel (Paperback)
Middle Sister, by debut novelist Bonnie Glover, is a powerful tale about unconditional love and family. Set against the backdrop of Harlem, NY, during the 1970s, middle sister, Pamela embraces life with reckless abandonment and freedom, until her two-parent home is shattered. After her father moves out, her mother suffers a nervous breakdown and the family is forced to move from their quaint, modest, one family home to the roach infested, urine smelling surroundings of the projects. Always studious and the smartest of the sisters, the projects prove to also be challenging for someone as naïve as Pamela. To help her navigate her way through her new environment, Pamela conjures up David Caine's character, Kwai Chang, from the television series Kung Fu. Okay, I must admit, it seemed odd that someone as old as Pamela would create an invisible friend from a television series. And, is it really this friend who helps to keep her on the straight and narrow or is it her conscious? Whatever the source, coping skills were definitely necessary to survive her new home as she comes of age amidst new situations and people.
Glover has skillfully crafted a poignant and powerful storyline. Middle Sister is filled with messages about family, love, survival, acceptance and redemption as well as taboo subjects such as mental illness and sexual identity. Once the reader accepts Pamela's Kung Fu side-kick, climatic plot twists and turns quickly move the storyline forward. But, it was the primary characters, as well as secondary characters, who really brought the storyline to life. Though flawed and scarred with blemishes, they were often loveable and endearing even in their most confused, sometimes most difficult moments. As I watched Pamela come of age, she would flounder and make many mistakes, some of them before thinking, but I never felt that any situation was too arduous for her to conquer. Trials and triumphs, eccentric characters, not so tidy endings make the Middle Sister an eclectic yet heartwarming read. Bonnie Glover takes us on a literary journey through the eyes of the Middle Sister characters and she does not allow us to get off until she is satisfied that it has been a journey worth taking. Solid writing, engaging characters, timeless plot and theme, vivid imagery and shocking twists and turns make Middle Sister a recommended read for those who need a change of pace. Yasmin APOOO BookClub
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Middle Sister deserves a place in every high-school library.,
By Donia Adzima "la dolce vita" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Middle Sister: A Novel (Paperback)
This book, The Middle Sister, by debut novelist Bonnie Glover, is a thoughtful, warm, beautifully written book that leaves the reader thinking about the characters long after the cover is closed. Glover's characterizations are right on the mark, and the pathos of the story is leavened by its humor.
It is, quite simply, a wonderful read, and I can't wait for Bonnie Glover's next novel!
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