Glorious

Back in 1910 a black man defeated a white man in a fair fight and the black people who'd laid bets on the result were understandably elated. Soon afterwards, a girl called Easter, who already had plenty of reasons for hatred in her life, wrote that one word HATE on a piece of paper, crumpled it up, and buried it. Easter wrote many other words too as she grew older in a world of radical unfairness and unthinking cruelty. Glorious, by Bernice McFadden, is her tale. Reading how a pregnant black cook is murdered because a total stranger, unfortunately also black, has committed a crime, then watching the slaughter of her unborn child, leaves the reader sickened and saddened for all those others whose stories have not been, and surely should be told. But Easter buries her hate and herself and moves on. The novel introduces a fascinating cast of characters, some larger than life, some smaller, some real and some imagined. But all the lives are gloriously genuine and so powerfully told. I even found myself searching for author E.V. Gibbs on the internet, to see if she really existed. But I've read Their Eyes were watching God, so I know Zora Neale Hurston was real. The story progresses from Georgia to railroad tracks to Harlem and high-class apartments in New York. Through waves of powerful emotions, innocent errors and devastating betrayals, it all ends back where it began, in the small town of Waycross, Georgia. Years have passed and it's now 1961. The world is changing, but hasn't changed enough. And the reader learns where Easter's wonderful mind and words have led her. It could be tragic, but instead it's powerfully hopeful, beautiful and moving. And the quote from Zora Neale Hurston on the final page--"God balances the sheet in time"--rings gloriously true in the reader's mind.

I've suffered through some 20th Century Novel courses for college. Now don't get me wrong, I loved A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. But in all honesty I couldn't get through most of the other EIGHT books we had to read in the 8 week semester. Had Bernice McFadden's book been in that course, I would have had a book that I could read in no time at all and would have honestly enjoyed. When I started this book I will admit that I was a little taken aback by the "20th Century Novelishness" (yes, another made up word...love having my own blog) of it. I said to myself, "Self, I'll read for a minute and then put it down." Well I don't listen well, even to myself. In about 5 minutes I was forty pages into the book and my fiance looked at me a little odd. (It must have been the look on my face of pure confusion and delight!) "She didn't waste a word! Not one single word! Every word had meaning and carried this story forward. I didn't have a chance to get bored at all. I honestly thought I'd only read 10 pages!" In my very humble (correct) opinion Glorious will be read as thoroughly and with as much reverence as Ms. Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. This book had me running through every gamut of feelings known to man! Love, lust, sadness, despair, hate, desire, fear, happiness, and loneliness. I recommend anyone who enjoys realistic, heart-wrenching, perfectly written fiction stop now and order Glorious TODAY! I would like to thank Bernice McFadden, in conjunction with BookBlogs, for her kindness in allowing me to review this wonderful book! This book will be donated to the Hepburn Library so that others may share in this wonderful reading experience.

Glorious by Bernice McFadden grabbed me by the throat from the very first page and would not let me go until I was done. I continued to sit the book aside, because I did not want it to end too soon. Ms. McFadden has written a glorious story that is a wonderful juxtaposition of the present and the past, the truth and fiction. Easter Bartlett's life starts out pretty hard in Waycross, Georgia. In 1910 she sees her sister violated, her father emasculated and her mother dead due to a broken heart. And from that day forward Easter does what she does best, she leave, she moves on. There is restlessness in her spirit that will not allow her to stay anyplace when her heart tells her to move on. The only thing that provides her with peace is reading and writing. We watch Easter as she travels from the South to New York and we get to see the people she fall in love with. There is Rain, a woman who loves women that Easter loves but they are never lovers. There is Colin, the man Easter loves and marries who loses his way after being betrayed. And there is Meredith, the Negrophile, who befriends and betrays Easter in ways unimaginable. Mostly, there is the brief, yet wonderful career Easter had as a wonderful writer in that period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Glorious is as wonderful literary treat that will have the reader's eyes flying over the pages, envisioning every situation. And it is also a wonderful book filled with history lessons. I recommend Glorious to all readers who love wonderful books. Angelia Menchan APOOO BookClub

What defines a great book? It is the ability to see, feel, and experience all that the characters are going through. It's reading passages that makes you want to reach into the pages to protect, shake up, or hug characters that are so well drawn, you feel as though you know them. It's a story that doesn't offer a happy ending, but no doubt, a real one. "Glorious" is that type of book. Bernice McFadden tells the story of Easter with unflinching and unapologetic honesty. There were so many times when I wanted so much more for Easter, but Ms. McFadden kept it truthful with a realness that was almost heartbreaking. "Glorious" is multi-leveled and an incredible read, full of historical facts and as timely today as when the story took place in the last century. It is surely destined to become a classic in years to come. Congratulations Ms. McFadden. Your star continues to burn brightly, a beacon for us all... Margaret Johnson-Hodge Author of "Red Light Green Light"

From the dirt roads of Waycross, Georgia to the busy streets of Harlem, Bernice McFadden once again delivers perfection in her latest novel, Glorious. With actual historical events playing in the background, we are introduced to Easter Bartlett and her family. The historic "Fight of the Century" between Jack Johnson and James Jeffries sets in motion a series of events that eventually push Easter out of Georgia and eventually land her in Harlem. Much mention is made of Marcus Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association. A story set in Harlem at such a time would be incomplete with referencing the Harlem Renaissance and Ms. McFadden deftly weaves in noted members of the Renaissance, including A'lelia Walker, daughter of Madame CJ Walker and a patron of the arts, and Langston Hughes. Others such as Claude McKay and Carl Van Vechten are also mentioned. With writing as rich and vivid as only she can do it, Ms. McFadden draws you into the life of Easter Bartlett and doesn't release you easily. Though their stories are not the same, I couldn't help but to compare Easter Barlett to Wallace Thurman's Emma Lou Brown from The Blacker the Berry, with both women seeking refuge in Harlem. I found myself yearning to read this while at the same time putting it down in order to savor it and prolong the inevitable end. While I usually give away books that I've already read, this is one that will have to stay in my library.