Sisters & Lovers: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Connie Briscoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1995

Beverly, Charmaine, and Evelyn -- three sisters living in the same Maryland town outside Washington, D.C., each wishing her life were just a little different. Beverly is twenty-nine and single. She's a successful magazine editor who would love to be in love. The problem is, no man can meet her high standards. Charmaine longs to finish her degree, but meanwhile, she has to juggle a thankless job, a beautiful child, and an irresponsible husband she doesn't quite have the nerve to leave. Evelyn seems to have it made. She has a successful psychology practice and her husband is a partner in a prestigious law firm. But there's trouble in paradise, and Evelyn refuses to face the facts.
Warm and bittersweet, believable and real, SISTERS & LOVERS is a novel of family and love, heartache and hope, and above all, the triumph of sisterhood.
""Riveting . . . Lively . . . Hilarious . . . Three sisters who are remarkably different except in one respect: their men are driving them crazy." -- Mademoiselle

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in and around Washington, D.C., Briscoe's earnest debut novel centers on three sisters attempting to balance their needs for love and their self-respect in a male-defined society. Beverly, Charmaine and Evelyn each represent stereotypical "successful" African American women, forced to compromise their desires in order to hold on to their male partners. Charmaine, 35, is a secretary, mother of one and pregnant; she struggles to cope financially and emotionally with her immature, underachieving husband as he weaves bold-faced lies about work, drugs and money. Evelyn, a 37-year-old psychologist and mother of two, resists her lawyer husband's desire to start his own firm, fearing that their standard of living will suffer. Magazine editor Beverly, perhaps the most interesting of the trio, is single, "picky" and reluctantly watching her biological clock tick its way to 30. Determined to move on after her boyfriend takes up with another woman, Beverly finds herself resorting to blind dates, considering artificial insemination and dating white men. Briscoe's writing lacks the energy and sass that Terry McMillan brought to the same theme, and her passages of introspection can be awkward and heavy-handed. The audience for this book will find it enjoyable but not memorable. 35,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this well-paced first novel by journalist Briscoe, three middle-class African American sisters living in the Washington, D.C., area face love, choices, and crises as they journey through life. Beverly, Charmaine, and Evelyn are quite different, yet the bonds of sisterly love remain strong. Briscoe's finely crafted novel is slightly reminiscent of Terri McMillan's Waiting To Exhale and will attract many of the same readers . It is at once humorous, poignant, realistic, and romantic and skillfully uses witty but realistic dialog to keep the story moving along. Because the lives of African Americans are so varied, it is refreshing to read fiction portraying black women in a positive light. Destined to become a keeper , this is recommended for all fiction collections and for libraries supporting African American collections, which far too often simply mirror the interests of "mainstream" America.
- Angela Washington-Blair, Dallas
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: One World/Ballantine (January 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804113343
• ISBN-13: 978-0804113342
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fiction:
--Money Can't Buy Love (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette)
--Sisters and Husbands (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette)
--Can't Get Enough (Doubleday)
--PG County (Doubleday)
--A Long Way From Home (HarperCollins)
--Big Girls Don't Cry (HarperCollins)
--Sisters and Lovers (HarperCollins)

Nonfiction:
Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sisters & Lovers: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I am really surprised that of this writing "Sisters & Lovers" only has a few reviews. Hopefully, that number will increase because to me the book is one of the best that I've ever read and that's saying a lot. "Sisters and Lovers" grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let me go until the very last page. Although, it's been a while since I've read it (and I can recall reading it at least two times which for me is REALLY saying a lot), it impressed me as the type of book that every woman should have in her library. Please go get it TODAY!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the kind of book that keeps you up all night !, January 29, 2000

By 

Neisha D. Rhodes (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sisters and Lovers (Paperback)

I am not exaggerating when I say that I literally could not put this book down. The beginning starts off a bit slow, but only because the author uses the first couple of chapters to introduce the characters and their life experiences individually, which really helps you to understand them later. Although the sisters sometimes display bitterness and jelousy, it is obvious that they have genuine love and compassion for one another. No matter what they say or do, they only want to help. I also liked this book because Connie Briscoe (Author) does not completly bash the men. She displays the black men in both a positive and negative light. This book even explores controversial issues such as interacial dating. Overall this is a excellent book worth your time and money!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was surprised..., November 28, 2004

By 

Kisley (Gaithersburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sisters and Lovers (Hardcover)

Usually I go for the mysteries where people die and things happen that will keep me scared and up all night. I picked this book by luck. It happened to be based in the area I've lived all my life and thought I'd give it a try. Turns out this book kept me up all night, not scared, but waiting to find out what was going to happen next. I enjoyed it and think you might also.