Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do

This was my first Cleage Novel and I was pleasently pleased. I found her writing creative and quite artistic. While it's a bit of a fantacy novel toward the end, it didn't take away from the real world issues and characters. This was not your typical romance, but a romance with a purpose and that much better.

Have you ever read a book that made you feel you were sampling a sinfully delicious dessert? This is exactly how the newest addition to the genre of contemporary African-American fiction by Pearl Cleage felt like. We meet our protagonist Regina Hall, freshly recovering from the downward spiral of cocaine addiction following a love gone wrong. Needing to repair burnt bridges (and to save her family home from foreclosure) she reluctantly journeys to Atlanta to amass some badly-needed capital via a consultancy extended to her from her former boss Beth Davis. Armed with little more than wild speculation on what awaited her there (courtesy of her "visionary" post-menopausal Aunt Abbie), she encounters new truths about the man who left her life and stumbles upon a new mysterious gentleman "who has the ocean in his eyes" that coincidentally has an eerie resemblance to the man Aunt Abbie described in her vision... Like her past best-selling efforts, "What Looks Like Crazy on An Ordinary day" and "I Wish I Had a Red Dress," Cleage infuses her narrative with an intimacy and appealing eclecticism among her characters that makes them interesting and ultimately effective dispensers of truth. Themes familiar in her other works such as the Black man as protector (and the Black woman's response within this paradigm), the idea of creating a safe haven in communities of color and the notion of self-renewal as a prerequisite to community revitalization are deftly interwoven into the fabric of this work without being preachy or self-righteous. This is truly a story I did not want to end. It gently illustrates what can happen when we remain open to gracefully accepting what we've asked the universe for-regardless of the actual packaging it shows up in. As readers and witnesses to this phenomenon in the experience of our protagonist, we are nourished, strengthened and that more receptive to the gifts that make their way into our lives through the most unlikely of channels.Idara E. Bassey, author of "Reflections of A Mystical Sistah: On Traveling Down the Road to Self Definition"(iUniverse)- For more information visit www.OneLightMessenger.com

In two words this novel moved me. I do not have the words in my vocabulary to expound on the effects this story had on me. When I finished reading it, the tears from my heart flowed freely. I was so engaged in the characters the ending was like a loss of life.Pearl Cleage has the ability to write characters that are not perfect, but are human. Her characters have human frailties and must deal with the ups and downs of life. Regina Burns is one of those characters. We meet Regina as she is literally begging a loan officer to not sale her house she borrowed against during her addiction to cocaine. From there we see Regina taking a chance and things falling in place. Her aunt tells Regina of her vision and what she sees in her future. Whether Regina believes it or not Atlanta will be the starting point.There are a host of characters you are drawn to and some you want to handle with a long handle stick. Once Regina arrives in Atlanta she meets the blue-eyed stranger that is part of her aunt's vision. Blue as he is called will be the past and future for Regina. We also meet Flora, Lu, Aretha and bad guys DooDoo and King James. We also meet Regina's mentor, Beth, who needs her expertise and gets more than she bargains for.Ms. Cleage has the ability to make you believe in hope, courage and honor. She however never lets us forget that the world is not perfect and no person is perfect in it. She uplifts the African-American males by portraying the good males alongside the no so good males. She upholds the spirit of community and neighbors. All though there is romance there is also love of family, friends and neighbors and shows us an endearing side of our African-American communities.The one thing that touched me and really expresses the title of the book is one statement that is made in the novel. That one statement is that no one is perfect, but we all have possibility of perfection. So profound and so true. No one is perfect but there is room for the possibility of perfection. That is what we should all esteem to be. Regina does as well as the other wonderful characters in this book.This is a page-turner from the opening lines. Well written and crafted by a gifted storyteller and writer. Thank you for moving me with this wonderful story. Highly recommended.

Pearl Cleage writes like Ella Fitzgerald sings, with power, passion, beauty and joy. She conveys an entire world with a supple economy of language that is as enviable as it is amazing. You fall in love with her characters; you want to meet them, befriend them, become them! Regina Burns and Blue Hamilton are two of the most appealing people I've encountered since I Wish I Had a Red Dress. And for those who have read What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, there's a nice re-visit with someone from that wonderful book.Buy this book immediately. Take it home, turn on the CD player, load it up with Motown and put the phone on mute. This is the one you're going to want to savor all by yourself, immersing yourself in every word. Then you're going to want to tell everyone you know about this wonderful book by this wonderful woman because you'll be so happy you'll want to shout. This is a life-affirming treat for the soul that you'll want to share with everyone, just as I did.

SOME THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I'D DO is a riveting modern-day fairy tale. Cleage challenges readers to imagine what life could be like if we all took charge of our lives and our communities. In many ways this is a work of speculative fiction-- a novel that asks "What if?"What if we protected our children from predators? What if we harnessed our political and economic power to change our reality? What if brothers and sisters could come together to make love and make change and make peace?This is a love story, a romance. But like all of Cleage's stories, there is powerful message intermingled with the sweetness.