Waiting to Exhale [Paperback]

Terry McMillan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 3, 2006

From the critically acclaimed author of A Day Late and a Dollar Short and The Interruption of Everything, a wise, earthy story of a friendship between four African American women who lean on each other while "waiting to exhale": waiting for that man who will take their breath away.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A racy, zesty, irreverent and absorbing book with broad mainstream appeal, McMillan's third novel (after Mama and Disappearing Acts ) tells the stories of four 30ish black women bound together in warm, supportive friendship and in their dwindling hopes of finding Mr. Right. Savannah, Bernadine, Robin and Gloria are successful professional or self-employed women living in Phoenix. All are independent, upwardly mobile and "waiting to exhale"--to stop holding their breaths waiting for the proper mate to come along. (Bernadine is married, but her husband walks out on her for a white woman as the novel opens.) They also share speech patterns that some readers may find disconcerting: they utter profanities with panache, unceasingly. Indeed, the novel's major drawback may be the number of times such words as shit , fuck and ass are repeated on every page. These women have a healthy interest in sex, while deploring the fact that most of the men they meet are arrogant, irresponsible and chronically unfaithful. Each character is drawn with authenticity and empathy, and McMillan pulls no punches about their collective bad judgment in choosing partners for romance. After many vicissitudes, two of the heroines find love, but until then McMillan keeps us constantly guessing about which members of her lively quartet will be thus rewarded. There's nothing stereotyped in her work here: it is fresh and engaging. 100,000 copy first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; first serial to Essence; BOMC and QPBC selections; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Like McMillan's previous novels, Disappearing Acts ( LJ 7/89) and Mama ( LJ 1/87), her new effort features a predictable plot, prose that often falls flat, and a narrative that lacks depth. Four African American women living in Phoenix devote most of their energies to searching for the one good black man who will make their dreams of the perfect partner and lover come true. Unsurprisingly, Savannah, Bernie, Gloria, and Robin all kiss several toads, but their trials and errors never arouse much interest. Far stronger is the author's sharp, often humorous depiction of the strong bonds among the four friends, their relationships with their families, and their community activities; readers will regret that McMillan did not develop these areas further. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/92.
- Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; Reprint edition (January 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451217454
• ISBN-13: 978-0451217455
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,216,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terry McMillan fell in love with books as a teenager while working at the local library. She studied journalism at UC Berkeley and screenwriting at Columbia before making her fiction debut with Mama, which one both the Doubleday New Voices in Fiction Award and the American Book Award. She lives in Northern California.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very amusing. Also a wonderful and compelling book September 29, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I am amused at the nasty one star reviewers who feel that Waiting To Exhale is ONLY about black people, a kind of press conference for inter racial subject matter. Have you ever read Moby Dick? If so, I am here to tell you that is not about whales, not really-- and it is not about White whales either. I don't have time to teach the alphabet to nasty folks but I will try: Waiting To Exhale is a NOVEL. NOVELS are not to be taken literally, they are creative expressions. I can just see the surprised look on some simple faces -- go back to your Nickelodean, don't even bother with literature, stick to HIGHLIGHT magazine, and maybe -- maybe -- Goodnight Moon. Anyway I loved it; laughed out loud even the second time through. LOVE her way with dialogue and character. McMillan is a fresh and powerful voice who has, because of her extreme success and popularity, become a sometime target for the bitter and the jealous, not to mention the feeble. Spike Lee wrote a lengthy book jacket quote for the book, in support of Ms. McMillan, addressing the Black male issue as it pertains to the book, and perhaps this should be enlightening to those who care to look further. Spike Lee is not in the habit of suffering fools or racism -- so get a clue. His support and the support of thousands of loyal fans (black, white, red, yellow and purple) should prove that McMillan is a talent -- yes indeed, there are some who know how to read, not REED.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Well, written, but.... April 2, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I really only finished it because I was curious as to whether or not these women would grow up. Here are these women in their mid-30's and they STILL haven't got it together about what a RELATIONSHIP is! I know this is just a fiction, but I kept wanted to SCREAM at the women, (especially Savannah and Robin) "Keep your legs closed for JUST a little longer so you can see what the guy is really made of!" I also hated all the derrogatory references to overweight people. The ONE overweight person in the book who has a SHRED of self-esteem ends up having something happen to her that is stereotypical of ONLY happening to fat people. I had a hard time REALLY believing that these were well-educated women in their thirties. I did things that stupid when I was in my twenties, so I had a very difficult time relating to the pubescent immaturity of these girls. The only woman I found myself liking a LOT was Gloria. She was the good friend, and an excellent and devoted parent who basically had an idea of what was important in her life.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Some men are dogs; so what else is new? January 18, 2000

By JLind555

Format:Hardcover

'Waiting to Exhale' adds up to a few stereotypical caricatures plus a somewhat raggedy plot... so why was the book so popular? For one thing, it is falling-down-funny; for another, it tells a few home truths; and mainly, because the characters are people all of us have known at one time or another, regardless of ethnic or class background: Bernardine is every wife whose despicable jerk of a husband dumps her for a younger woman; Robin and Savannah are every woman with a genius for picking the wrong man; Russell is every wrong man; and Michael is every wrong right man (good husband material and zero in bed). We've all been there before.

McMillan clearly has sympathy for her four female protagonists; Robin may be dumber than a box of rocks when it comes to men, but you can't help liking her. McMillan is not a very deep writer and WTE is not a very deep book, but it's funny, perceptive, well written, and well worth reading.

Judy Lind