Customer Reviews

Mother of Pearl

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(39)
1 star:		(65)

 

 

This book was a challenge to read. Haynes distinctive way of developing her characters and her long and expressive prose made me want to stop reading and move on to something that was more leisure in style. But I kept on reading. I found the book complex and thought provoking. Not only did I care about the characters but I wanted to know them and understand them in depth - to examine how many of their sides were firing (feelings, sensing, knowing, seeing, hearing and smelling - six sided women). I kept thinking of the dream of the pig and how it revealed itself to Canaan. Ripped down the middle with no insides - like Canaan racially split, a product of the time, and operating at a head level (one sideded). Most of his sides frozen and it was only when he met Grace did he begin to integrate - to make the longest trip in the world - the 18" from his head to his heart.

I finally understood as I kept reading and rereading trying desperately to follow the story and clearly understand each page that the real message for me was not to figure out what Haynes was trying to convey but to understand what the personal message was for me. Reading fiction should be a personal experience - my personal experience. There is not just one message here. Just as in my own personal life so many people, events, and things don't make sense. I often struggle to analyze and reanzlye . I become frustrated, angry and end up giving away my finite life energy to something outside of myself - something that I have no control over. There is a line from the Desiderta which says "no matter whether or not it is clear to you the Universe is unfolding as it should." So in conclusion the book's message to me was: *detach, step back and allow the flow to happen; *observe; *identify which sides are firing or misfiring as the case may be; *identify when I have been in a similar situation (s),how do I misfire? * how do I want to do it differently? * Learn, grown and move on.

Views were polarized between members. We had 2 members who rated it at less or equal to 2, and 5 members who rated it at 9+. Concensus of those who rated it 9+ was that there was definite connection to the characters; it was hard to believe that this was Haynes' first book. Her ability to write so that the reader could visualize was excellent; in most cases during most passages, readers all felt as though they were right there, experiencing events along with the characters. Haynes offered universal truths through Canaan, Joody, Even and Valuable and the book was absolutely "rich". My own experience with this book gives it a 9.5; I was taken with many of the characters. I was saddened by Luvenia's father - he had what seemed to be a God-believing spirit and yet to have been a murdering member of the KKK; and Joody's insight into what made up a "six-sided woman", her relationship with Even Grade, and my wondering as to whether or not I was or am a six-sided woman myself, along with her insight into Luvenia and her lack of understanding of the "fluids". Joody had intuitive insight into the importance of fluids (e.g., Valuable's birth and her "marking" the quilt - so insightful). I was taken with the stupidity, ignorance and prejudice of Beryn; the beauty of Beryn's sister Louise, her manner and her eventual relationship with the mortician; with the wonder of Joleb - who he was (so overcome with feeling the responsibility of the deaths of those he loved) and who he became through his relationship with Valuable and with Russ; the relationship between Valuable and Jackson and the beauty it held - their child relationship and it's evolution into a love relationship (and the repercussions of who they were to each other); the ties between Grace, Valuable, and Joleb - Totally unexpected.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK!

Although this book is difficult to get into and to settle into it's cadence, it is well worth the challenge. There is "stretch" in reading this book, and Haynes pulls it together beautifully and with such visualization that i hated to have it end.

This is probably one of the best books (in my own estimation) that our book club has read. I would encourage you to read it, enjoy it, and to fall in love with all of the characters.

(One question that the club had was left unanswered. Therefore, if anyone has any insight into the pigs and their significance, please let us and everyone else know . . . these visions were one of the few confusing elements.)

Beautifully written in my estimation and emotionally draining for me. I hated for it to end. Excellent read!

I too am a voracious reader. I very, very, seldom read a book a second time (too many books, too little time). I will however, make an exception for this book.

Read it twice...the first time for the story; the second time for the language. I notice that none of the previous reviewers are from the south...maybe it helps to be southern to read, enjoy, and perhaps to understand this book. I loved it.

I sometimes lose interest in books, but I usually finish them. And, when I actually pay to rent a book on tape, I am even more detemined. However, listening to "Mother of Pearl" was like an insurmountable chore. I lost count of the number of times I rewound tape in a useless attempt to refocus after zoning-out from boredom. I finally ejected the third (or was it the fourth?) tape after it had been playing senselessly for an entire side and dropped the tapes in the mail.

What was wrong? Well, it certainly wasn't the reader - she was giving it her best despite the material. There were just too many characters and too many details thrown at me right from the start that had me thinking that I had better pay attention or I would end up missing something significant. Paying attention was no easy task, either, because there was nothing going on to capture my interest. The characters were dull, the events convoluted, and the story - if there was a story - was pointless. I was already well into the first half of the book, I had 7-8 more tapes to go - and I had no idea what the story was supposed to be about. I couldn't even keep the characters straight. It was more like trying to study for an algebra exam than enjoying an escape into the world of fiction.

So, why did I pick this book when I didn't even know what the story was about? Well, I picked "Mother of Pearl" was because it was one of Oprah's recommendations. I've read "White Oleander", "The Pilot's Wife", "Songs in Ordinary Times", "Black and Blue", "Deep End of the Ocean" and "Map of the World". I really liked every single one of them. And, "The Rapture of Cannan" is perhaps one of the best books I've ever read. As for "Mother of Pearl"? Well, I can't even say that it was the worse book I've ever read because I couldn't even finish it.

It is hard to know how to put my thoughts into writing. I read this book twice one right after the other in the summer of 1999. I am dumbstruck by the skill and complexity Melinda Haynes was able to come up with in her debut novel. I almost want to call her and discuss the book. It is real, funny, warm, loving and heartbreaking. How can one book be all of that? I am now in a book group and am recommending this to them to read. I know that everyone sees things differently so I just hope others find the humor and love between these two races. I am still a bit confused by some issues and hope a group discussion will clear that up.

This is now one of my top five favorite books. The book reads like a screenplay, you can picture each chapter as clearly as a scene from a movie. The characters are so rich in southern culture and euphemisms, for me it brought back childhood memories of people and places long since forgotten. An amazing aspect of the book was the richness of the minor characters. They are deeply rounded and just as complete as the characters from the main storyline.

After the first 3 or 4 chapters, a reader will realize how enticing this book is. It draws you in slowly and soon you are aware that you want to race back to read even a couple of pages, much like I imagine a soap opera hypnotizes a viewer.

Mother-of-Pearl was a real jewel! I normally read very fast, however, this was a difficult book to read until you got into the rythum of the author's style. Once this was accomplished I loved every line. The author certainly has a unique style. Very entertaining!

My friend recommended this book, and it was well worth reading it. I always check other reviews before starting a new book, and this time I was afraid I would not like reading this book. I am glad I was wrong.
Mother of Pearl has many characters, including Valuable Korner, daughter of the town's whore. It was set in a small town in Mississippi in the late 1950s.
Melinda Haynes has a unique way of telling the story. It is not an easy reading, by the way. You just can't skip a word she wrote. This was her first novel, and she did a great job. She used her own Southern roots and language to describe the characters and the events.
I recommend this book, but it is not one of those novels you just cannot put down, no matter what. It can get boring sometimes, but in the very next chapter you are hooked again. I really enjoyed reading it, and I plan on reading it again someday.

This book is a very slow read. It takes quite a while for the book to grab the reader, then its still moves pretty slowly. The books contains many stories, most seem to intertwine with each other effortlessly. However there are some chapters that should have been edited out. I wish the author would have focused on just a couple of the characters instead of making every character that was introduced into a main character. I feel since this book is called "Mother of Pearl" that it should have focused more on Val and Jackson. At the end I had more questions than answers.

This was the worst Oprah book that I have read! I don't get all the people who gave the book such high marks and were so entranced by it. I am an avid reader, and I always finish any book that I buy, but this book really tested my resolve. I wanted to throw the book in the trash every other chapter. The characters were just okay, and the "lyrical prose" was tedious and boring. I would never recommend this book to anyone, and I am in complete disbelief that it will be made into a movie. But then again, a screenplay that generously cuts out the wordy nonsense could be a big improvement on the novel. My advice...Wait For The Movie.