Waiting To Exhale [Import] [Paperback]

Terry Mcmillan (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Black Swan; New Ed edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552996491
• ISBN-13: 978-0552996495
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,656,402 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