Customer Reviews

Ties That Bind: A Novel

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Vietnam War, the Black Panther movement and the marches for Civil Rights were causes for turbulent times in the 1960's. These events provide the setting for the novel Ties That Bind by Brenda Jackson. The story begins on the campus of Howard University in the mid-1960`s. Two young people meet and fall deeply in love. Randolph Fuller came from a family of prominent lawyers on the paternal side and from the Gullah people on the maternal side. Jenna Haywood is too dark and did not have any prestige behind her name. These differences between the two did not matter , although to Julia Fuller, Randolph's grandmother, it was a disgrace. Jenna and Randolph were in love and planned to be together for the rest of their lives. However, an obsessed Angela, who was actually the grandmother's handpicked bride for Randolph.s brother, had other plans, which included making Randolph her man. In a mixture of lies and deceit, she got her man, but paid a heavy price.

Fast forward twelve years, Angela still is obsessively in love with Randolph, but their ten year marriage has ended. Randolph found out that Jenna, whom he never stopped loving was also free. When Jenna seeks Randolph's assistance to help free an imprisoned friend, it gives them the opportunity to rekindle their romance. However, Angela will not easily give up her role as Randolph's wife. In her vengeful state, she uses Randolph's son, Trey, as a pawn and with more lies and deceit, she turns him against his father.

Advance twenty years later, all the carefully constructed lies and deception start to crumble. Every deceptive thing Angela has done comes to light. Randolph and Jenna are still married, and the estranged relationship they had with Trey is getting better. A new generation of Fullers and their friends are now finding true love like their parents.

Ms Jackson again has given her readers a passionate and romantic novel filled with sensuous lovemaking and family love that transcends beyond the main couple, and reaches into the families and friends. The legacy of the Fuller family will bring readers joy for many more anticipated sequels.

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

Spanning thirty-seven years, Brenda Jackson's Ties That Bind introduces us to the rich and prominent Fuller family from Richmond, Virginia; the Denison family from picturesque Hilton Head Island and Glendale Shores, South Carolina; the Wainwright and Murdoch families of Miami, Florida and the Haywood family from Knoxville, Tennessee. Children from each of these families attend Howard University during the 1960s, establishing life-long friendships and intimate relationships.

Randolph Fuller falls in love with Jenna Haywood despite the misgivings and interference of his wealthy paternal grandmother who has paired Randolph with another woman of her choosing. Randolph's maternal grandmother however, accepts the union and spins her mystical power upon the couple using the island of Glendale Shores as her trump card. Grandmother Fuller has also paired Ross, Randolph's brother, with a woman of her choosing but it is Randolph who fights her every step of the way, while Ross accepts his fate to be in loveless relationship with conniving Angela Douglass. Grandmother Fuller and Angela resort to despicable plots to keep Randolph and Jenna apart.

Much of Jackson's story is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement adding realistic imagery as we watch the friends and families deal with the tumultuous and riotous times of the 1960s. Jackson has also added numerous characters in the form of friends, Leigh Murdoch, Noah Wainwright, Ellie Stanhope and Johnny Lane that make this family saga complete as we get a major glimpse into their lives. While there are numerous characters and storylines, not once is the focus lost; Randolph and Jenna remain the focal point. The story goes one step further as children are born from these unions and their stories are showcased.

Ties That Bind touches the soul, giving the reader a story that showcases quality friendships, loving families, positive African-American men and intricate and sensual lovemaking scenes. This is classic Brenda Jackson and one of her best to date!

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves, APOOO BookClub

It was quite refreshing to read a book in which the author characterized black men as committed to a love relationship. This book should be read especially by young black males so that they can see that they do not need every woman they meet. I was particularily impressed how the author used as a backdrop the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. She so eloquently told how these events affected the lives of black people too. I personally see this novel as a major film with major actors! It has all the makings of an endeared film to last for decades. Hollywood take the chance; you want be disappointed! A must read! I have told all my friends about it. I look for more from this author.

Ties That Bind tells the story of lives that come together on the campus of Howard University and how they were forever changed. We follow the lives of these characters through college, marriage, parenthood and so much more.

Brenda Jackson's latest is a richly told tale of true friendship, love, loss and new beginnings. The book's characters were so different some I grew to love and others that I loved to hate, but they added depth and richness to the story that is indescribable. While this is mainstream fiction, Jackson's command over things romantic is evidenced through the passionate loves scenes intermingled throughout the book. She also did a superb job incorporating historical events into the plot and showing the reader how these events left a lasting imprint on the lives of the characters. Ties That Bind is a sensational new book with something in it for everyone.

-Reviewed by Stacey Seay

This was such a great book. I couldn't put it down once I started getting into the storyline. Not many authors can integrate historical events into such a romantic plot the way that Brenda Jackson can. Many events such as the Black Panther movement and the September 11 attacks are in this book, and play roles almost as important as the characters. There are plenty of primary and secondary characters to keep the plot moving; the book itself is divided into three main parts. This is the first book that I've read by this author and I can't wait to run out to the bookstore and read another!

A big, sweeping saga covering 37 years in the lives of a group of students at Howard University. This novel's strong point is the expert plotting. Everything came together beautifully (making the title even more significant), and in spite of the large number of major characters it is written in a fashion where the reader won't get confused. It's been years since I read something so well put together, and I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good story.

Also a factor in this story's success is the research. I had the feeling of actually being there. I could actually see the beauty of the the island in South Carolina. I could almost smell the ocean. The numerous historical tie-ins accented the timeline nicely (but I had some difficulty accepting that the wife of an attorney would work as a flight attendant, not a particularly high-paying position and one that requires a lot of time away from home.)

As a reader I was really drawn into this book. The characters seemed so real. I truly cared about these people, and I feared for the safety of the three young men, one who became a Black Panther and two who went to Vietnam. I soon realized that one of them virtually had to be eliminated for plot purposes, but nevertheless I was holding my breath!

There were plenty of wonderful touches. Grandma Mattie's special gift, for instance. The abundance of do-right African-American men, especially Harry, a minor character who is to be commended for putting up with Angela and standing by her when she needed him. The family bible that was over 100 years old.

So why four stars and not five? For starters, a couple of things struck me as odd. I was amazed when the story progressed to 2002 and three of Randolph's four grandparents were still alive (They'd all been elderly when first introduced in 1965.) Randolph himself was nearly 60 in 2002. His grandparents would likely about 100. The bible notation said Miss Mattie married her husband in 1922, 80 years before, and presuming her daughter was the same age or even a little older than the Fullers' son, then Julia and Robert Fuller would have been married at least 80 years and would be 100 or close to it at the least. Yet neither Julia nor Robert were painted as being slow-moving and feeble, in spite of a stroke Julia suffered in 1970, 32 years before. She and her husband walked to the study along with everyone else -- no mention of wheelchairs or canes, not even leaning on anyone for support. The very fact that they were still alive at their age, much less walking under their own power, and married for more than three-quarters of a century are all achievements that deserved to be acknowledged.

I also felt the matter of a formal adoption of Haywood should have been addressed, at least Jenna and Randolph's reasons for not doing so, especially with him being an attorney. Haywood asked Randolph if he would be her daddy when she was a small child and grew up calling him "Dad." She was described as having been close to her natural father, but she was only about 5 when he died and later alluded that he had been sick prior to his death, so how close could they have been? Granted, an adoption making her a Fuller would have cast a somewhat distasteful pallor over the subsequent events that occurred when Haywood grew up, but I would have liked to seen an actual reason why she wasn't adopted other than it would have interfered with the plot.

Any project this ambitious needs meticulous editing, and I was jolted out of the story by some mistakes that should have been corrected. The use of the present-day term "African-American" used in 1965. (Afro-American, yes. African-American, no.) A great-grandchild referred to as a grandchild in a will. A character concluding an emotional scene with "Now got [sic] out." The improbable term, "she said silently" not only jolted me out of the story, but practically out of the house. I had to stop reading until the next day until I could get back into the story. All of these and more should have been caught before publication.

I'd also like to see Ms. Jackson display a little more imagination in her writing to go along with her fabulous storytelling ability. The use of the clichéd term "prim and proper" was used to utter excess in conjunction with Angela, and to a lesser extent with Julia. I also got tired of the tendency to tell rather than show. Ms. Jackson demonstrated a fondness for terms like "It was evident," "Evidently," "It was apparent," "Clearly," "It was indicated," etc. This grated on my nerves and in many cases represented unnecessary explanation, for the emotions or mood had been conveyed by the way the person spoke. Finally, the author too often relied on these terms to show facial expressions, with statements like "It was evident that he (how he felt), and it was also evident that she (how she felt) as well," or "shock was evident on her face."

But those points aside, this was a very, very good book. Read it. It'll give you a warm, tingly feeling when you're done.

WOW! I truly enjoyed this story. Brenda, I am amazied that I found out about you and your novels just this year. OK, this is a wonderful read and the way you have other characters in the book and yet, kept the focus on the main characters was wonderful. Loved how you included the children of the main characters who grew up to wonder what it was like back in the Civil Rights and Vietnam Years. I truly felt bad for lost Fuller daughter that was later found.
The sad thing is that this book hit close to home. In this day and age, we still have folks in the African-American community that still believe in the stupid lighter skin/darker skin idea, marrying up, and marrying someone that can keep you in the classs inwhich one is born.

I would love to give this book 5 stars, It is a great read but has been mentioned there are some inconsistencies and errors in it, could be editing errors. Also I was uncomfortable with one of the couples who got together, even tho they are not related by blood it still felt close as they knew each other from childhood and the way there were raised. I would have been more interested in reading about the relationship between Zach and Adrianna, that would make a great story. However loved reading how historical events affected black people in America at the time and the paper bag test thinking that still existed amongst some of the black upper middle classes.

I really and truly enjoyed reading this book. I spent a couple of nights up reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. You definitely won't regret buying this book

I don't give five stars often, but this book definately deserved it and more. As I've been reading through all of Ms. Jackson's books, this one is the best. I liked it more that the Madaris books since that series seems to be hit or miss. I've even read other books of hers that I just didn't bother writing a review for. They aren't bad, just okay. Anyway!

What I liked: Randolph and Jenna's pure love that lasted throughout the years; real events woven throughout storyline; characters got what they deserved in the end; not as predictable as some of her other books - you knew Randolph and Jenna would find their way back to each other, but you just didn't know how; the villan in this book is a just plain EVIL - someone you love to hate; the first half of the book set in the 60's (this was a nice refreshing touch).

What I didn't like: Editing (or lack of) - names crossed, wording mixed up, etc; the two characters that got married at the end - great love story but am I the only one that raised an eyebrow or two at them "hookin' up"? (you'll understand when you read it); just how old are the grandparents?? Are you telling me that it's 2002 and they are still getting around like they did in 1966?

Overall great read for a story that took almost 40 years to complete. You won't regret reading this one!