I Say a Little Prayer [Paperback]

E. Lynn Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2007

A USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post BestsellerChauncey Greer, the suave and successful owner of the Cute Boy Greeting Card Company, never wants for the attention of guys just as hot as he is. After a couple of bad dates Chauncey finds himself in church, where the minister’s message inspires him to return to the singing career he had launched as a teenager. Things heat up when Chauncey’s rediscovered singing talent lands him in the middle of a protest over homophobia in the black church, and Chauncey’s old singing partner–and former lover–makes a dramatic and unexpected entrance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harris takes a sympathetic look at the difficulty of reconciling homosexuality and faith in the black church in his lively ninth novel. Thirty-eight-year old Chauncey Greer classifies his heft sexual appetite as "basically bi with a gay leaning;" but also needs a personal relationship with God. Once a member of a boy band called Reunion (his deeply felt love affair with fellow bandmate Sweet D precipitated its breakup), Chauncey now owns a successful Atlanta-based greeting card company. Chauncey is a regular at the progressive Abundant Joy Baptist Church, where Pastor Kenneth's inspired preaching reignites his dreams of a singing career. After Chauncey sings a soul-stirring solo at church, the pastor invites him to perform at an upcoming revival led by the fundamentalist Bishop Upchurch and his vindictive wife Grayson. But Chauncey's friends plan to boycott the revival because of the Upchurches' gay-bashing, and Chauncey must decide between his passion for singing and his personal identity-a decision complicated by the reappearance of a figure from his past. Though supporting characters remain flat, Harris (A Love of My Own) illuminates a divide in the black church while exploring the universal theme of broken love.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Chauncey Greer operates a successful card company in Atlanta, Cute Boy Cards, with a specialty line for bisexuals and homosexuals. His relationships are casual because he can't get over his first true love and the betrayal that broke them apart. Chauncey decides to renew a dormant singing career, and his pastor asks him to debut at the church. Abundant Joy is a modest church that members fear may be on the brink of turning mega. Chauncey, like so many other members, fled Atlanta's mega-churches with their emphasis on prosperity at the expense of spirituality and decidedly anti-gay messages. When the pastor asks Chauncey to perform at an upcoming revival, Chauncey finds himself caught between the guest speaker, Bishop Upchurch, a fiery minister who is running for the U.S. Senate on an anti-gay marriage platform, and members of his church, who oppose Upchurch's message. Chauncey learns through friends the myriad paths traveled and entanglements faced by other members of Atlanta's black homosexual community; and he learns that Bishop Upchurch is a figure with his own troubled past. As Chauncey struggles with these issues, he eventually makes peace with his past. Harris, who revealed the down-low practice of ostensible heterosexuals living secret lives as gay men, now offers insight into the struggle within the black church concerning gay rights. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400077281
• ISBN-13: 978-1400077281
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E. Lynn Harris (1955-2009) is the author of ten previous novels and the memoir What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. His recent novels Just Too Good to be True, I Say a Little Prayer, A Love of My Own, and Any Way the Wind Blows hit the bestseller lists in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and other publications. He founded the E. Lynn Harris Better Days Foundation, a nonprofit company that provides support to aspiring writers and artists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars E. Lynn Harris Is Back!!!!, May 2, 2006

By 

Urban Reviews "Your Source for the Best in AA... (Online) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: I Say a Little Prayer: A Novel (Hardcover)

Chauncey Greer is the successful owner of Cute Boy Card Company in Atlanta. He was a member of a popular teen boy band Reunion but was kicked out after the manager found out the real reason for he and his bandmate D's late night hotel room visits. It is now twenty years later and Chauncey has put the past behind him and is still searching for true love. He turns his focus to his church where through his minister's message he finds a renewed interest in a musical career. After a soul stirring solo at church, Chauncey is invited to be the guest soloist at the church revival. He hits a sour note when he finds out anti-gay fundamentalist preacher Bishop Upchurch is planning to use the church revival as his conservative platform. The gay members of Chauncey's church are planning to boycott the revival and now he is at a crossroads. He has to decide weather to sing at the revival or stand up for what he thinks is right. To make matters worse, D shows up causing Chauncey to face his very painful past.


I Say A Little Prayer is an ambitious novel by E.Lynn Harris. Harris focused on a very explosive topic that no one in the black church wants to talk about: gays and lesbians in the church. I thought this topic was presented delicately and honestly in this story. I felt the emotion and conviction of Chauncey as he was trying to live his life and trying to do what God wants him to do. Readers will be moved by this story. Fans of this author's previous novels will be pleasantly surprised when two other characters Basil and Yancey make a brief appearance in this novel. But make no mistake, this is not another chapter into the lives of Basil and Raymond. This story is about Chauncey Greer. After reading this novel, I felt like E. Lynn Harris may be taking his writing into a delightful new direction. I Say A Little Prayer is a satisfying, heart wrenching story that doesn't disappoint.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars E. Lynn Harris does it again!, August 24, 2007

By 

~anonymous~ (Philly, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Say a Little Prayer (Paperback)

Here was yet another grand reading written by E. Lynn Harris. When I began to read it, I was immediately hooked to the point that I seriously did not put it down until I had completed the entire book in one sitting. Of course I took small respites to eat, etc. but I did not, and could not, fall asleep until I had finished reading it to the end. I cannot wait for the next release.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars BORING, June 12, 2006

By 

Anita Pearson (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Say a Little Prayer: A Novel (Hardcover)

Interesting subject... But the story had way too much going on, with half-developed characters. Really who cared who Chauncey slept with? I was more interested in the Skylar scenes, he was very funny and engaging, and more importantly he knew who he was. Seeing how E Lynn Harris, had such a big break, this was a not worth the wait. He alluded that some of the past characters (Basil and Yancey B) were still alive and thriving, why not focus a little more on them???

One thing in the book really pissed me off- The main character was puzzled that his co-worker, a highly educated woman was unable to tell the difference in a straight man and a [...] man. NEWSFLASH- men make it very difficult to find out this little tidbit, it is called being on the down low, and if you notice the majority of Chauncey's and Skylar's partners had women on the side, meaning that they were on the down low, yet women are supposed to be able to spot a down low man.. OH PLEASE

Why E Lynn Harris is an excellent writer, this was not one of his best works.