What You Sow [Mass Market Paperback]

Wallace Ford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2006

"Another tale of raw ambition gone wild among high-powered African-Americans. . .." –Booklist

Gordon Perkins is one of Wall Street's most successful investment bankers. But his hunger for money can't match his appetite for cocaine. After one line too many, he's lying in a coma. . .

Paul Taylor is a lawyer, businessman, and recently remarried to brilliant Deirdre. He thinks he has everything--until his world is suddenly turned upside down. . .

Kenitra Perkins is leading a glamorous life, thanks to the millions her husband, Gordon, hid away for his schemes. Now she must ensure that Gordon doesn't make a miraculous recovery. . .

Jerome Hardaway is a widower with two sons to raise and a business to run. He just has to make sure his company can survive anything--even the possible return of Gordon.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this sequel to The Pride (2005), evil financial genius Gordon Perkins and Ray Beard, his partner in crime, overdose on "cocaine, champagne and four of the freakiest bitches that New Orleans had to offer" in celebration of double-crossing their financial partners, leaving Gordon in a coma and Ray half-blind and paralyzed. The victims of their scheme—Diedre Douglas; her on-again, off-again husband, Paul Taylor; and colleague Jerome Hardaway—merge assets to save the company Gordon and Ray nearly destroyed. As a seemingly endless stream of characters pop up and recede, Gordon, still in a coma, plots his diabolical comeback, and a lot of distracting backstory and financial maneuvering ensue without gaining much momentum. When a money-grubbing preacher named Quincy Holloway appears with camera crew in tow midway into the book, things begin to perk up, but the tension slackens quickly. Ford introduces enough ideas and story elements to stock a gripping read, but for far too many pages they are as inert as Gordon's comatose body. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Ford follows The Pride (2006) with another tale of raw ambition gone wild among high-powered African Americans. Two years ago, Gordon Perkins, a successful investment banker, cheated his trusting partners in Morningstar Financial Services, then overdosed on cocaine and lapsed into a coma. In first-person perspectives, Gordon--from his coma--and his partners, Paul and Deidre; his wife, Kenitra; and his partner in betrayal, Jerome, revisit the events that led to the near undoing of the firm, a scandal of double-crossing power brokering gone bad. Kenitra lives with uneasy relief and eventually finds love and solace with her husband's friend Sturge Jorgenson, Paul and Deidre are remarried and parenting their three-year-old son, and Jerome is humbled and seeking a return to the fold. Meanwhile, unrepentant Gordon plots revenge from inside his comatose body. Readers who enjoyed The Pride will love this latest installment in life among the African American power elite. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dafina (October 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758209541
• ISBN-13: 978-0758209542
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,373,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Based on "The Pride"..., July 19, 2010

By 

michael j licwinko "BrooklynWriter" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What You Sow (Mass Market Paperback)

I wouldn't go near this book. After 30 nearly unreadable pages of the "The Pride" I had to stop. The language was stilted and the characters unreal. Honestly, I can't believe the publisher gave him a second book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars very disappointed, July 30, 2007

By 

Denise B. Washington "Pinky Wash book freak" (Willingboro, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What You Sow (Mass Market Paperback)

I was very disappointed with this book. The characters were not developed enough,it gave me a headache trying to keep up with everyone. I am an avid reader with over 500 books in my library. This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read, right up there with God don't like ugly. Terrible! I would not recommend this to anyone. I don't even want to read the Pride which is the first book to this sequel. I read an average 15 books per month and this was not worth my time.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Grim Reaper..., March 26, 2007

By 

Angelia Menchan "acvermen.blogspot.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What You Sow (Mass Market Paperback)

Wallace Ford's What You Sow is the follow-up to his book The Pride. His central characters are New York City's African-American elite, their life and lifestyles. In What You Sow, the story focuses on Gordon Perkins, one of Wall Street's most successful investment bankers, and most ruthless people. Gordon is known for his love of money, but he loves power and cocaine even more. His cruelty, particularly the abuse of his wife, Kenitra, is legendary. One night in New Orleans while celebrating double-crossing his partners, he lapses into a drug-induced coma.

For most of What You Sow the focus is on Gordon, who though in a coma, can hear all that is going on around him. The story is told in alternating character chapters. The people in Gordon's life tell their stories, with the underlying theme being their obsession with Gordon. Everyone believes he will wake up from his coma. Kenitra is especially concerned because she is enjoying her life in the arms of another man, while spending the money from one of Gordon's offshore accounts. Gordon's focus for three years, while comatose, is plotting his revenge against anyone he feels has betrayed him.

What made What You Sow an enjoyable read for me, was though it was a sequel, it could be read and understood, without reading The Pride. However, the book would have been enhanced by more interaction between the characters. What You Sow is a recommended read for readers who enjoy detail-oriented, narrative driven books.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub