Tag Archives: Bernice McFadden

‘The Dry Grass Of August’, By ‘Anna Jean Mayhew’ — A Wonderful Story That Deftly Portrays 1950s Racism In Georgia & S. Carolina.

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by Anura Guruge
on April 19, 2022

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Click image to access the Amazon listing for this marvelous book.

As I alluded yesterday on my post about ‘zippers’ I have been listening to this marvelous book, with great relish, for the last few days. I thoroughly enjoyed it & as it was getting towards the end I wished that it would go on for a bit longer. Always a bang up recommendation.

Quite the story. Told with a really pleasing, deft touch — breezy, but detail-packed. She, Mrs. Anna Jean Mayhew, is quite the writer. Bravo.

Click to ENLARGE and read here. Link to this page.

One of the drawbacks of listening to a book on (the excellent) ‘Audible‘ is that you don’t get a chance to see & study the author. It tells you the author’s name (& copyright) but that is it. Of course, there is no photo you can see & they don’t include anything about the author. So, since she was new to I, I had no idea who she was. I wasn’t sure of her race. Yes, the book is in the first person & that narrator is a v. mature & sensitive 13-year white young lady. But, I was NOT sure whether the authoress was black. Her handling of race — or the difficulties & conflicts thereof — are masterful. Wow.

I see the book has worn awards & she is quite rightly lauded. That is due. She did good.

Great book. I thoroughly recommend it.

I will put it alongside ‘The Pecan Man‘ by ‘Cassie Dandridge Selleck’ & ‘The Book of Harlan‘ by ‘Bernice McFadden’, two other recent books I listened to which also dealt with race in the U.S., as a book that really made an impression with I. Thank YOU, Mrs. Mayhew. Yes, I will listen to your latest book “Tomorrow’s Bread“.

‘The Book Of Harlan’ By U.S. Authoress ‘Bernice McFadden’ Is Quite The Story, Very Well Told — A True Tour De Force.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 16, 2021

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Click to ENLARGE. Click image or here for the ‘Amazon’ listing.
Click to ENLARGE & read here. Wikipedia link.

I have really, really lucked out over the last 15 months with my ‘Plus’ subscription to Amazon’s amazing ‘Audible’ audiobook service. I have got to listen to some stunning works & get to know some brilliant authors, well worth knowing.

‘Audible’ is the nearest thing I have come to, in 65-years as an avid, daily reader of books, to belonging to ‘anything‘ that recommends titles that might interest I. Prior to that it has always been kind of pot luck.

I, as I had with ‘Carl Goodman‘, ‘Catherine Ryan Howard‘ & ‘Rose Tremain‘ (just to mention but three), only discovered Bernice McFadden thanks to coming across her in the Audible ‘Plus Catalog’. I title I initially came across was ‘Tisoy‘ (slang for a mixed Filipino). I do pick books by their cover! I am not embarrassed to admit that. In this case the cover picture portrayed ‘Monument Valley’ (which I have visited 3 times) & an Arizona cactus. That caught my eye. Then I saw the reviews that accused it of being racist. How could I resist. I was intrigued. I downloaded it … The rest is history.

Click to ENLARGE. Click image or here for the ‘Amazon’ listing.

I just loved ‘Tisoy’. Was CRUSHED when it finished so quickly. Wanted it to go on and on. That is my main criticism of this book. It was too short. Yes, there are some improbable (& not properly thought out) scenarios BUT I can forgive those because the rest of the book was so good. SO, GOOD.

So, I went looking for other titles by her. That is how I found ‘The Book of Harlan’. I am sure glad, yet again, that I downloaded this book. WOW. What a story & furthermore, so WELL written. She writes like an angel.

Yes, I already have another of her titles downloaded. I plan to read/listen to a lot of her works. I think she is beyond gifted. I am glad. I wish her all the best. I hope she goes from strength to strength.

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