Customer Reviews

This Bitter Earth

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sugar Lacey left Bigelow, Arkansas ten years ago with a secret and to confront those that she felt had betrayed her. With a heavy heart and a wounded body, Sugar traveled to Short Junction, Arkansas and St. Louis in search of answers. When she left Bigelow she left clues for those that mattered. Were those clues found? Examining her trials and tribulations that she was born into, Sugar redeemed herself by nurturing a young girl just as she had been nurtured. The only thing left for Sugar to do was to return to Bigelow with the hope of finding peace within.

This Bitter Earth ties together the unanswered questions left behind with the ending of Sugar. The spirit of Sugar, Pearl and Joe remain vivid and with the additional information obtained about the other characters and their lives, the reader is brought full circled leaving an understanding of all that This Bitter Earth has to offer.

This Bitter Earth is told in a fluid and surreal language that will leave you mesmerized. The imagery used in the prose will take you within the Taylor home, the juke joint, down the dirt roads and through the fields of this rural town. Popular belief is that most sequels don't measure up to their predecessors but This Bitter Earth is just as sweet as Sugar.

If you have read "Sugar" then you will love "This Bitter Earth". Sugar Lacey is haunted by a past that she choses not to face. She runs from it but it only causes her more pain and confusion. In "This Bitter Earth", Sugar travels back to places like Short Junction and St. Louis to finally face her demons. She also has to deal with the her inner voice who will not let go of the fact that "Lappy Did It" and the haunting images of Jude. It is not just Sugar story anymore. This Bitter Earth is the story of the Lacey Sisters, Pearl, Joe, JJ, and Seth, who all have to face their fears and the two things that has managerd to tie them all together. Once you have reached the end, you will be able to take a breath.

This Bitter Earth is filled with lyrical, yet haunting imagery that captures you from the beginning of the book. You will not put it down.

I recently met Ms. McFadden, at Sibanye Books, and she has a wonderful spirit. Her reaccount of how Sugar came to life will want you craving more.

Ms. McFadden, I look forward to your next book.
Peace and Blessing!

"This Bitter Earth" picks up almost right where "Sugar" ends. Considering I have finished both books in the same week, I'm going to try to not get them confused!!

If you read "Sugar," then you MUST read TBE. TBE explains many things that occurred in "Sugar."

Sugar Lacey has been running from or ignoring the truth about her life for more years than she'd like to remember. However, the time has come, she realizes, to turn around and face those truths that she has been running from. To do that, she must go back to the beginning and places she thought she had long since left behind her. When Sugar returns to Short Junction and the house where she was raised, she learns some shocking secrets. From Short Junction, her journey to discovery leads her back to St. Louis. What she finds there is enough to tempt her to run again, but she stays for a while in an effort to help a young girl who can no longer help herself. Sugar decides to return to Bigelow as part of her plan to save the girl who doesn't want anyone's help. In the process, Sugar, who sometimes feels that she is walking on just this side of madness, may finally find the peace she has always craved but felt she never deserved.

Ms. McFadden has written a book that so completely draws you in, that I highly recommend reading it on a weekend when you can sit down and not have to worry about getting up until you are finished. Like a fine wine that lingers on the tongue, long after it is gone, so will this story linger in your mind. I was blown completely away with this book. Having to interrupt my reading by something as mundane as going to work frustrated me to no end. And while I couldn't wait to finish the book, I was saddened when I did. I wanted to know what happened AFTER. You'll have to read it yourself to find out what the AFTER is! LOL

My hat is off to you, Ms. McFadden. You are a writer's writer. Your use of imagery, language and plot is just outstanding. I have now read every book you have written and I can't wait to read your next book!

I loved the book, Sugar. It was really off the charts for me. I felt that I knew the main character and understood how she came to be and who she was. There was a plot that really moved forward and progressed.

This Bitter Earth was truly a postscript of Sugar. It was all about filling in the blanks and tying up loose ends from the first book. So in a sense, nothing new really happened. Everywhere Sugar went was just retracing her steps from the first book. The question running through my mind was not "what is going to happen next", but "what is she going to find out or hear next"? Pretty much all of the characters and locations were the same. This Bitter Earth seemed to be more about people around Sugar and historical information, as opposed to being about Sugar herself. All of the characters were oddly interrelated, and after a while that good tiring. It seemed a little pat and almost lazy. Why keep using the same character over and over? Or in other words - was Lappy Clayton the ONLY bad guy in Arkansas?

I finished reading This Bitter Earth in one day, so it definitely held my attention. However, I just felt like something was missing. It just was not as satisfying as Sugar. It was like a meal that has a seasoning or ingredient missing that you can't put your finger on. The meal is okay, and you eat all of it. But it's not "slap yo mama" good. Bernice did not put her foot in this one, if you know what I mean.

That being said, there were some great scenes in the book. When Sugar left Bigelow and went to Short Junction, I felt like I walked that road with her and showed up on the Lacey porch with her. I was right in the middle of everything that happened. Also, Sugar's encounters with racism as she traveled back to Bigelow were so real and raw. They really captured the essence of segregation at that time.

In summary, if you read and liked Sugar, you have to read This Bitter Earth. It might not be quite as sweet, but it's worth it. And at least nothing else catastrophically horrible happened to Sugar. It was time for my girl to get a break. :o)

This book was so well written and really summed up a story that needed to be told. There were so many questions in the first novel, Sugar, and This Bitter Earth, really made those questions clear. I wanted to know how Sugar came to be a prostitute and how she met Mary and Mercy. How did she come to know the Lacey sisters? This was such a mesmorizing novel that all the answers were given and it kept my attention. Sugar is a remarkable woman and I was glad that she was able to hlep Mercy as she had been helped by Pearl. A lot of circles came to a close and completed the story. Pearl, Joe, Seth and JJ all had some type of closure in their hearts when they were able to come face to face with the killer of their beloved Jude and Jude was able to rest peacefully.

The Bitter Earth is one of the better reads of 2002. Hope to read more of Ms. McFadden's writings.

If you thought Sugar was good, wait till you read This Bitter Earth. Mrs. McFadden has a very unique way of making the pieces of a quilt come together. All of the questions that you had after Sugar are answered in This Bitter Earth. I reccommend this to everyone who loved Sugar. A must read for all book lovers.

Black Book Club

When finding out there was a sequel to Sugar, I had to get this book. Ms. McFadden writes THE STORY OF SUGAR LACEY, with even more fervor than Sugar. Sugar was nothing more than a backdrop for this EXCELLENT, well crafted novel. This book brings everything together from Short Junction-Bigelow-St. Louis doing a 360. Great characterization (We get to know a little something about all the characters). There's also alot of foreshadowing and imagery that brings so much life and color to this story.

So far this is the best novel I've read this year and in a long time. Most authors of today opt for sensationalism than just a good quality story and Bernice Mcfadden has delivered once again.

I strongly recommend reading Sugar first to get a little taste of Miss Sugar Lacey and how it all started and ended in This Bitter Earth.

peace and blessings,

to all those that read this book, you wont be a able to put it down. the Ms. McFadden has written a book that will leave you speechless, scared and emotionally drained. just as you begin to things things cant get worse they do. the use of of detail reminds one of the writing of Toni Morrison or J. California Cooper.

if you have read Sugar, This Bitter Earth answers some questions left over from that book. it gives insight into the dealings of Joe and Sugars mom, Lappy and the rest of people from the Sugar.

Ms. McFadden you are getting better with each book. keep up the good work

Ms. McFadden's sequel to "Sugar" is as intriguing and captivating as her other books. I read "Sugar", "Loving Donovan" and just finished reading "This Bitter Earth". I am a huge fan of her work. This story, as with the others, grab your attention and will not let go until the very end. I am amazed how she is able to hold her reader with such confidence and vivid details. This is definitely a book to read and it will have you thinking about the characters long after the last page is turned. She walks in the shoes of every character with such honesty and authenticity...it's superb. You find out Sugar's past, present and future in this book. It really pulled the pieces together from "Sugar". Kudos for another well written book!

Listen to the title song and one knows this novel is appropriately titled. Read the novel and one knows an outstanding sequel has been delivered. With "This Bitter Earth", McFadden has successfully brought closure to many unanswered questions from the award winning, "Sugar". Her writing style is lyrical and engaging...I forced myself to read this book in two settings because I did not want it to end. I won't recap the plot here...the book reviews say enough. I will comment that this book was a page-turner and Ms. McFadden has moved to my "favorite author" list.

The only part that was lacking in the book was the key lines in the song that summarizes Sugar's plight, "This bitter earth can be so cold. Today we're young, too soon we're old. But while a voice within me cries, I hope someone will answer my call, then this bitter earth may not be so bitter, so bitter after all." If that were included in it's entirety, then I think it would close on the link with the title.