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Title: Sugar: A Novel
ISBN: 0452282209
Author:
Bernice L. McFadden
Publicate Date: 2001-01-02
Publish: 2001-01-02
List Price: $15.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $7.98
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.33
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.20
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| Customer Review: |
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1: 1950s Jim Crow Arkansas
I first heard of Sugar when I read Mel's review over at Gerbera Daisy Diaries. I knew this was a book I wanted to read, and soon. Coincidentally, Ms. McFadden emailed me about 2 weeks later asking if she could send me a copy of her book. I responded with an emphatic 'yes'! Most books don't usually make me cry or elicit an extremely strong response within me, but this one most definitely did both.
The mood of the book is set immediately as it opens with the horrific murder of Jude Taylor. This murder becomes an integral part of the storyline concerning Sugar and Jude's mother, Pearl Taylor. Sugar and Pearl are probably a most unlikely pair of friends- Sugar is a rough and tumble, brash and in-your-face young woman who sells her body, where Pearl is a complacent, obedient, docile housewife who has been quietly nursing her grief over her daughter's death for well over a decade.
"Knowing each other's past helped both Pearl and Sugar. Secret pains, now told, bonded the women together tighter than anything else in this world."
Despite their differences, Pearl and Sugar develop a familial bond in which they confide in one another, much to the chagrin of Pearl's fellow church friends.Inevitably, small-town gossip ensues.
Sugar is a gritty story, full of crime, murder, sex, and secrets. Despite its sometimes graphic content, do not be put off. There is a dignity and grace in the writing that to me is reminiscent of Morrison and Hurston. McFadden has captured the feel of the 1950s Deep South and the people that inhabited it.
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2: EXCEPTIONALLY COMPELLING
Ms. McFadden is an excellent story teller with an exceptional use of characterization. I read "Sugar" in 2000 and found it to be exceptionally compelling and impossible to put down until I had read it in its entirety in a single day. And I have been a fan every since. Thus far, I have enjoyed all of Bernice McFadden's books, with "The Warmest December" being one of my favorites. If you haven't read any of her other work, I recommend that you do, you won't be disappointed.
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3: Sugar - I couldn't put it down!
From the opening scene of a brutal murder through a developing friendship and finally the surprise ending Ms. McFadden brings us a gripping, thought-provoking story that contradicts the Beaver Cleaver/Happy Days image a lot of us have of the 1950's - she makes it "real." June Cleaver certainly never used the F word! And although this story could happen to people of any color, Ms. McFadden subtly reminds us that it still is the 1950's with Jim Crow laws in full effect. It was refreshing for me to read a book about African Americans in the South without the main story being about the conflict between white people and black people.
Throughout the book, Ms. McFadden reminds us through her characters that horrible things can happen to each of us, but we are all still alive! We need to appreciate and love those around us. If we are quick to judge others we could miss an opportunity to come alive more fully, to experience people and places that we never thought we could or would.
At the moment when I thought (or was hoping) that the fairy princess ending would happen, Ms. McFadden twists the story another way, then when I really thought I knew the ending, she surprised me again!
I couldn't put this book down and would recommend it to everyone!
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4: Good Condition and Timely Mailed
The book was in good condition and stated. Received the book in a very timely manner. Well pleased with the transaction. Thank you.
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5: Excellent Read
Bernice L. Mcfadden delivers. This story had me hooked from beginning to end. The way the story was written makes you feel as if you were right there with the characters.
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