A Love Noire: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Noire was in the wrong place at the wrong time, an Afro in a sea of perms..." (more)
Key Phrases: lier voice, New Orleans, New York City, West African (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Love blossoms for an unlikely couple in this provocative debut, a romance embroidered with outspoken treatment of issues of race and class. Noire Demain is a brilliant and socially conscious Ph.D. student in comparative literature with a tendency to criticize those who may not share her ideals. The last person she expects to fall in love with is Innocent Pokou, an investment banker from Cete d'Ivoire whom she considers part of "the black bourgeoisie." But sparks fly and, as each realizes that the other is more than a mere stereotype, their relationship deepens. Turnipseed's take on star-crossed lovers breaks no molds, but her voice is strong and confident. She sets convincing and complex characters within the disparate neighborhoods of New York's Harlem and SoHo, the "historic locales in and around black Charleston" and the politically unstable climate of Cete d'Ivoire. Turnipseed's other great strength, much like Noire's, is her fearlessness in tackling touchy subject matter, whether it be spicy sex scenes or exploration of identity politics. Turnipseed's earnest treatment of social issues sometimes becomes heavy-handed and slows the narrative momentum. That, and occasional lapses into melodramatic prose ("The subway was a curious place where bodies touched even when lives did not. Was this a metaphor for life?") are the novel's weaknesses. But its many strengths, including frank dialogue and a fierce intelligence, make this a vibrant, engaging debut.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A Love Noire is sexy, sophisticated and soulful; a sizzling summer read." -- April Sinclair, author of I Left My Back Door Open

"A Love Noire pulsates with depth and consciousness." -- Tracy Price-Thompson, author of Black Coffee and Chocolate Sangria

"A juicy tale of love and manners in the modern Diaspora. Sharp and entertaining." -- Lisa Jones, author of Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair

"A refreshing glimpse of love in all its glorious shades of blackness. . . . a smart, sexy, impressive debut." -- Lori Bryant-Woolridge, author of Read Between the Lies

"Enthralling . . . An intelligently written, brazenly breezy blissful tale . . . Brilliant . . . A winner, a triumph." -- The Blackboard Times

"Page-turning prose as lush as cashmere sweats and as titillating as your favorite stilettos." -- Joan Morgan, author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost

"Splendid . . . Powerful, vital and totally entertaining." -- Black Issues Book Review

"[An] earnest debut." -- Kirkus Reviews

Sizzling and sophisticated . . . a provocative, thoughtful love story. . . . A gem. -- --Travis Hunter, author of Trouble Man

What a gorgeous debut novel! The writing is witty, breezy, and sophisticated. -- Yolanda Joe, author of The Hatwearer's Lesson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Amistad; 1st edition (June 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060536799
• ISBN-13: 978-0060536794
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,413 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Je ne l'aime pas beaucoup, ce LOVE NOIRE, May 26, 2005

By	Kharabella "Kharabella" (Somewhere in the midwest . . .) - See all my reviews

The title and the description on the inside cover made me raise my eyebrow a little bit. But I could not help but to be interested. The author is a scholar herself, and the character seemed to be living the life of my personal alter-ego -- a Ph.D student at NYU studying comparative literature. I mean, sounds good right? Well, it's okay. The book and the story have promise, but this may also be the story of an author who just tried too hard.

First hint that she tried too hard -- the character's name is Noire Demain, which is literally translater as "Black Tomorrow." For a self-described bohemian woman who shuns the black elite(Noire, not me), I thought the name was a little pushy. Too convenient. Second hint? The prose. Meaningless poetic sketches and clouds of incense and sexual haze. Third hint? Forced conflict. Noire is in love with a man named Innocent from Cote d'Ivoire, Africa. Innocent is supposedly the opposite of Noire -- rich and sophisticated, and a member of the black bourgousie. She's too artsy for him and he's too "mainstream" for her. But the only reason that I know that she and Innocent had conflict in their relationship is because the author says so. The author never SHOWS the conflict, using scenes and actions and dialogue. They ARGUE about differences, but there are curiously few scenes in which these "differences" are made clear to the reader. Noire's problem is apparently that she's too intense and passionate, and Innocent isn't -- I think because he's rich and hangs with other rich people. As a reader, I know I'm just supposed to accept that, but I couldn't. I was always thinking, "What was the big deal?" I never really get to understand what happens that makes them argue. Instead, I just got to read a lot of sex scenes.

Lastly, Noire was too confused to be likable for me. I can't figure out why in the world she thinks that an artistic and passionate nature are the antithesis of wealth and professional achievement. In fact, everyone in the story seems to fall for that tired stereotype. But even rich people can be passionate and eccentric.

Maybe all the missing pages ended up on the editor's floor. But in the end, A LOVE NOIRE falls short.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not in love with this book, August 5, 2003

By	Reader Rabbit "private_storm" (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

I would say that it is refreshing to read a book that has extremely intelligent black people who live outside their comfort zone but I couldn't really get into this book. The characters are old enough to know better. I think everyone can relate to that feeling that you may not fit into the lifestyle of your mate but how many people carry that insecurity into their 30's. Innocent was old enough to know better. Noire was annoying and obnoxious. I applaud the authors efforts for trying to expose people to the world of black intellect but it could have been done in a much better way. There were too many extraneous characters who did nothing to move along the plot and only served to confuse me more. The author tried to tackle every social issue (broken homes, biracial children, racism among light and dark blacks, etc.)that can be found in Black America. I would say this book is worth borrowing but not buying. I give it two stars because it gives a glimpse of a different black america but it was extremely boring.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars better than most black novels but still disappointed, December 7, 2004

By	George Eliot "classic bookie" (Cleveland) - See all my reviews

A Love Noire does try to critically look at issues of Black identity and for that I commend Ms. Turnipseed. Ms. Turnipseed does look at the complexity of relationships between different people of the African Diaspora and how there can be conflicts between the values of the different people of the diaspora. In addition her look at skin color in the African American community as well as the issue of class is very interesting to note. However, A Love Noire does try to look at too many issues and often places different issues in plots where they just don't belong. For instance, she tries to look at bisexuality. That would be fine if it somehow connected to the rest of the story but it doesn't. In addition, she introduces certain issues which are worth looking at more than she does. For example Jayna's interracial relationship with a fellow white dental student. This would have fit into the story so well but she spends like five pages (if even that) on this potentially meaty subplot. I think this novel is better than most of the trashy, nonstimulating novels that have become the norm for black literature today but it could've been better. Still, for a first effort it wasn't horrible and I'm sure Turnipseed will produce better in the future.