Customer Reviews

A Taste of Reality: A Novel

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This book could have easily been titled "A Taste of The Repetitive" cause the overstated plot was repeated over and over again. Initially early on the author states clearly what the issues are for the main character, so seemingly one would think that the plot would move quickly. However, this wasn't case and even half way through the novel the main character was still naively having the same dialogue about the same issues without moving towards any hint of a resolution. I grew increasingly fatigued by the single character narrative and the constant dialogue with the same characters about the same issues.
It was as if Roby got stuck and didn't know how to move her main character, Anise, along. I do not recommend this book at all. Two-thirds through the book I simply gave it up. It wasn't stimulting and did little to keep me interested.

Anise seems to have a picture-perfect life, a successful husband, a good career, wonderful friends and family, and material wealth. But soon her whole world begins to unravel. Her marriage is in jeopardy when she finds out that her husband is cheating with a white woman. In fact, her husband begins to resent the fact that he himself is black and tries his best to degrade fellow black people. If that were not bad enough, she finds that her company is blatantly discriminating against both women and blacks. After she is passed over twice for a promotion that she was best qualified for, she decides to fight back. She finds an unlikely ally and a possible relationship with her co-worker Frank. To add further flame to the fire, Frank happens to be white. Now she has to face her own prejudice in order to find love and deal with the scrutiny that may result from being in an interracial relationship.

Kimberla Lawson Roby has done an excellent job in exposing race relations. She not only shows discrimination in the work place and amongst whites and blacks, she takes it one step further to include black-on-black discrimination be it color (light vs. dark) or economic. She also provides a healthy dose of "reality" about interracial relationship and leaves the reader to ponder about his or her own prejudices. This is an excellent, quick read that is both romantic and socially conscious. I cannot wait for the author's next novel, which I hope will be a sequel focusing on the possible relationship between Anise and Frank.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This book was a very easy read, I read it in only a few hours. The story was okay but pretty unrealistic in some parts. I did get into the discrimination plot at her Anise's job, so much so that I found myself skipping pages to see what she was going to do, instead of reading about her crying to her Ma. Her ex-husband was a total nut. After what he said to her I can't believe she didn't change the locks on him and throw the rest of his stuff in the street. As for her relationship with Frank, it moved wayyyyy too fast. She went from needing his help to undying love in a few pages. Except for him stalking her in the corridors at work, they hardly knew each other. What I didn't like most was the end. Having Frank turn out to be a wishy-washy jerk was a total cop out. The author spent so much time having Anise to accept her feelings for Frank and the reactions of others to her being in love with Frank. It doesn't make sense that Frank would put so much time into convincing Anise to be with him and repeatedly asking her to marry him only to consider going back to a woman who left him years ago with no explanation. If the author wanted to avoid writing an I/R romance, I think the ending could have been handled differently. This book was okay, but certainly not as good as it could have been.

Okay! This is not a NEW topic - but look at the latest cover of Time Magazine. Racism is still an issue in this country and Mrs. Roby reminds us that racism is just not black & white but also black on black. This story hits home for me as I was subjected to negative actions at my workplace where I was the only Black. I found the writing style of this book to be both capitivating and fast paced. My mother also read my copy and she lived through racism (she was born in the South). My Mom throughly enjoyed the story. My NAACP Card reads: "If you think the struggle is over is over...think again" Until this blemish on American society is cleared, I am thankful to those like Mrs. Roby who keep these issues alive.

As usual, Ms. Roby tells a riveting story I hated to put down and was anxious to get back to, with one big difference . . . this story was much better written than her previous works. No jolting point of view changes and word overuse that plagued her earlier novels. Granted, she still has an urge to explain character's motivation after their dialogue, passing up opportunity after opportunity to show this to the reader by describing their body language. But it's a tremendous improvement. Maybe she has a more attentive editor; her previous books had the feel of a rough draft.

This is a nicely constructed look at racism in contemporary society, those little covert incidents as well as the ones that are in our faces, cleverly incorporating the protaganist's private life in a largely corporate story, including her romantic relationships, her friendships, and little incidents of everyday life.

I didn't find the plot overstated, as some other readers have said. But no book has ever struck me as without flaws. There were some things that got to me. She overused the phrase "I couldn't believe," especially in the early part of the book where Anise was talking to her husband. I wanted to say to her, "Believe it, baby!" I also felt that the best friend was too pushy with her personal beliefs on divorce and interracial dating, especially when she had been divorced herself. But I loved Anise's close relationship with her mother, which seemed especially poignant in light that the book is dedicated to the author's own recently deceased mother. It's a valentine to mother-daughter relationships.

The major point I didn't like was the handling of the romantic relationship. It moved too fast and therefore never rang true for me, you know, that too-good-to-be-true plot line. Because of that I kept waiting for a bomb to go off. I wasn't disappointed here, but I could have accepted the bomb more readily if the author hadn't rushed things but instead allowed a strong friendship to develop before dropping it. (I don't mean to sound cryptic, I just don't want to spoil the plot for those who haven't read it yet).

I do recommend this book. And I look forward to Ms. Roby's continued growth as a writer.

A Taste...was my bookclub's selection for March and I couldn't wait to hear the thots of the others on yesterday, because I was second guessing my disappointment in the writing of an author we have followed and grown to dearly love.

We represent a group of AA professional women with the average age of 42, many of us have over 20 years of employment experience. While the workplace injustices, discrimination and oppression illustrated in the book were very realistic, we wholeheartedly agree that Anise's response and approach were terribly unrealistic, misrepresenting real-life reflection, feelings and reaction exhibited by proud, educated AA women of our era.

With regard to her "husband"...come on SISTAHz...can somebody say CHANGE THE LOCKS??? I don't know an AA woman worth her weight in salt who would have tolerated his arrogant behind walking in the house, unannounced with immediate access the first time after leaving, but certainly not getting yet another chance to do so. He changed his place of residency when he packed his first bag - period the END! And since we can only use 1000 words in our review, I won't even touch the fast paced, Disney story book relationship between Anise & Frank...where was the creativity and intrigue there?

I wonder if our authors are attempting to cross-over and appeal to majority readers because several have seemed to lose the pure essence of their previous works which appealed to the hearts and souls of readers who LOOKED like them; unfortunately, A Taste... is a classic example.

A Taste of Reality was the 4th book which I read from Ms. Roby. After reading Casting the First Stone, As Good As It Gets, and It's a Thin Line, (all of which I would give 5 stars) I was disappointed with this book. Although Ms. Roby tackled some very important issues in the workplace the story line was very weak. It didn't immediately grab my attention and the book just seemed to have dragged on and on. I only continued reading after I got midway and decided to finish. It seems the main character with all her educational background was just too naive to things happening right in front of her face. I was also hoping/waiting that her husband get a "A Taste of Reality" as well.

I am so surprised at the reviews about this book. I thought everyone would feel the way I do. I couldn't put it down and there were times when I tried to, but couldn't. Ms. Roby writes about real every day issues. I don't understand anyone who says she spent too much time on racism. America spends too much time on racism. This was an entertaining, fictional read with a REAL Taste of Reality! I wish we could get past reading for entertainment only. Isn't it great to be entertained and learn something too? Keep writing, Ms. Roby. I can't wait for your next read.

A Taste of Reality, by Kimberla Lawson Roby, is an engaging and entertaining tale about a woman who is struggling to deal with the pressures of racial inequality in all aspects of her life.

Anise is an 30-something African-American woman working for a manufacturing company in a small town outside of Chicago. She has a lovely home, a charming husband and supportive friends and family. All is well until Anise attempts to apply for an executive position in her company. Even though she exceeds the qualifications of the other applicants, Anise meets resistance from the top executives in her company. The reason: her skin is too dark. When Anise turns to her husband and friends for support, everybody seems to have secrets of their own. Is there anybody she can trust? How can one woman do battle with "the establishment" who is determined to win at any cost?

I loved the character of Anise and could feel the daily turmoil she went through. I also could relate to the decisions she made in dealing with her career as well as her personal life. However, the other characters did not seem to be as fleshed out. I did not understand their logic in some of their decisions but this may have been helped with a little back story. This novel also deals with a number of important social issues; sexual harassment, racial discrimination and interracial dating to name a few. The issues are handled well but there may have been too many to pay each the attention they needed.

As with Roby's previous novels, A Taste of Reality was an enjoyable, fast-paced read with a realistic end. I would definitely recommend this novel to book clubs because it would spark interesting discussions on the many themes presented in the book. This book is actually a 4.5 on the APOOO scale.

Reviewed by Nicole
APOOO Book Club

Kimberla Lawson Roby is a brilliant writer and she does it once again with A Taste of Reality. She really brings the characters to life and you feel like you know them personally. This is a book you won't want to put down. And, the ending is great!!