The Temple of My Familiar (School & Library Binding)

~ (Author) "In the old country in South America, Carlotta's grandmother, Zede, had been a seamstress, but really more of a sewing magician..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Lissie, Mary Jane, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part love story, part fable, part feminist manifesto, part political statement, Walker's new novel follows a cast of interrelated characters, most of them black, and each representing a different ethnic strain--ranging from diverse African tribes to the mixed bloods of Latin America--that contribute to the black experience in America. As each tells of his or her life (and sometimes, previous lives in various reincarnations), Walker relates the damage inflicted on blacks by the oppression of slavery in Africa and in the South, and less visibly but just as invidiously, by the racial prejudice existing today. Because her characters are intrinsically interesting, (one is the granddaughter of Celie from The Color Purple ) this device works most of the time. But when Walker hypothesizes that Western civilization stole and subverted the ancient African deities, metamorphosing their worship of the Mother Goddess into a patriarchal line, the narrative takes on the strident tones of a polemic. Black women have suffered most, is Walker's message, since they were subjugated both by whites and by men. Unfortunately, didacticism mars the narrative; theorizing and pontificating take the place of action. Thus, though it has its own strengths, the book never achieves the narrative power of The Color Purple . 175,000 copy first printing; major ad/promo; BOMC featured alternate; paperback sale to Pocket Books, author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Nothing in Walker's extraordinary new novel is fixed. Time and place range from precolonial Africa to post-slavery North Carolina to modern-day San Francisco; and the characters themselves change and evolve as their stories are told, their myriad histories revealed. Most often present are Miss Lissie, an old woman with a fascinating host of former lives; her companion, the gentle Mr. Hal; Arveyda, a soul-searching musician; his wife Carlotta, who was born in the South American jungle; Fanny, a young woman who has a tendency to fall in love with spirits; and her husband Suwelo, who tries hard but simply does not understand her. Out of the telling of their stories emerges a glorious and iridescent fabric, a strand connecting all their lives and former lives and seeming to pull all of existence into its folds. Walker's characters are magnetic, even with their all-to-human flaws and stumblings; they seem to contain the world, and to do it justice. Highly recommended.
- Jessica Grim,
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• School & Library Binding: 416 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback Books: A Division of Sanval (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0833548042
• ISBN-13: 978-0833548047
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,893,265 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Book, December 8, 2005

By	Jenny J.J.I. "A New Yorker" (That Lives in Northern Nevada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Temple of My Familiar (Mass Market Paperback)

I was taken aback on some of the customer reviews and I felt the need to defend this extraordinary book."Temple of My Familiar" is more than an African-American feminist polemic or a deconstruction of Judeo-Christian values or a debunking of Western myth-making (that we call history). However, this appears to be where most critics get hung up on. They seem to point to certain "imperfections" such as the unruly narrative structure populated by countless characters and may subplots or the lack of restraint in the novel's exploration of numerous ideas and philosophical threads. The reality is that Temple of My Familiar challenges our preconceptions and offers up alternative worldviews as a direct confrontation to our socialized paradigms. But more importantly, it challenges us to explore what we have somehow lost along the way--our spiritual consciousness and sense of belonging. Ms. Walker possesses the courage of her convictions, and as such, this novel defies any attempt to put it into some nice neat little package. The novel challenges the reader to think, listen and dream. And the process is not orderly or self-evident. Temple doesn't offer up any real epiphanies or earth shattering revelations. It only offers suggestions and possibilities and most importantly, hopes. We have lost "Eden" a long way back; Temple of My Familiar is a beautiful attempt to get back to the garden.
Heck, nobody said, "It was going to be easy!"

She masterfully moves her characters beyond worldly conventions towards not only a greater understanding of themselves but of humanity at large. I honestly recommend this book to anyone who as ever wished to further themselves, because it is a literary experiment into the healing side of human nature (a side too often compromised for violence). Furthermore, it is a book of real people rising out of varying levels of suppression-a book which in gauges everyone to break limits and asks questions of at least themselves. Yes indeed this is a book which tells us why we struggle to stay alive...why we press forth into the next day.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Book, July 19, 2000

By	Courtney L. Lewis "Sassy Librarian" (Kingston, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Temple of My Familiar (Mass Market Paperback)

I purchased my version of Temple of My Familiar when I was working in Frankfurt, Germany. I didn't speak the language and stumbled across a kiosk in the center of the city that sold a few books in English and this was one of them. Not having read any Walker before, but knowing her reputation as a wonderful writer, I purchased the book and devoured it in one sitting. At first hungry for English, I realized I was savoring a masterpiece. Walker deftly intertwines the lives (and past lives) of numerous characters from the US, England, and Africa and gives incredible perspectives of many different perspectives of the native/colonial African experience as well as the experience of men and women in the racially divided US. I ended up rereading the book numerous times while in Europe and I periodically find myself rereading it every few months. Each character is on a personal journey to find themselves and honesty and caring for others is a key component to their discovery. A great message and a skillfully written book.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It will change your life if you let it!, December 9, 1999

By	[e-mail] (missoula, montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Temple of My Familiar (Paperback)

I too was surprised by the other customer reviews and I feel the need to defend this extraordinary book that touched my life as no other before it has. There are many underlying messages in this novel that may remain unseen by one who reads what is merely on the surface. The imperfection of human emotion, the inexplicable forces of attraction, and the chains of one's past are all important issues that Ms. Walker delves into with style and grace. Yet at no time did I feel I was receiving too much information. On the contrary, I couldn't put the book down because I was so thirsty for more. The everyday, and not-so-everyday struggles of these amazing characters made these stories so touching and real that I found myself talking about them as if they were familiar friends. I feel that one of the most important issue that Ms. Walker deals with in this novel is the very true and very devastating change from the worship of the goddess to the god. She explains this transformation in such a way that any woman - or man for that matter - can understand and feel this pain as they should, for it affects all of our lives - now and forever. For those of you who have not read this book, please do so with an open heart and mind and I promise that you will receive the message that is meant for you. For those of you who have read it and did not understand it, I urge you to read again and again. You will see things that you never knew were there: in the book as well as inside yourself.