Customer Reviews

Seen It All and Done the Rest [With Headpones]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Seen It All and Done the Rest by Pearl Cleage is a mature, reading
delight. Grande Dame Josephine Evans has been the toast of
Amsterdam's theatre circuit for over twenty years. Aging gracefully,
at fifty-eight, her life could not be better or so it would seem.
However, Josephine discovers that it is not so hip to be an American
overseas any longer and that being American is having an effect on
her career. After all these years, she finds herself without a
contract and limited funds. So what is a woman to do? She can always
go home, she does have a niece, Zora, at home in Atlanta and a house
that has been bringing in an income for years. So surely Atlanta and
Zora will be waiting with open arms, or will they?

Zora is a smart, educated young woman who has always been the apple
of her grandmother's eyes. Her father drank himself to death at an
early age but her grandmother was always there. However, as a grown
woman, Zora finds herself in the middle of a controversy, involving
the death of a prominent citizen and she has become fodder for a
local tabloid, Dig It! The notoriety causes Zora to drop out of
college and hole-up in a luxury house in West End, with her favorite
companion, a glass of vodka. When her grandmother informs Zora of her
return, she is not as excited as she once would have been.

Jospehine's return home is filled with pain, love and laughter. She
reconnects with friends while discovering what has been going on in
the life of her granddaughter. She also discovers that change occurs
whether one is there to see it or not. I absolutely loved meeting
these characters and getting to know them. The flavor of family,
friends and community flows through the pages of this book, painting
a realistic picture of what life is really like. I also love how Ms.
Cleage touched on the subject of a woman aging gracefully. I highly
recommend Seen it All and Done the Rest to everyone.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

Bravo to Robin Miles for being blessed with such a talented voice that is the icing to a truly made from scratch pound cake story (have mercy). Pearl Cleage's novel Seen It All and Done the Rest is filled with laughter, love, tears and victories of ex-patriot diva, Josephine Evans that returns to the states because of her artistic differences in Amsterdam. Evans returns to Atlanta, to her granddaughter Zora who needs the arms, wisdom and spirit of her grandmother in order to heal from a scandalous year of being the star of tabloid news. While home, Josephine checks on her rental property; the duplex that she and her mother lived in. Her mother left the house to Josephine and she kept it as part of Zora's inheritance. Josephine discovers that the house has been vandalized and is now being squatted. The healing begins through Josephine and her crew of righteous people to take back the house and the community in order to stop it from getting torn down by greedy realtor, Greer Woodruff (the wicked witch of the South). Pearl Cleage's array of homeless yet hopeful characters have all found each other and are now setting a path to heal from addiction, Katrina, home invasion and tabloid scandals. They represent so many throughout this country that still call this home that love the essence but not the leaders and know they have a right to be free.

For those who know Pearl Cleage's books, this one is classic: A witty, smart, GROWN UP narrator I'd follow to the ends of the earth. Social issues that affect black folks and ALL folks (this one even brings in Europe in a fun way). Mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sister-friends and all manner of important relationships. A love of language. And a gripping story. For those who don't know Pearl Cleage's books: get to reading! You'll be very glad you did!Orange Mint and Honey: A Novel

This book was a little too slow for me. Started off good but went flat.

I enjoyed this work, but not as much as the previous ones by author, Pearl Cleage. I felt it was a little bit too predictable for me.

"Seen It All and Done the Rest" was a great read. Its main character is a full of life actress in her 50s who comes across stumbling blocks in her career in overseas because she is American. While taking time out to check on her granddaughter and property she stumbles across much more. Along her way she finds an old friend and many new ones, she also makes an enemy or two. The heroine in this story is not at all the typical grandmother but still traditional and cultured. From the imagery I got to see Amsterdam, the different areas of Atlanta and New Orleans with my mind's eye.

I have always been a big Pearl Cleage fan and this book (Seen It all and Done the Rest) has justified all of my ravings about her writing. She has done it again! I loved that the shero in this book was a woman of a certain age and that she was also computer illiterate. Josephine Evans, for all of her diva like qualities is just like so many of our mothers and grandomthers; afraid of the internet, has a cell phone she leaves at home and is a loving grandmother.

Ms. Cleage did a fine job pulling everyone together and concluding the triology of Blue Hamilton and the crew in ATL.

This is my 3rd novel by Pearl Cleage and I can't wait to read more. I finished this one in one day - just couldn't pull myself away.

This book was not as good as Cleage's earlier work (i.e. What Looks Like Crazy... and ...Red Dress.) The writing seems amateurish and she often states the obvious. It was a chore to force myself to read the entire book.