Waiting to Exhale [Paperback]

Terry McMillan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 27, 2001

ROBIN STOKES is a successful insurance professional recovering from a dead-end love affair. "They say love is a two-way street. But I don't believe it because the one I've been on for the last two years was a dirt road." After months of depression , shopping and dating all the wrong men, she's getting by with a little help from her friends -- and still determined to find the Real Thing...

BERNADINE HARRIS has the kids,the house, and the BMW, but a young white bookkeeper has her husband. Now, propped by her prescription for Xanax and her first pack of cigarettes in 106 days, she's entering a whole new world....

GLORIA MATTHEWS owns one of the few stylish beauty salons for black women in Phoenix, and finds solace in religion, her teenage son, other people's hair, and food. Her social and emotional bank accounts are low, but a sweet suprise is about to open up her life....

SAVANNAH JACKSON is a public relations executive -- educated, attractive, and unmarried. On the verge of moving to her fourth city in fifteen years, she's lobbying the Lord, "Could You send me a decent man? Could he be full of zest, and please, a slow, tender, passionate lover -- and could he already be what he aspired to?"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McMillan's novel about friendship between four black, thirtysomething Phoenix women was a 29-week PW bestseller.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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: 416 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (November 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671501488
• ISBN-13: 978-0671501488
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,192,706 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.

Customer Reviews

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

This review is from: Waiting to Exhale (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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

This review is from: Waiting to Exhale (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 - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Waiting to Exhale (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