Resurrecting Mingus [Hardcover]

Jenoyne Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 2001

Mingus Browning is a successful, young lawyer. But her life seems to be falling apart. Her parents are divorcing, her sister seems intent on ruining her life and her boyfriend has left her. As her life starts to get back on track, Mingus is forced to examine her biracial roots and her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This promising first novel from dancer and poet Adams will appeal to fans of Terry McMillan and Virginia DeBerry. The main character is a successful young lawyer named Mingus whose family is falling apart. She and her older sister have never been close, and now, after 35 years of marriage, her parents are divorcing. Throw in a complicated love life, and you have the makings of a compelling story that is hard to put down. Having grown up in a biracial family (with a black father and a white mother), Mingus has mixed emotions when she is asked out by a white police officer. She knows that she wants to avoid the problems her parents faced, but Steven seems nice. She agrees to a date and then meets the perfect man who happens to be black. What should she do? Recommended for all libraries with an audience for contemporary African American fiction. Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib., Chittenango, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Adams' passionately erotic debut novel introduces us to Mingus Browning, a successful young lawyer who's just been dumped by her boyfriend. In the wake of her own depression, Mingus receives a phone call from her sister, Eva, who reports that their father is having an affair with another woman and is preparing to leave their mother. Mingus is stunned by this revelation, and she finds herself reevaluating her relationship with both parents, as well as her feelings about her biracial (African American and Irish) heritage. To make matters worse, Mingus falls in love with Eric, an African American television producer, only to discover that Eva is obsessed with him. When Mingus learns that her sister is pursuing Eric, and that Eric is passively tolerating the pursuit, she breaks off their relationship. With candor and sensitivity, Adams tackles the issues of infidelity, biracial marriage, and the potential conflict between one's social and personal identities. Adams' writing style is vivid and direct, creating a sense of immediacy that keeps the story moving even during its most contemplative moments. Bonnie Johnston
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (February 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684873524
• ISBN-13: 978-0684873527
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,351,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting!!, February 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Resurrecting Mingus (Hardcover)

Resurrecting Mingus is a riveting novel!!

The author unveiled topics rarely discussed in our society. I now have a more profound understanding of entrapment. I can now validate feelings from both man and woman. The heat from sibling rivalry was so thick that you could feel the tension mounting. Mingus and Eva epitomize a love-hate relationship. I appreciated author, Jenoyne Adams, for delving into the growing pains of infidelity in a marraige, life after a divorce (different perspective coming from a biracial marraige), and unexplained human emotion captured in words, captured in this novel. I was captivated by Adams' writing style, I could see each scene as it unfolded. I was so immeresed into the novel that I finished reading the book in 8 hours. I could hardly put it down, rare for me.

This book is good!! As I thumb throw the pages searching for a passage to share with you, I find myself stuck. Resurrecting Mingus has something for everyone.

It's moments of revelation when Adams writes: "I figured out that bitterness sits behinds eyes that can't cry."

Love between woman and man: "Mingus slid herself down to the carpet, her bare chest pressed against his shirt. She touched his face like it was her first time feeling skin under her fingers. She looked into his eyes as she traced his chin, his nect, back up to his lips. She kissed herself into him..."

Entrapment: (Carl) "Second time she got pregnant... I never heard it pop... made me wonder about her. She got up... straightened out her clothes, and walk herself out. Quick. Never once looked me in they eye. All night I sat up in my bunk wanting to scream. She trapped me. Pinned a hole in the condom and trapped me." (Ellie) I knew the condom was old..." You have to buy the book for the rest. Buy the book ya'll, buy the book!! The book is deep. Find your center. You will enjoy Ressurecting Mingus.

To the author: Thank you! Excellent book! How can I get a schedule of readings of Mingus and book signing? Look forward to the next one!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great way to spend an afternoon..., February 11, 2001

By 

Shannon Williamson Martin (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Resurrecting Mingus (Hardcover)

I wonder if there are words that will illustrate the feeling I received from reading Jenonyne Adam's first book,Resurrecting Mingus. Well, I will have to try.

Adam's transends you physically and mentally into lives of these characters. The primary character Mingus, is the voice of reason or the gel that holds this fragile family together, until it is broken with her father's infidelity. These elements of betrayal, rverbrate throughout the story making it a reoccuring theme. But, it is not the forbidden acts alone, that make this novel worthwhile, it's the overcoming of the antagonist that makes this a sure-fire read. Plot aside the authors writing is style is extremely fresh and honest. Her metaphors and beautiful way of unfolding the characters,events, and storyline, is her true talent.

I know it is pretty early to say, but this is one of the best books I've read all year.

I can't wait for her sophomore effort!!!!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Debut Novel, March 2, 2001

By 

"misslove" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Resurrecting Mingus (Hardcover)

Resurrecting Mingus is an amalgamation of insight, delivery, and intense emotions. Never before have I read a novel that explored multiple sides of so many unchartered issues. Adams' candor is simply intoxicating and effulgent.

This novel oscillates between Mingus Browning and her family. The author conceptualizes the affect that divorce has on adults, the damages of surpressing desires, and the anguish that secrets and lies can cause. Now, one might say they've read novels with similar storylines. But, Jenoyne Adams wasn't the author. This author has a magnetic way of opening her characters' souls, exposing their fears, intentions, and inner demons. The story is not one sided at all. As readers, we receive all of the participants and affected parties' points of view.

Besides the explosive characters and stellar storyline, Resurrecting Mingus is also brisk and eloquent. It's a quick, yet engulfing read. Adams is extremely voluminous providing just the right amount of lucid descriptions and toxic lyrics.

This blistering novel will grab your attention and interest and hold it until your eyes reach the last page. Enjoy!