Somethin' Extra : A Novel [Hardcover]

Patty Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2000

In this vibrant, sexy debut novel, a woman meets the one man who makes her second-guess her life for the first time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the outset of this debut novel, Rice comes on like a cynical Terry McMillan who's determined to make her contribution to the all-men-are-dogs school of literature. Genie Gatlin, 25, having determined that men are only good for two things (money and sex), dates exclusively married guys to avoid the hassles of love and commitment. She pedantically and, as it turns out, only partially explains the not-so-subtle psychological underpinnings of her heart's exile: her father fooled around on her mother, who died of heartbreak. Meanwhile, David Lewis, a 52-year-old former Atlanta newspaper editor, has been transplanted to Maryland because his wife, Monica, has landed a new high-powered job in Washington, D.C., and he's feeling lonely and neglected. When he starts teaching at a Maryland university and meets the English department's new secretary, Genie, the May-November affair blossoms. Genie is terrified of loving the professor, realizing that "David is much more to me than an open wallet and zipper," and while David says heartwarming things to her like, "I idolize you, babe," he still loves his wife. Genie's journey beyond shallowness takes her to a painful reckoning with the terrible secret of her childhood. Rice clearly delineates her protagonist's struggle, but readers may not be sympathetic. Genie is whiny and self-obsessed, her nonstop flippant diatribes registering petty complaints about small penises, lying men and most tiresomely, "that love shit." When Genie becomes so unbearable that even her friends despair, and no one, not even she, can justify her behavior, the reader may suspect that her tale is a cautionary one, but this knowledge comes too late. Readers will be exasperated before David gets his priorities straight and Genie finally decides to take charge of her life.(Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Genie Gatlin is young, black, and savvy. Having seen her mother destroy herself because of her cheating husband, Genie knows "it's better to lease a man than own one." A hot tamale of a cateress with a powerful libido, she strikes her amorous arrangements with married men, since they are less likely to become emotionally attached. Poet and first-time novelist Rice writes in an easy, straightforward style, making Genie sound like your best friend. However, she is not as deft at writing in the voice of Genie's lover, David Lewis, who is twice her age. The reader follows these two through the phases of courtship as their office romance hovers offshore like a sultry tropical storm, then blows in with joyous abandon until David's spurned wife, Monica, a particularly well-drawn character, gets wind of the goings-on. Recommended for large libraries and those with African American fiction collections.AMolly Gorman, San Marino, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (January 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068485340X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684853406
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,410,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, January 24, 2000

By 

"manyak" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somethin' Extra : A Novel (Hardcover)

I must start by saying, I had no real desire to read about a misguided young women in crisis who some how can justify dating another woman's husband. I was surprised by what I read. I read a very insightful novel, that was well written, entertaining and also taught real leassons about choices. In Genie I found a young women who was the product of a very unhealthy upbringing that caused her destructive behavior. I found in David a typical vain male person who needed reassurance that he was the same man he had been over two decades ago and in his quest to find himself he fells to consider how his actions will affect others in his life, which is usually the case when an indiviual is running scared. And after all was said and done. Who will pick up the leftover's David didn't need anymore. This book is a must read. Because we all can benefit from the lessons to be learn when one is blinded by self doubt and all the others his actions affect.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SOMETHIN' EXTRA IS SOMETHING ELSE!, April 13, 2000

By 

Odessa Drayton-Iton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somethin' Extra : A Novel (Hardcover)

SOMETHIN' EXTRA IS SOMETHING ELSE!

Ms. Rice has penned a blessing. Mid-life crisis, dating and falling in-love with married men, workaholism, alcoholism, child molestation and sexual abuse, parenting of middle-upper class teenage African-American males in a hip-hop culture... the list of issues goes on. However, Ms. Rice doesn't meander or lose focus. Her work is tight, enlightening, funny, sad, and altogether lovely! As one other reader suggests... "any young woman(or older) thinking of getting involved with a married man, should definitely read this novel." Ms. Rice you also have the makings of a wonderful "relationship film." Director/Screenwriter, Malcom Lee (Best Man), 40 Acres and a Mule Productions, would really do your story/novel justice on the Big Screen! Looking forward to seeing the movie!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ, January 28, 2000

By 

V. J. Collier "Book Diva" (CHICAGO, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Somethin' Extra : A Novel (Hardcover)

This is one of the best books I have read. I typically read 4 or 5 books a month, so I know what I'm talking about. You will not want to put it down. You will want to know what happens to David and what happens to Genie. Everyone should read this book. I can't wait for Patty Rice's next book. This book is excellent!