Customer Reviews

Nowhere Is a Place

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
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Nowhere Is A Place by Bernice L. McFadden is about the interesting yet tragic family tree of Clemantine "Dumpling" Jackson (Lessing). Dumpling and her middle daughter Sherry have always been distant. Dumpling is surprised when Sherry wants to drive with her back to Sanderville, GA for their family reunion. But Sherry has an ulterior motive for driving to Georgia from the West Coast. She wants to know about her family tree and why Dumpling slapped her on that long ago afternoon. On the way to the reunion, Dumpling not only shares the family history with Sherry but she finally lets go of her painful past. This past family history will bring these two women closer than they ever imagined.

Nowhere Is A Place is a heart-wrenching, emotional journey by Bernice McFadden. McFadden eloquently created an engaging novel that incorporated some interesting historical elements. What I liked about this novel is the way the story of the Lessing Family was told. Bernice McFadden went back not only to the slavery times, but she took it a step further. She started from when the family was taken from their tribe and literally put on a boat and sold into slavery. The writing in this novel is so descriptive that I could literally picture all of the events that were taking place. The plantations, the salt boxes, and the transformation from slaves to becoming free men and women all come alive in this novel. Nowhere Is A Place is a gripping, innovative, and compelling novel that demonstrates why Bernice McFadden is one of the supreme storytellers of our time.

Incest, history and self discovery are all addressed in this well written and quite entertaining novel. Our heroine, Sherry, is a well educated young woman who has been in several relationships which have left her scarred. Her relationship with her mother is not very good either. when she finds herself about to become a mother, she decides to make one last effort to reach out to her own mother, and to get an understanding of the reason her mother had slapped her across the face when she was only five years old. Apparently that inccident had haunted her all her life because her mother had never explained why she had been slapped. Mother and daughter travel together by road from Nevada to a family reunion in Georgia. The journey lasts several days during which time they both revisit their family history, and Sherry finally finds answers to her questions, and a deeper understanding of her mother. The story within a story is not an easy format for a novel but McFadden handles it with aplomb. If you enjoyed "Sugar" you will definitely enjoy "Nowhere is a place."

In No Where is a Place, Bernice McFadden has once again taken her readers on an enlightening journey that touches the heart and soul. I love the way she incorporates history into her contemporary fiction. If you are going to take the time to read, you may as well learn something and McFadden proves that she is more than a fiction writer. She's a teacher. Great writing.

Bernice L. McFadden's latest release, Nowhere Is A Place, centers on a journey of discovery that spans across country, generations, and time. No nonsense, down-to-earth Dumpling and her distant, bohemian daughter, Sherry, have a long history of misunderstanding and miscommunication. So when Sherry unexpectedly suggests a road trip from Paradise, Nevada to a family reunion in Sanderville, Georgia, both readers and Dumpling are in store for an eye-opening experience where family secrets are exposed after a lifetime of suppression.

Unbeknownst to Dumpling, Sherry plans to use the time to delve into the family history to find a source of her lifelong angst stemming from an unwarranted slap in the face. A slap received from her mother years before as she was sitting innocently in her Great Uncle Vonnie's lap. Suspecting Dumpling may be a reluctant participant, Sherry cleverly begins penning a hypothetical story (of their family history) in a notebook and asks Dumpling for comments and tests her reactions at the conclusion of each passage.

Sherry's story-within-a-story of their ancestors is equally (if not more so) engaging than the road trip itself. Sherry begins with the capture and enslavement of their oldest known matriarch, Nayeli (renamed Lou after the slave master's deceased beloved family dog) from her Indian village into the American slave trade. As they travel from city to city (which ironically are symbolic to their family history), Sherry continues to write more segments that involve the bewitching Suce (Dumpling's grandmother), the conniving vamp, Lillie (Dumpling's mother), and many other notable relatives. These stories stimulate a long overdue dialogue between mother and daughter bridging their emotional gap and allowing them to bond in ways that have always eluded them. As they near their destination and as the family genealogy progresses into modern day, Sherry carefully and skillfully forces Dumpling to acknowledge and address a dark, dirty family secret.

McFadden's writing is as sharp as it has always been complete with her layered storytelling style, character depth and her resplendent ability to "take you there." The horrors, ugliness and heartbreaking aspects of slavery are not spared and the author pulls on the reader's emotions through these difficult, dark, and violent episodes; however, it balances well with her depiction of the cleverness, courage, sacrifices and ingenuity the Lessing family ancestors embodied to overcome it. After learning their history, it is no doubt that these women have inherited strength and wisdom to survive anything, even the secret Sherry is withholding from Dumpling.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club

"Nowhere Is A Place" is a novel about a long road trip between a mother and daughter that unfolds the family tree with triumphant stories through generations and generations. I love Bernice McFadden's novels but I did have issues with, Sherry, the daughter, in this story. I didn't quite get why she was so thorny towards her mother, Dumpling. I enjoyed this novel and will always be a devoted reader of Ms. McFadden's books but this one did venture over into the heady tales of Toni Morrison...post "The Bluest Eye." You read it - judge for yourself! Overall, interesting read that has climatic tells of survival, secrets, love and a family's past. Another good book for Bernice McFadden!

AH. But if only the critics understood the inner nuances of Black life and especially Black Female life.

This book is expertly crafted, generously thought out and very touching and understated.

It's much better than the mainstream critics are giving it credit for and McFadden proves once again that she is one of the most talented though underrated writers of the new generation of black female authors. The voices are true, the places are unmistable and unforgettable, and the heart of the book is the heart of a truly human journey.

I'm so glad I bought this book!

This novel has alot of flashbacks and symbolism. It is an ok read if you can figure it out. Otherwise, it is confusing and has alot of pointless material in it. I like more straightforward reads.

Nowhere Is a Place

I have to tell you...I loved this book.

Her words are woven into a beautiful tapestry--of life, heartache and longing, bitter resentment, profound truth, the beautiful and the ugly--all of it. Sherry, a black woman who is searching for answers, and Dumpling, a mother not understanding her child, begin a cross-country trip to a family reunion. Along the way they find their estrangement is slowly replaced with understanding as Dumpling reluctantly shares the family history, from the slavery of their ancestors to the freedom they ultimately achieved in more ways than one; and Sherry writes it all down, in her own words, in her own way. From this re-telling of a family's story come reconciliation and unexpected release from a long kept secret. Bernice McFadden skillfully interweaves these two stories from Dumpling's and Sherry's perspectives, with full-bodied characters that spring to life on the pages, filled with the resiliency that abides within us all.

I highly recommend this book.

The members of this family tree locates the beginning of their roots remembering their ancestors being born of slaves and Indian decent.

Very well detailed and graphic in content about the perils of slavery, agony, defeat, triumph, incest and betrayal.

The story is parallel to the author's previous novel "SUGAR" but with a much different twist. The novel is narrated from the 20th century; reflections by Dumpling & her daughter, Sherry, as they travel by SUV from Nevada to Georgia; whereas "SUGAR" & "THIS BITTER EARTH" is written from an earlier century, from Sugar's point of view. (Both excellent books.)

The only drawback I had about this story is the undertone reference to voodoo. Other than that, the story was well written.

Yes, I am declaring this book a masterpiece. Although a work of fiction, this story rings true for many African Americans whose roots in America began in the South. The relationship between the central characters Dumpling and her daughter Sherry, are paralleled via a book that Sherry is writing about her ancestors. McFadden's book cuts back and forth between the central storyline and the story within the story, subsequently blending the two together for an ending that leaves one filled with joy and loss at the same time. After reading this book, I was nothing but grateful to my ancestors as it was their existence as harsh as it may have been that made my life possible. I am encouraging anyone who may have a past they need to reconcile, or are seeking answers and inspiration for the future to read this book. The foundation of who I am, just got a little bit firmer.