One Flesh (Paperback)

by Clarence Major (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758204736
• ISBN-13: 978-0758204738
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,320,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Meant to Be?, March 14, 2004

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

John Canoe is an artist essentially living his life in isolation. He sells his work through his affiliation with a cooperative of artists, and also works as a school teacher. While John has many acquaintances, he doesn't have anyone that he can truly call a friend. Early in the book his mother reminds him that at age 33, he needs to be looking for a meaningful relationship so that he can marry and have children. Even in his adulthood John struggles with his identity, his mother is white and his father is black and his experiences with racism from both races have left him wondering where he fits in. John shares a close relationship with his mother, who lives in Chicago, but has a strained relationship with his father, a notable physician, who divorced his mother years ago.

Susie Chang works for a publishing company and is an amateur poet. She is an American born Chinese woman that has more or less been cut off from her family. Susie is constantly at odds with the cultural norms and expectations of her family, even her move across country and away from her family is frowned upon.

Susie and John meet at a Collective opening and it is practically love at first sight. What ensues is a whirlwind relationship wrought with ups and downs ranging from typical relationship issues, such as problems with communication, to more complicated issues like familial rejection.

ONE FLESH had the potential to be a five star book. The primary plot of the story was thorough and fairly unique. My problem with the book was that the author introduced too many subplots that he never resolved. These subplots could have provided interesting twists and turns but instead they acted more like a dangling carrot. I would love to see a sequel that would address some of the unresolved issues and provide an update on John and Susie's relationship. Overall, I enjoyed the book and believe it would make for a great book club discussion.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers