A Taste of Reality: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Kimberla Lawson Roby (Author) "I drove my pearl white Lexus SUV into the subdivision and sighed with much confusion..." (more)
Key Phrases: recruiting position, recruiting manager, manufacturing position, Reed Meyers, Kelli Jacobson, Frank Colletti (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
In a novel about the tough issue of workplace racism, Anise is an M.B.A. graduate working in employee benefits for a local company in a small town outside of Chicago. She is married to a successful vice president of a pharmaceutical sales company and lives in a dream home. Professionally, she is being steered toward a position that is not of interest. On two occasions, her superiors have hired--into the position she wants--employees who are not as qualified as she. And she and her husband are at odds about the direction of their marriage. So, Anise makes decisions about her future, independent of the advice and warnings of those close to her, and accepts the reality of her professional and personal situations. She determines which battles she should tackle and which she should walk away from. In the end, Anise learns that she has the strength to handle any obstacle. A thought-provoking novel about relationships between partners, coworkers, and family. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A TASTE OF REALITY is a powerful and deeply satisfying read. It's Kimberla Lawson Roby at her best." -- E. Lynn Harris, New York Times Bestselling Author

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060505656
• ISBN-13: 978-0060505653
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #485,671 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay Book, November 8, 2004

By	Miss T "Indy Girl" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This book was a very easy read, I read it in only a few hours. The story was okay but pretty unrealistic in some parts. I did get into the discrimination plot at her Anise's job, so much so that I found myself skipping pages to see what she was going to do, instead of reading about her crying to her Ma. Her ex-husband was a total nut. After what he said to her I can't believe she didn't change the locks on him and throw the rest of his stuff in the street. As for her relationship with Frank, it moved wayyyyy too fast. She went from needing his help to undying love in a few pages. Except for him stalking her in the corridors at work, they hardly knew each other. What I didn't like most was the end. Having Frank turn out to be a wishy-washy jerk was a total cop out. The author spent so much time having Anise to accept her feelings for Frank and the reactions of others to her being in love with Frank. It doesn't make sense that Frank would put so much time into convincing Anise to be with him and repeatedly asking her to marry him only to consider going back to a woman who left him years ago with no explanation. If the author wanted to avoid writing an I/R romance, I think the ending could have been handled differently. This book was okay, but certainly not as good as it could have been.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not very enlightening, January 13, 2003

By A Customer

This book could have easily been titled "A Taste of The Repetitive" cause the overstated plot was repeated over and over again. Initially early on the author states clearly what the issues are for the main character, so seemingly one would think that the plot would move quickly. However, this wasn't case and even half way through the novel the main character was still naively having the same dialogue about the same issues without moving towards any hint of a resolution. I grew increasingly fatigued by the single character narrative and the constant dialogue with the same characters about the same issues.
It was as if Roby got stuck and didn't know how to move her main character, Anise, along. I do not recommend this book at all. Two-thirds through the book I simply gave it up. It wasn't stimulting and did little to keep me interested.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Race Relations EXPOSED!, February 10, 2003

By	The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

Anise seems to have a picture-perfect life, a successful husband, a good career, wonderful friends and family, and material wealth. But soon her whole world begins to unravel. Her marriage is in jeopardy when she finds out that her husband is cheating with a white woman. In fact, her husband begins to resent the fact that he himself is black and tries his best to degrade fellow black people. If that were not bad enough, she finds that her company is blatantly discriminating against both women and blacks. After she is passed over twice for a promotion that she was best qualified for, she decides to fight back. She finds an unlikely ally and a possible relationship with her co-worker Frank. To add further flame to the fire, Frank happens to be white. Now she has to face her own prejudice in order to find love and deal with the scrutiny that may result from being in an interracial relationship.

Kimberla Lawson Roby has done an excellent job in exposing race relations. She not only shows discrimination in the work place and amongst whites and blacks, she takes it one step further to include black-on-black discrimination be it color (light vs. dark) or economic. She also provides a healthy dose of "reality" about interracial relationship and leaves the reader to ponder about his or her own prejudices. This is an excellent, quick read that is both romantic and socially conscious. I cannot wait for the author's next novel, which I hope will be a sequel focusing on the possible relationship between Anise and Frank.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers