Customer Reviews

Six Days in January

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Six Days In January is an excellent novel that explores a man's heart. It's the best book I've read in years. I just feel bad, that you'll never see this on cinema, because it tells way too much truth. Some may think of William McCall as pitiful, but I understand his pain, because women normally tell this story. I asked myself constantly "DO MEN FEEL LIKE THIS?"

They Do. And I only hope that our women can see through their anger to recognize this. This is a great story that I hope gets its just due.

The title and the cover are fitting for the story that is held between the pages of William Fredrick Cooper's novel "6 Days In January".

This story is of a man (William McCall) whose current love Della has just broken up with him. William takes the next 6 days to examine his past and present relationships, and more importantly his views on love. The 6 days turn into a roller-coaster ride of emotions and self- discovery.

A few years back William McCall was confident about love but when he met Andrea she slowly stripped that confidence away in a one sided relationship where William give his all and she gave nothing but heartache.
"Don't ever change" are the words often said to William by females. But he did change...when love dealt him a dirty hand and he got hurt... he did change. Then that change put him on the other side of the street; where he became insecure in his search for love, and the giver of hurt instead of the recipient.

Take some time out to read this excellent novel written by author William Fredrick Cooper.
Be prepared to read about love from a man's perspective and how love can be a double edge sword that can hurt and maim future relationships.

Locksie

ARC BOOK CLUB INC.
Star Rating *****5.0

Six Days in January is an eye-opening read that lets readers into a black man's mind and allows us to feel what he feels regarding his emotions and his women. This is a side of Black men you probably will never see, or that they will deny exists, but there are too many men being raised by single mothers and we all know that a women can't teach a man how to be a man.

The main character William is a fool for love but for all the right reasons. He is the good guy that women look over because they want a "thug" or someone with a high paycheck.

Throughout this book William never changed, he never changed who he was for any woman nor did he apologize for the way he felt or the way he expressed his emotions. As I read this book I wondered why more men don't express themselves in the same way. Then on page 149 I found my answer, " We don't talk about our pain to other men because we don't want to appear weak. ... We are all so pigheaded and egotistical that we are willing to continue down the same dead end of emotional dysfunction just to save face..."

This is an unforgettable book that I think more men should read especially those who are single, it would give them a little more insight into male-female relationships before they become committed in marriage.

Reviewed by Ashanti for www.avid-readers.com

I just finished this book a few days ago and I must say that it was a pretty good read. The author gives readers a glimpse into the struggles and the thought process of the black man, therefore shedding light on some of their actions and inactions. For all those wanting and willing to understand the opposite sex, this is a book for you. If I had to identify one negative aspect, it would be that Cooper tends to babble on and on about how males are rediculed for showing emotion. It was good to gain this knowledge the first time it was mentioned over 3 or 4 pages worth of writing, but to reread those repeated lines throughout the novel was tough....

Six Days allows the reader to see the relationship from the view of the "sensitive brother." William spends five years trying to attain the heart of his "Crumbcake." Even though he knows from the onset that she is involved with another man he still allows himself to fall fast and fall hard. William, like so, many never heals from the wounds of his first love and makes every woman pay from that point one.

After William is left out in the cold (literally) by Della, his most recent ex. He takes six days to relflect on how his past hurts have caused a failed marriage and in many ways made him a different man.

I really enjoyed this book and think it is a much better, more refined version of "Men Cry in the Dark." I could relate because like they say, everybody has played the fool.

Kristy M. Phillips
Sister 2 Sister Book Club

Writer to writer, Mr. Cooper's writing was captivating and extremely descriptive...something that I feel is lacking in many of the books written today. As a reader, I walked with William McCall...I experienced every emotion he did...and that's what kept me hanging on, hoping against hope that he'd get it together. I walked on a different side of the game...saw a different aspect of men and I appreciate the author for opening up the never ending "conversation" on dating through your book...

The personal letter to the Lord in the back could have been any excerpt out of my journal. As I said, awesome.

6 Days in January is a must read for those who want to explore the heart/soul/mind of men. It is an explicit and complex look at the issues of men and relationships. I must warn you...if you are not ready for the truth...BEWARE!

William Cooper's honest and straightforward approach to exposing men's vulnerability as it relates to women and love is superb. This is hardcore...exposure. People, trust that you will laugh, cry, get angry, and feel sentimental throughout the course of this novel. He plucks at the core of what we believe to be so and what is really reality in the life of male/female relationships. OFTEN TIMES PEOPLE SUGGEST THAT MEN AND WOMEN HAVE A DIFFERENT CONCEPT OF INTIMACY...well, Cooper challenges that idea as he develops and exposes William McCall, the main character. The passion, pain, joy, and sorrows of McCall will tug at your heart string and cause you to examine yourself, your actions and your beliefs about the opposite sex. Sistahs/Ladies...we have a problem. We cause as much pain in relationships and to the hearts of men as we blame our male counterparts for...ARE YOU READY FOR THE TRUTH.

All I can say is....GET THE BOOK AND BE PREPARED FOR A RIDE. You better wake up early if you plan to read it during your morning bath. It will definitely cause you to use a few personal hours at the JOB. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

My suggestion is that the book should have a warning label:
BEWARE...THIS BOOK MIGHT CAUSE YOU TO RECLUSE AND PULL OUT THE SLOW JAMS. MAYBE EVEN LISTEN TO TONY BROWN'S QUIET STORM. INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT YOU WILL BE OUT OF COMMISSION FOR A FEW DAYS...

Men don't cry. All men are dogs. It is a man's nature to stray. These are some of the statements that women make concerning men. But after reading 6 Days in January, I will say there are some good men out there especially if they are anything like William McCall. The story begins with William meeting his girlfriend, Della, for dinner to discuss their relationship. Once they get past a small indiscretion, all seems to be going well until they get back to Della's apartment. During their love making, William commits an even bigger indiscretion and Della kicks him out of her apartment and out of her life. This begins the soul-searching exercise that William takes himself through over a course of 6 days in the month of January.

All of his life, William has been labeled as weak, soft and even gay. He was publicly dissed by his first girlfriend because her friends didn't think he was man enough. William meets a young lady named Andrea, who seems to appreciate his sensitivity and he falls deeply in love with her. The only problem is that she is not free to love him in return. William pours his heart and soul into his relationship only to receive very little in return. Opening himself up to remember the pain and tears caused in past relationships, William reflects on how those experiences formed him into the man he is today.

As William becomes more successful in his career, he is failing miserably in his relationships. He starts to think that maybe women are not into a man with a sensitive nature, one who is willing to put his lady before himself. A man who is willing to sacrifice the time it takes to make the relationship work. All the women seem to appreciate that he is a good man, telling him "don't change", but they don't seem to want to be in a relationship with him. This prompted him to change his attitude about relationships. He started entering relationships purely for physical pleasure instead of for love. During his self-reflection, he realizes he is not satisfied with the way things are and decides to listen to his heart. But is it too late?

The debut novel by William Frederick Cooper seems semi-autobiographical. There is a really moving prayer at the end of the novel that will melt even the coldest of hearts. The approach of the book is different because the tables have been turned and it is a brother who is seeking true love. He presents love from a man's perspective and the result is truly refreshing. There is talk that we will see William McCall again in a future novel. I hope that his prayer will be answered.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson for Loose Leaves Book Review

From the first page this story had me hooked! This was a tale that needed to be told. It was a story of how a nice guy should finish first, but plays second to men who are underserving of the women they end up with. William McCall was the man that a majority of women claim they want but ended up being not good enough. There are a lot of brothas out here who go through these painful dramas day in and day out with women, and I for one am glad a story of this type has finally been told.

Who says that it is always the woman left holding jagged pieces of what was once her heart when a relationship goes bad, certainly not William F. Cooper who flips the script in, Six Days in January, exposing the underside of the steely exterior to reveal the heart of men, for all to make of it what you will.

McCall had been a kind, considerate, sensitive, caring, loving, walking and talking dream come true, ready to give his all, until as undeserving as she was, he hooks up with Andrea. During the midst of their courtship, Andrea confesses that she is committed to current boyfriend, Derrick and is unable to give herself completely. This would be the first of countless, desensitizing blows that McCall would be all too willing to endure during the course of their relationship.

Insanely, McCall kept hanging on; believing that one day Andrea would be all his or he would die with his boots on. Everyone he encountered attempted to convince him that the relationship was doomed. William turned a death ear to all naysayers. Because shaking sense into William McCall was not an option, tearfully, I read on, only to find he had taken yet another dagger to the heart. Callously McCall moves through life, wanting to show the world that he can be a strong Black man and in the process leaves the women in his future taken for granted. When would he come to his senses?

William McCall, who wasn't one to cry in the dark, says it best, "Our sisters network and communicate their hurts. We're not supposed to have vulnerabilities, especially as Black men, though we struggle in denial of emotional sensitivity everyday." I say, at ease men, its okay to feel, to be real, to be human.

William Cooper has written this tale with such depth that we are taken through a gamut of emotion, all the while cheering for William but unable to hate Andrea due to his love for her. Although I feel this to be a dynamic read and as unimportant to the story as it was, I would have liked to learn more about his failed marriage to Angela and seen her as a multidimensional character.

Nevertheless, my heart went out to William as I found myself turning page after heartbreaking page needing to know if those long ago memories and the pain of being a jilted lover could be tucked away, enabling him to give of himself again?