Customer Reviews

Some People, Some Other Place

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Waiting to be conceived, the narrator in SOME PEOPLE, SOME OTHER
PLACE watches Earth with great interest, especially a young lady
named Eula Too, the narrator's future mother.

Born to a dirt poor family in a dirt poor town a hundred miles south
of Chicago in the early 1900's, Eula Too had no life of her own.
Instead, she was made to care for her numerous younger siblings, her
mother-who acted as if her job was to have babies, and the household
which was barely more than a run down shack. By the time she was
fifteen, she was burned out. So when her mother tells her she is
pregnant, yet again, she walks out to find her own life.

Over the past year an impotent man has been giving Eula Too money to
allow him to rub up against her. She's been saving her money and
plans on using it to get her start in Chicago. The man, a chauffer,
drives to Chicago twice a week and agrees to take her with him on
his next run. On the ride to Chicago, the man allows his friend to
rape her, then the men leave her stranded on the road.

Eula Too is found along the road by Madam Lafon, owner of a high-
class brothel just outside of Chicago. The madam takes Eula Too in
and nurses her back to health. Something about this young girl's
innocence touches the madam's heart. She gives Eula Too a job as her
personal assistant and over the years the two become friends.

Now in her thirties, Eula Too realizes she still does not have a
life or anything of her own. Even her spoiled child, a result of the
rape and the narrator's sister, considers herself to be better than
her mother and disassociates herself from her family. When Eula Too
is in a town named Place helping Madam Lafon make funeral
arrangements for her mother, she decides she will stay in Place and
start a life of her own.

Madam Lafon is jealous of this new life of Eula Too's. She'd kept
her close to the brothel so she wouldn't have to share her. And now
there is a man interested in Eula Too. What if her only true friend
falls for this man? The older woman can't bear the thought of dying
alone. She must make Eula Too see that this man is beneath her and
stop this relationship before it gets out of hand.

Simply put, SOME PEOPLE, SOME OTHER PLACE is a masterpiece. In all
of my readings, there is only one other book that I have given this
accolade. As an editor, I enjoyed watching Cooper smoothly
intertwine the narrator and Eula Too's journeys, the use of everyday
language to depict the often times complex and convoluted, the
development of character and plot. As a reader, I enjoyed the
journey from the heavens to earth, the emotions stirring within me
as I grew to know Eula Too, the enlightenment of the lives of
African-American families in Depression-era America. I could go on
and on about this novel and still not do it justice.

Reviewed by Deatri King-Bey
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

You can't imagine the joy I felt, back in August when I was lucky enough to receive a bound galley of Some People, Some Other Place. I sat down and made myself comfortable. I knew I would enjoy this book I had patiently waited for the next J.California Cooper book. It had been too long since the last novel. Well this book is worth the wait. It has the good the bad and the ugly. You get so caught up in the lives of Madame, Eula Too, Jewel and the people of Place, they become people you care about. J.California Cooper never disappoints her readers. She has that down home make you glad to be here quality. The reason I love this writer is her ability as a storyteller, it's like you are sitting down in front of her and she is weaving this wonderfull tale and it is unfolding right in front of your eyes. By the time the narrator is done you are sad that your journey has come to an end. Much like my favorite J.California Cooper tome In Search of Satisfaction this book will pull you in from the beginning and hold you until the last page. You will be glad that Ms J. California Cooper took the time to introduce you to these people in this place. She is simply the BEST!!!

I am not done with this book, but I just had to get on here and say a few things: Please get this book. Usually books that have rape in it, for some reason, I am drawn away or read with caution, but Ms Cooper, to me is a jewel of a writer and as far as I'm concerned, you cannot help but love her books, and this one is no exception. If u really want to know, J.California Cooper is a gifted writer and I personally think she doesn't get her due. You read her stories, and you feel as though you can gain something from her books for your own life. Now with Eula Too, she loved life. She wanted the best and she didn't let life get her down. I loved Madam for what she done, but as time gets one and you notice her own feelings, you wonder about her motives. I am really enjoying this story. So beautiful and it shows that yes, you had a bad experience, but you can get over it and move on.

"Some People, Some Other Place" is a cautionary tale that examines life - its love and losses, joys and pitfalls. The story reads like an ancient fable cloaked in spiritual wisdom and practical experience. Narrated by an unborn child from the spirit realm, the novel reveals the story of Eula Too and the inhabitants of Dream Street in a town named Place. Eula Too is the daughter of dirt poor sharecroppers. Her lot in life appears sealed when at the age of five she is recruited by her mother to help keep the house and raise the children. Eula Too's life changes when she is befriended by Miss Hart, a neighbor and former school teacher, who teaches her to read. With reading comes dreams and Eula Too decides at the age of fifteen that she can no longer live the cutoff, deprived life she's been born into. Full of hope and the desire for a life better than the one she has, Eula Too set out for Chicago and the possibilities that the city offers.

It is in route to Chicago that Eula Too's and Elizabeth's lives intersect. Elizabeth rescues Eula Too from the side of a road after she is brutally raped by the man she has trusted to take her to Chicago. Elizabeth is the Madame of an elite brothel in a Chicago suburb. Eula Too reminds Elizabeth of a dear friend from her hometown, Place, and decides to employ the young girl as her assistant and confidant. During this phase of Eula Too's life, she is educated by a private tutor and has access to all the finer things in life that money can buy. It is in this place, surrounded by people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing - least of all love and friendship - that Eula Too's life begins to lose meaning. When a family tragedy erupts for both Eula Too and Elizabeth, they return to a different Place with more life changing experiences in store for Eula Too.

Cooper demonstrates in this novel how every life depends on another. How people and communities can implode in the absence of love. Not the possessive love that money tries to buy or the selfish love that can destroy lives, but the kind and generous love that can make you free. The author provides insightful commentary on the human condition within the socio-political context of a country where money rules and people are its servants. "Some People, Some Other Place" is a richly woven tale that is sure to engage and enlighten. The primary characters in the novel are fully drawn each with circumstances that easily remind you of people and problems that exist in real life. This is a novel to be read, deeply contemplated and shared. It is superb story telling with powerful messages. Highly Recommended!

When I set out to read this book I had high hopes. Perhaps my expectations were too high because of the praise from Alice Walker and other notables on the cover of the book. J. California Cooper's writing style is easy to read and doesn't leave me flying in the wind with an overuse of metaphors that attempts to sing or create lyrical poetry. I appreciate her writing style, which is why I gave this story three stars. If it were not for that fact, I would have given it a less respectable rating.

The storyline frustrated me to the maximum. It tells a story and at times that telling becomes quite annoying. I really wanted to see things happen--more than what the author showed us. I wanted to feel these characters, but there was simply too much telling. I grew tired of the voice of this unborn child. I ended up skimming through the child's sermons to get back to the story

The storyline, although its purpose was to inspire hope didn't achieve that. It was incredibly depressing. I found it very disturbing that sex was used and viewed as a weapon throughout the book. Human sexuality was defaced and viewed as something ugly.

Her accounts of race relations in American post-Civil War, pre-Civil Rights Movement felt accurate from material I've read of those time periods and I appreciated that, but Dream Street should have been called Street of Despair.

While I appreciate J. California Cooper's writing style, I would surely hope other material by her does not follow the directions of this book. I will give another one of her titles a chance because overall, the author is a gifted writer even though this story falls a little short.

This was my very first novel by Ms. cooper and I was intrigued. She put me in the mind of classic literature. This story was told by an unborn child. A story of love, romance, fears, hopes, and dreams. The characters were VERY well developed and came alive right before my eyes. I could have very well have been watching the movie it was so real to me.

Eula Too, so named because her mother Eula wanted a child named after her, was born into poverty. A poverty so wretched, I wouldn't wish it upon any child.The only solace in Eula's life was her faith in God. Her life led her to want to run away to chicago to the promised land her mother never made it to. Well, she finally made it, only she was brutally raped of her virginity and almost dead when she got there. A white woman saw the child and felt sympathy becuase she too had been once raped. But this particular white woman was very rich, and wooed Eula Too into a home if intimate acquaintance( a rich whorehouse) and made Eula her protege and center of attraction, her prized negro. She schooled Eula,gave her fine linens, and invted her as a guest at her dinner parties. Eula was ecstatic at first but soon realized that she had no life of her own. Eula Too wanted her life back and a real love that she can could call her own. This book has so many layers of stories built into one that I cannot possibly tell you all that happened. Just get this book. I am still warm from the love that was found between the pages of this book. Through Eula's life I learned many lessons in love and faith in God.

i think she is one of the most talented writers ever. she writes about things that make you vision life and real people. This is one of best books that i have read.if you want to read about baby mama drama and cheating relationships this book is not for you, but if you need a good book that is a page turner then this is the book for you along with her other books.

I...LOVE...THIS...BOOK and give it 5+! Even though I'm only half way through it (I just want to take my time and savor the enjoymnent of every character). Ms. J. California Cooper is my all time favorite writer. If I could, I would hug this woman to death. Every single book she has written has been nothing but the best. I've introduce others to her writing and they've fallen in love as well...One guy just came up and hugged me from behind and said thank you for introducing me to her. When I spotted this novel, while browsing in the book store, I thought I was gonna faint because I had been waiting for her to come out with something new. Anyone who reads just a taste of her ability to capture you in her work will be hooked...for life. Ms. J. California Cooper, I LOVE YOU DEARLY....Your #1 Fan

At first for me it was a difficult read but as soon as I got into the characters (Madame & Eula-too) I felt was able to visualize what the story was trying to tell me. I read the book for the start of a book club that was started at my job and it seemed to be a good hit. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed The Color Purple or The Bluest Eye.

This book is not your typical read. She wrote about love, strength, courage and a whole list of qualities that most authors don't address in 10 books. I thought the book was an excellent read and very well written I might add. I regret borrowing this book from the library, becuase I would have loved to have this book apart of my collection