Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful Family Drama, May 21, 2005
This review is from: Playing My Mother's Blues (Hardcover)
This powerful new novel by Valerie offers an examination of family torn apart. The Mother, Maria, leaves the man she married too young and never loved leaving behind her daughters,
Dani, who was seven and Rose at seventeen, for another man she does love. An unforgiving man heads this family as the Father, and he has nothing but hatred for Maria. Her new romance ends tragically and she fears she is forever lost to the daughters she loves.
Without understanding and forgiveness will the sins of the Mother (and the Father) forever cause a deep unhappiness in the lives of the girls? Dani is married with a son and Rose, who never marries and agrees with her father about the evil person her Mother was, go on with their lives but can they ever really find true happiness and peace?
The story is superbly told with flashbacks which dramatically allow the readers to gain insight about what really happened to Maria one night that permanently changed her life.
Wonderfully written, you will not want to put it down!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ANOTHER GOOD ONE.......!!, September 17, 2005
This review is from: Playing My Mother's Blues (Hardcover)
Dani and Rose have long lived with the knowledge that their mother deserted the family to be with her lover, a move that had disastrous results. Neither have heard from Maria in many, many years. But the death of their father Hilton unearths not only their long-lost mother, but secrets that shake the foundations of several different relationships....
Dani is aware that husband Chance has been unfaithful to her in the past. But she made a conscious decision to make their marriage work despite the infidelity. After all, she herself has had her own distraction. But the day of her father's memorial service not only reopens an old wound, but also shows Dani that certain mistakes refuse to stay in their place...
Rose is a successful, smart woman who has been perpetually single..or so everyone thinks. The truth is that she has been involved in a longterm relationship with a married man. And smart though she is, even the most learned of us sometimes find it difficult to face reality. But Rose's life may certainly depend on it....
Aunt Lucille is the woman that the girls have thought of as their mother over the years. Hilton's sister, she stepped in to fill the void left by mother Maria when she went off to chase her dreams. Putting her life and dreams of a family on hold, she did as her brother expected and was a surrogate mother to her nieces.
Maria is back...from a very hard, tragic life. She has always yearned for her daughters...kept from her by her bitter and driven ex-husband. But now he is gone, and Maria hopes to recapture what was lost. But is it too late? Maria's arrival opens the door to revelations that will leave them all forever changed.
A wonderful story of love, and forgiveness, betrayal and revenge. Will keep readers turning the pages, and perhaps shedding a few tears.
DYB
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reunited, April 24, 2005
This review is from: Playing My Mother's Blues (Hardcover)
Valerie Wilson Wesley is best known for the Tamara Hayle mysteries, but do not be fooled, she is also a powerful contemporary fiction writer. In Playing My Mother's Blues, Valerie Wilson Wesley delves into the life of sisters Dani and Rose, and their mother Maria who now calls herself Mariah.
Mariah married too young to a man much older than she. When Durrell Alexander comes along, his sweet-talking and tender lovemaking makes Mariah feel young again. Things are going well, until Mariah shoots him to death and goes to jail for twenty years. While reading the paper, she discovers that her ex- husband Hilton Dells has died. His death brings back memories of her daughters that she has not seen in twenty years. On the surface, it appears that her daughters are doing well. Dani is married, has a young child and is a successful woman in her own right. Rose, though not married is a successful educator. What Mariah does not know is what lies beneath the smiles. Dani, unhappy in her marriage has found happiness elsewhere, and is mimicking her mother's actions. Rose, happy with the secret rendezvous with her married lover, has discovered a lump in her (...). The funeral of Hilton Dells brings them face to face for the first time in two decades. When Dani's problem becomes evident and she flees the memorial service, Mariah follows her and takes her to her apartment to console her. Soon after, an angry Rose shows up at the apartment and all three women come to terms with the feelings of anger, abandonment and sorrow.
I enjoyed how this story was told over the course of three days, the flashbacks and memories made me feel as if I was following the family from beginning to end. Flashing back in time, then fast forwarding to the present made each character complete and the story more dynamic. The transitions from past to present were smooth. I also enjoyed Wilson-Wesley's lyrical writing style. This is a book I highly recommend for your reading pleasure.
Jeanette
APOOO BookClub
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
