50 used & new from $0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
All the Trouble You Need: A Novel
 
 
Share your own customer images
Look inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

All the Trouble You Need: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


18 new from $0.01 31 used from $0.01 1 collectible from $58.31

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, May 6, 2002 -- $0.01 $0.01
  Paperback, February 24, 2003 $16.95 $1.99 $0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Understand This (California Fiction)

Understand This (California Fiction)

by Jervey Tervalon
5.0 out of 5 stars (5)  $19.95
Lita: A Novel

Lita: A Novel

by Jervey Tervalon
4.0 out of 5 stars (6)  $12.00
Dead Above Ground

Dead Above Ground

by Jervey Tervalon
4.2 out of 5 stars (32)  $12.95
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A young black college instructor finds himself enmeshed in an over-the-top romantic triangle in Tervalon's latest, a fast-moving but shallow look at the California dating scene from an African-American perspective. Randy 28-year-old English teacher Jordan Davis opens the novel with a visit to his libidinous friend Mary to satisfy his carnal appetites. But Mary is merely an appetizer for the two main romantic coursesTrisha Bell, a sexy but chaste African-American woman, and Daphne Daniels, a lovely but troubled multiracial student in Jordan's course on Japanese literature. Trisha's demand for marriage and commitment cools Jordan's libido considerably, but he finds a willing partner in the exotic Daphne, until her violent, abusive husband suddenly surfaces. The situation turns bizarre when Trisha arranges to meet Daphne; later, she tries to shelter Daphne from her sadistic spouse. A pregnancy adds further complications as Jordan tries to choose between two beguiling women. Unfortunately, Tervalon doesn't adequately explore Jordan's moral and emotional quandary and lets events glide to easy conclusions. Tervalon (Dead Above Ground) is at his best when he's documenting Jordan's struggles to make the transition from the L.A. ghetto to the rich, elitist college culture of Santa Barbara, and the scenes in which Jordan has to steer clear of the local police as he arranges his dating and academic life are particularly effective. The dating chapters are entertaining, but Tervalon's inability to develop his characters and get beneath the surface of their desire for an idealized, fairy-tale relationship makes his novel feel slick and superficial.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Review

Los Angeles MagazineThe twisting plots and drawing room intrigues are captivating. -- Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 213 pages
  • Publisher: Atria (May 7, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743422384
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743422383
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,973,293 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Jervey Tervalon
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Jervey Tervalon Page
Look Inside This Book
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover
Citations (learn more)
4 books cite this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
See all 3 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular journey into sexuality, self, and race!!!!!!!!!!, May 24, 2002
By "gbersch" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
Tervalon has done it again! He's tackled the big issues of sexuality, self, and race in a character driven narrative that leaves the reader satisfied and thoroughly entertained. Tervalon's ability to deal with heady issues in an engaging and thought provoking way singles him out as not only a gifted storyteller, but as one with a literary depth masked in a very readable Hemingway-esque style. His books just keep getting better! This book is the best yet!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars They Don't Shoot Black People in Santa Barbara, Do They?, July 20, 2002
By Dera R Williams (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Jordan Davis, a young African American male of twenty eight, is content with his life, living in Santa Barbara, California and teaching a course or two a semester while working on his doctoral thesis in literature. Life is good or at least most of the time. That is when his best friend and roommate Ned is not needling him about the scarcity of blacks living in Santa Barbara, or when he isn't so sexually obsessed with "that white girl" Mary, or when he is not wrestling with his confusion of the kind of relationship he wants from Trisha, a young well-to-do black senior at the university.

Having escaped his inner-city Los Angeles neighborhood, Jordan is comfortable with his life in a city that offers him serenity even if the black population is only one percent. He can live with that. Trisha comes from a family of privileged black folk, a family that is committed to civil rights in Santa Barbara and has high expectations of their children. She belongs to AKA sorority, is beautiful and intelligent, on her way to law school and a virgin at twenty-two years old. His friends tell him she is what he needs, she is the one to settle down with and Jordan knows there is no half-stepping with Trisha; she is the marrying kind. He has strong feelings for her; with Mary it is just a sex thing, but then the most tempting, exotic, beautiful woman walks into his Japanese Lit class and rocks his world. Daphne, of undetermined race, her heritage hardly anyone is able to determine, has a troubled past. Having traveled over the world, she is back living with her rich parents and is smitten with Jordan, as he is with her. But she has brought back a lifetime of baggage and all the drama that accompanies it.

Ned announces he is moving to D.C. He cannot bring himself to date white women; the black women in Santa Barbara, the AKAs and the Deltas reject him, (he is an artist type) leaving Jordan further isolated and trying to deal with his issues. There are secondary characters and story lines involving Trisha's family's racial incidents, which reflect black life in a town where blacks people are scarce. There is also a scene that further exposes the city's disquieting relationship with African Americans when two members of the famed Harlem Globetrotters, in town for a university benefit, are mistaken for bank robbers and held at gun-point by police. At his book signing appearance in Oakland, Tervalon revealed he went to undergraduate school at U. C. Santa Barbara and met his wife there, who is from a prominent African American family, so he knows of what he writes. He is also from inner-city Los Angeles. I detect a little truth telling here, which is all good.

Tervalon manages to weave a multi-layered tale of many dimensions. Issues of race, identity, class, love and passion, and one's place in the world are explored in depth. As is his trademark, there is a hint of mystery, and a Faulkneresque aura in the irony and tragedy of the story. I would highly recommend this book as one that will give you insight to another aspect of living one's dreams. My actual rating for this book is a 4.5.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Asking for trouble, May 6, 2003
By The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
In ALL THE TROUBLE YOU NEED, we meet Jordan, a leisurely professor in Santa Barbara who seldom knows what it is he wants or needs from life, and in particular, from women. He's sown his share of wild oats, but it isn't until he meets Trisha and Daphne that his world is truly shaken by his indecision. After all, the women he "played around with" were never taken seriously, but these two ladies, Trisha, the virgin and "the marrying type" and Daphne, the mysterious vixen and one of his students, are a force to be reckoned with in their own rights. The women seem to stand on different ends of the spectrum of womanhood, and Jordan is caught in the middle.

Tervalon once again strays from the norm with this book. The plot is strong, and the characters are even stronger. And while the concept is not all that outlandish, he pulls it off, adding a psychological twist to the story of a man caught between two women, two worlds, and with a monumental decision to make.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of themes; readable and not predictable
I tend towards history, maybe some bios, because novels tend to be over-the-top sensational, or one-dimensional, too predictable, or just all drama without much of a plot. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Douglas Hileman

3.0 out of 5 stars A Man And His Women
Read about college instructor Jordan and his relationships with three women - Mary, Trisha, and Daphne. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ms. 90

5.0 out of 5 stars "Now this is not the promised land."
I had a bit of difficulty in writing a review on this book.First of all,I don't read much fiction,but when I do,I read it to learn something about the people,times and area where... Read more
Published on January 18, 2006 by J. Guild

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the change
This is the story of a black college teacher, living in a pretty much all white city, Santa Barbara who is just trying to make it, he is also dating one of his students, who is a... Read more
Published on June 9, 2005 by "July Lady"

5.0 out of 5 stars All The Novel You Need
Jervey Tervalon's All The Trouble You Need follows 28-year-old Jordan Davis as he pieces together his love life, doctorial thesis, and racial identity in Santa Barbara,... Read more
Published on September 19, 2004 by Gavin Austin

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad!
I don't usually read 'relationship' books. I generally find them to be cliche'-ridden and draining. I almost put the book down but decided to stick it out because I was curious to... Read more
Published on August 8, 2002 by Tsehay

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:





















i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.