Customer Reviews

The View from Here

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The View From Here is a wonderfully written and eloquently delivered literary debut from Brian Keith Jackson! Some books are entertaining and devoured for the moment; other books are savored and last for a lifetime. The View From Here is a book that will stay with me for years to come as it is an emotional and soul stirring story regarding Anna Anderson Thomas and the unconditional love she has for her family. The View From Here is uniquely and creatively narrated by the protagonist Anna's, unborn child. Anna is married to mean-spirited and broken down JT; this union has been blessed with five sons and JT is satisfied with the current size of his family. Within a bleak situation in the economically depressed setting of a small Mississippi town, the Thomas' are barely making it when they discover that Anna is yet again pregnant. Not looking forward to feeding another mouth, JT promises the unborn child to his older sister Clariece...and therein lies the dilemna. I was emotionally wretched and drained and moved to tears as I read the mental abuse that Anna suffered at the hands of her husband and wondered "why"? The View From Here is the story of any women who has had to stand up for herself and make tough decisions which would impact her spouse, her children and her self-preservation when the going got tough. The View From Here is the story of any woman under immense pressures, struggling to survive and to ensure the unity of her family as she battles the obstacle course of everyday living. This story shows how a woman named Anna possesses strong strength and determination and how she keeps faith to the bitter end and turns the situation around for good. Rather than running away or cowering to the demons that be, Anna stood up for what was right, what was true, what was just in the moment of adversity. As the story poignantly and provocatively climaxed I cheered for Anna as she stood her ground and did what was right for her spiritual and emotional sanity! The View From Here is an unforgettable tale about family, adversities, and the events that shape our lives and our souls. In spite of hardships, poverty, tragedies and despair, The View From Here portrays the richness of life when one has hope, courage and determination. It's a poignant and touching portrayal of family life that's full of love and the determination of a mother to keep her family intact against all odds and obstacles. The View From Here is exquisitely and superbly told by Brian Keith Jackson. This is an author to be reckoned with and I look forward to reading Walking Through Mirrors and future novels by this very talented new author.

Brian Keith Jackson's first novel is full of promises kept. Jackson delivers a big healthy story with an economy of movement and an efficiency more like a short story than a novel. The techiniques Jackson employs to move along his plot and to reveal the backgrounds of his characters is clever and used in the correct proportions. Actually there is one sequence where it becomes a little much, read the book and you'll know excatly which sequence I'm referring to, aside from that though the convergence of the three separate techniques or "views" is deftly accomplished. Brian writes about a woman's pain and choices convincingly. Though unfortunately there are women who are dealing with the central issues of Anna's life everyday most of us feel a desire to rush along her decision process. Jackson leads us to have enough faith in Anna so we wait, knowing that she will make the right decision for herself, her boys, her baby and even her husband.

The very end of the story I felt was a little rushed. Almost as if Jackson wasn't sure of what to do with the story and the people. I'm finding it a little threadbare, but not enough that I wouldn't recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading Brian Keith Jackson's latest book. In a time when so many of our African American male writers are writing weak unrealistic, reactionary, kneejerk responses to "man bashing" books Brian Keith is refreshing and artiscally intelligent. I think he is definetly a writer to watch.

Our Colorado Springs book group read this. The consensus was that the book was a quick, enjoyable read with a story line which were all curious to read what the final outcome would be. It would have been helpful to us to have a better understanding of the time at which the story took place. We thought 1950s or 1960s. As women, we found it hard to relate to how Anna could take as much as she took at the hands of her emotionally abusive husband and sister-in-law before she stood up for herself. However, the interwoven internal conversations of Anna with her yet unborn child and her absent childhood friend were insightful. As for the ending, we were disappointed that we did not get to finally meet Anna's friend Ida Mae and we found Anna's epiphany predictable and we were surprised at how long it took for her to reach it

I had a sudden urge to read this book, and I am glad that I picked it out of my 20 "to-read" books.

"A View From Here" was a wonderful, wonderful book - not to mention a welcomed change from the usual story lines and plots (boy cheats on girl, girl cheats on boy...yada, yada, yada).

The book is about love, devotion, commitment, family, strenghts, weaknesses, and Friendship. Oh yeah least I forget it includes some lying and evilness too...through that good-for-nothin sister of J.T. (Sorry bout that, I was remembering for a moment parts of the book that will sure to evoke wanting to whoop somebody's behind). LOL

I had never really heard of Brian Keith Jackson before: but now I am a fan for life.

Anna and her family will find a place in your heart that will live forever. This book is a page-turner to the end, full of surprises and disappointments and JOYS!

Read this one if you are looking for a change from the usual.

This is an excellent written novel that seems almost autobiographical .Its delightful, easy read, and a page turn. Mr.Jackson has given honor to the South and to rural southerners in this novel.The characters will certainly are people that we know.I like his respectful description of Anna and even the villian Auntie.Its a good family story that illusrates that love is stronger than obstacles that we encounter. The story seems real and what a tributee to our families who often did not have 'formal education' but God blessed then with wisdom and words that they have passed on to us.Its good to read ;iterature by African Americans that describes who we are and does not make the ghetto and cheating on women and lieing its theme. Keep up the good work and I am eagerly waiting to read his novel walking Through Mirrors.Hurry and complete that third novel soon! We need your voice you are Langston Hughes, Richhard Wright, James Baldwin, James Weldon Johnson of our times.!

I LOVE this man's books! I've read both of his books and I could not begin to sing my praises for both of his works ("Walking Through Mirrors" is his other book). Brian Keith Jackson tells a story that reminds me of Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" in story content but this book is far clearer to read and, quite frankly, far more enjoyable in my opinion. This is a story about a pregnant Anna, her 5 boys, and her husband Joseph. Brian tells a powerful story of how Anna struggles to keep her family together despite her husband and his sister's intentions. I even liked the fact that the story's narration was told through Anna's unborn child. Quite simply put, this is an excellent book by a phenomenal author.

Although not as good as "Walking Through Mirrors", the authors second novel, I enjoyed this novel nonetheless. This author has a unique and incredible talent in drawing a reader into a story and making them ( the reader) become a part of the story. This authors creativity was exhibited in his choice of utilizing the dialogue of an unborn child to tell part of the story. Also interesting was to see how the authors depth of writing and creativity had grown from this book to the second novel. I look forward to reading more from this author. Although this author, at this point, is not as popular as some of the well known African American authors, it is evident from his writing that he takes great pride in the words and thoughts that flow onto the pages of his novels and is motivated more by style, integrity, creativity and true talent than he is by writing a novel purely and simply for financial gain. For those who are avid readers of true "quality" novels and measure the quality of a book by the depth, development and creativity of an author, you will not be disappointed.

This book was read for discussion on my book club and everyone agreed it was wonderful. Coming from a male author, the voice is truly female and that comes as a surprise. Anna, the protagonist, is the backbone of the family and in enduring her circumstances and the times in which it is set, keeps the family from falling apart. We see where her strength of character comes from (in flashbacks) and we see how her best friend and alter-ego, Ida Mae, provides her freedom. Each character is written strongly and the style is taut. Even when a horrible sentiment is being expressed it is done so with either humor (Anna's sister-in-law's malapropisms which also serve to lessen the evil of this character and point out the difference between Anna and her sister-in-law) or with a spare style of writing. It is matter-of-fact. Anna, herself, is matter-of-fact and she knows her family better than they know themselves. It is a book we all enjoyed and have been recommending to everyone.

The author does such an excellent job recreating a southern black women balancing her 5 kids, tyranical husband and a host of misfortunes that you'll find it hard to believe that it's a HE. Strong praise then to Mr. Jackson who does a superb job recreating the trials and tribulations of a southern family. No one will accuse of him of taking the man's side. His writing is very mature -- although I wasn't crazy about the gimmick of the narrative coming from the unborn child, it doesn't interfere with the great writing, dialogue and story telling. My ONLY small criticicm is that I didn't think the friendship with Ida was well drawn enough to convince us fully of its strength and duration. That aside, it's one terrific novel -- you'll be standing up and cheering by the end.

"The View From Here" is a fascinating story told partly through a pregnant Anna Thomas, a strong, hard-working, dedicated and preserving black woman. I could actually imagine hear my grandmother tell me stories about her childhood and early adulthood while reading this novel. It dips back into the past explaining how the present became what it is now. This is a story about family, responsibilities and forgiveness. What I liked most was the realism of the setting and characters. The truly touching ingredient to this novel is Lisa's, the unborn child, awareness of everything and everyone around her. Brian Keith Jackson has truly written a story-telling fiction novel that captivated me from beginning to end.