Customer Reviews

Walking Through Mirrors

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really struggled with the rating of this book. This book did not grab my attention, nor did it demand a quick read. However, it was an excellent story about a father and son relationship. I felt the story line was excellent. Being a step-mother, this book helped me to understand the point of view from the child's perspective and the impact of not having a father around can have on a child. Once I got deep into the story line, I was eager to find resolution betweeen the father and son. I was glad to understand that in life, we sometimes have to "Walk Through Mirrors."

This book is an excellent novel written by an incredibly,INCREDIBLY talented and unique author. I had never heard of thisauthor before but based on his talent, he should be well known. This author excelled where many authors fail. He took the time to develop Jeremy and all of the characters in his book. This was accomplished by his unique, smooth and successful transition from the present to the past. Who were are in the present is a reflection of what we have been in the past and too often, authors do not take the time to thoroughly develop the past so that the reader can understand the characters in the present. Equally impressive was his use of language which successfully pulled at the emotional and intellectual heartstrings of the reader. In this area, his writing was utterly fantastic. Also of significance is that it is clear from reading the novel that the author was incredibly focused and directed. His stream of conciousness and thought was clear, concise and more importantly consistent. This book deals with real life and the real struggles that we have as human beings. The author deals with these issues in a very sincere, credible and honest manner and does not insult to reader by minimizing the importance of any of the issues nor does he end the book with a "quick fix" for those issues. This truly is the story about the end of one life yet the beginning of another. LISTEN UP OPRAH: THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF YOUR SELECTIONS A LONG TIME AGO! This is a must read for anyone who is interested in reading a book that is well written, thought provoking and emotionally and intellectually challenging. You will NOT be disappointed!

Jackson is the most powerful younger writer I've ever read. His style is reminiscent of legends and soon to be legends. Walking Through Mirrors was written with ease like a Langston Hughes poem, perfect lyricism like a Toni Morrison novel, and with timelessness like Wallace Thurman's The Blacker the Berry. I have to give the brother his props, which is something I hardly ever do. Jackson deserves accolades and I will be reading and recommending him to friends and family.

I thought that lyrically, this is one of the most beautiful books ever written by a man. It held mystery . . , was Patience gay? This book was intense, yet at times light. This book wove a wonderful story about a young man the strained relationship he had with his father as well as the close knit relationship he had with his aunt and grandmother. I thought this novel was wonderful and real. A must read!!!!

I found this book to be very good, it was different to me from most african american fiction I read. The author was very good with character development and presenting his characters in non-stereotypical ways. Bravo for this alone. It was a very emotional read, but he is one of the few young authors today who seem to have staying power and who writes story that will always be revelant. I am awaiting his next novel.

Brian Keith Jackson's latest novel had me captured from the first page. It was like a bowl of your favorite ice cream; it is so good that you hurry through and when you realize it's almost gone you slow down and take your time to savor the last few bites. Jeremy Bishop is faced with coming home to bury his father who was estranged most of his life. His struggle to make sense out of the emotions he is feeling gives us a view of who he is and how he become to be. Ultimately, in reconnecting to his past he is given the key to his future . . . a superb book, I highly recommend it.

Brian Keith Jackson is an intriging writer. His writing is soft and invigorating at the same time. This book is a short story that follows a young man over a period of 4 or 5 days -- as he travels to his home town to bury his father. Their relationship, the father and the son, is one of many relationships this book explores. The characters are rarely developed completely, on purpose, I think. Such that the personalities and the personal affect the characters had on 'Patience' is of the upmost important; Much more so, than the entire background and experiences of secondary characters. The book took a while to get to the point, in order to fully develop the main character's situation and emotional state. Many questions are left unanswered, though, at the end of the book you don't feel dupped, rather you understand that the character went through an important life experience, and learned from it. You get the feeling that the character will 'answer those unanswered questions', now that he has confronted his past...

Walking Through Mirrors by Brian Keith Jackson is a heartwarming journey of self discovery for Jeremy Bishop, a successful photographer who returns home to Elsewhere, Louisiana to bury his estranged father. Jeremy, nicknamed Patience by his paternal grandmother, Mama B, revisits his past by raising questions to puzzling childhood memories such as his parent's relationship, his untimely birth, his maternal grandparent's abandonment of him, and his relationship with distant father. By the end of the story, we meet an eclectic cast of characters who answer all of Jeremy's questions and shed light for the reader to understand the meaning behind the novel's title. To walk through mirrors is an expression of doing the impossible...it is to look at things from the other side of the mirror and see more than one's own reflection.

This is a complex story with multiple layers of family secrets and hidden agendas. In this single visit home, Jeremy unknowingly has to reconcile his role as a son, stepson, grandson, brother, and nephew. He must seek redemption from those he loves and who love him. The writing style of Brian Keith Jackson is mature, fresh, and alluring-a definite notch above his contemporary peers. I loved "The View From Here" and enjoyed "The Queen of Harlem". He has definitely earned a place on my favorite author list - a feat that is not easily managed. I strongly recommend this novel and I am looking forward to his next body of work.

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club

Walking Through Mirrors by Brian Keith Jackson is a heartwarming journey of self discovery for Jeremy Bishop, a successful photographer who returns home to Elsewhere, Louisiana to bury his estranged father. Jeremy, nicknamed Patience by his paternal grandmother, Mama B, revisits his past by raising questions to puzzling childhood memories such as his parent's relationship, his untimely birth, his maternal grandparent's abandonment of him, and his relationship with distant father. By the end of the story, we meet an eclectic cast of characters who answer all of Jeremy's questions and shed light for the reader to understand the meaning behind the novel's title. To walk through mirrors is an expression of doing the impossible...it is to look at things from the other side of the mirror and see more than one's own reflection.

This is a complex story with multiple layers of family secrets and hidden agendas. In this single visit home, Jeremy unknowingly has to reconcile his role as a son, stepson, grandson, brother, and nephew. He must seek redemption from those he loves and who love him. The writing style of Brian Keith Jackson is mature, fresh, and alluring-a definite notch above his contemporary peers. I loved "The View From Here" and enjoyed "The Queen of Harlem". He has definitely earned a place on my favorite author list - a feat that is not easily managed. I strongly recommend this novel and I am looking forward to his next body of work.

Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club

Jeremy, called Patience by his grandmother Mama B, is the focal character in this extraordinary story. This book traces the estranged relationship Jeremy had with his father, who has just died. This causes Jeremy to travel back to Elsewhere, Louisiana to face his dead father, family and friends, who he has kept at a distance since moving to New York to become a successful professional photographer. In his journey home, Jeremy takes us on a trip through his childhood (which will cause the reader to go back down memory lane) to the present and inturn discovers secrets to self discovery that he has never known. Brian Keith Jackson's writing is soooo powerful I could not believe someone his age was able to write with so much depth. The writing reminded me of Zora Neale Hurston. The authors of this day and age are not writing at this caliber. Wonderful story. Thanks Mr. Jackson for telling Jeremy's story. Fan for life.