Customer Reviews

Sugar Cage

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

 

 

Connie May Fowler creates intimacy for the reader and all of the books characters. By bringing first person to all the characters we get to know more about how people choose the decisions they made and what motivates each one towards the life they choose. I really enjoyed the way she was able to keep the story progressing thorugh time but also using other's perspective on what occured or is occuring at the moment. Also the influences of Haitian voo-doo help add new depth to Florida southern culture. And gives new information to the reader about pagean religion and the intellegence and beauty it brings to the characters of this book. I felt her pride or her willingness to explore and place in a positive light Haitian voo-doo. I think the main essence of the book for me was that everyone needed to listen to thier own voice. And once they steered away from that is when thier lives turned towards unhappiness. The realness of coming to terms with our demons and releasing ourselves into our own strengths was what I felt Fowler was trying to get across. The beauty of how she used everyones perspective instead of one main character and narrator is what I enjoyed the most. I enjoyed being able to be sypathetic to everyone's life and the way they had/have chosen to live it.

Inez Temple is working as a maid in a cheap tourist hotel on the South Florida coast when she meets Rose Looney. A Haitian woman with an ability to "see' the outlines of peoples lives, Inez sees in the sugar crystals in the bottom of a glass Rose has drunk from the outlines of a cage and knows early on that Rose and her new husband, Charlie, and their friends Junior and Eudora, and their children, are destined to be trapped in many ways in the years to come.

15 years later, Rose knows this as well. How she struggles to find her way through her broken marriage and try to save her only son from the same fate in the midst of all the "bars of the cages" society and life confine her within--poverty, racism, sexism, cultural snobbery and so on, is at the core of this unusual tale of life in the melting pot that is South Florida.

The mysticism gets a bit out of hand at times-and stretches credulity it the process, but this is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent novel.

SUGAR CAGE weaves the story of such disparate people as Inez Temple, black maid to rich folks, Patrick Lackley, finicky mortician, and Charlie Loonie, front-man schmoozer for a local band. The women in this book will steal your heart -- especially the dear-hearted Inez, Charlie's loyal wife, Rose, and the magical Soleil Marie Beauvoir. The story is often dark and sad, but the mystical ending will inspire and uplift you.

For a first novel, I found the writing astonishing. Anyone who can make you care about so many contrasting characters (and make it easy to follow the thread) is a born writer. I adore a novel that pulls you in from the very first sentence . . . SUGAR CAGE does that.

This was the type of book that you can never put down. I read it all in one night. The best part about the book is the way the author displayed each character individually. It then ended up showing how each of the characters were uniquely linked togeather. It's a book that I will always love to read again and again. I would most definitly reccomend it.

After reading Before Women had Wings, I hungered for more from Connie May Fowler. I found Sugar Cage to be a deeply satisfying follow-up. The novel, told in many different voices, takes us on the unforgettable journeys of a diverse cast of characters, all of whom reel the reader into an intricate tapestry woven by Fowler. Startling descriptions of Hatian voodoo rituals were among the most vivid scenes from the book, whose magical conclusion leaves the reader spellbound. A mesmerizing novel, Sugar Cage, like Fowler's other work, has left me hungry for more!

Sugar Cage, Connie May Fowler's first book, is evidence of how talented this writer is. Having read Before Women Had Wings and River of Hidden Dreams prior to Sugar Cage, it's also clear how Ms. Fowler is evolving as a writer.

Sugar Cage is slightly different from her other two books, as there are so many rich characters in this book. There's two couples, who appear to have a love/hate relationship with one another. Charlie and Rose Looney is one of those couples, and Junior and Eudora Jewel is the other. These characters, as well as other main characters in the book, each take turns telling the story from his/her own point of view.

Junior Jewel dies of cancer in the book rather early, and as a result one finds Charlie, Rose, and Eudora banding together to make sure Junior gets his wish to be buried in his own backyard. Eudora is left with raising her daughter, Luella, on her own, and floundering as she does so. Rose and Charlie Looney have a rocky marriage, which comes to a head when Charlie sends their only son, Emory, to his brother's farm to work in the sugar cane fields.

This complex and captivating story continues when Charlie passes away, and Rose falls apart. Meanwhile, Luella and Emory, the two offspring of these two couples, finds their own voice in the book, telling of their own growing pains and uncertainties. Emory falls in love with the exotic and bewitching Soleil Marie Beauvoir, and Luella grows up wanting to know who her father was, while becoming more and more distant from her mother.

At the core of this community of characters is Inez Temple, a strong-willed black maid who also acts as baby-sitter and confidant.

Connie May Fowler weaves this beautiful tale that takes you away to faraway places. The characters are so alive and rich, you wish you had gotten to know them even better. Some of these characters are introduced and their say is only too brief. My biggest complaint would be that Inez Temple was not focused on as much as she deserved to be. This book is a wonderful read for old and new fans of Connie May Fowler fans alike. She is truly one of the best storytellers of our time.

I read this book years ago and it still stands out as one of my favorite books. It is amazing to me that Fowler was able to bring together in her story people of all backgrounds; white working class, African American, Hatian migrant workers and weave it all together.

The book was listed as new with slight shelf wear. I would consider the wear and tear to be more than slight, and while the book itself may indeed be new, it is a very early publication, and looks old.

This was a wonderful story that I couldnt put down. I was pleased with how fast I receiced the book. I have no complaints about anything.

I bought Sugar Cage, because I was looking for something different from the usual crime or romance stuff. This is it. The characters are, each and every one, so clear in my mind that it's amazing. The book slips from the thoughts of one to the other in sections of a few pages at a time of each. Each one is different, and each one remains true to his/her personality throughout the book.

If you can stand Charlie, the husband of one of them, you're more tolerant than I am, and the finish is more fanciful than I'm totally pleased with, but I truly, truly enjoyed this book. It's masterfully done.