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lauraborkpower's review
4.0
While I enjoyed the story on its own -- Ross's language loose and lyrical, her characters unique and strange -- it wasn't until I read the foreword and afterword and met with my book club babes that I truly appreciated this book.
Ross does what so many white male authors do (Tom Robbins is a clear stylistic comparison), but she doesn't get the same credit -- because she's a woman; because she's Black. Her story is not a story of the Black experience, nor is it a story of a generation. It is, instead, the story of a specific family full of occasionally absurd, specific characters who meander through the streets of towns and cities, searching for...well, just kind of searching.
Some of the book club babes said they'd have liked to know sooner about the story's mythological roots, but I was happy to read it first, just for the story and language without context; the understanding of Theseus's story gave me something to think about after, and it will likely be the reason for a re-read sometime in the future.
The narrator, Robin Miles, does a fine job, though her Jewish accent, when it comes up, is a bit much. But I'm glad I had her to read the menu of food, the dialogue, and the Yiddish. Listening to the audiobook means you'll miss some of the visual arrangement of text, and you'll get the foreword and afterword at the end of the book, one after another.
Ross does what so many white male authors do (Tom Robbins is a clear stylistic comparison), but she doesn't get the same credit -- because she's a woman; because she's Black. Her story is not a story of the Black experience, nor is it a story of a generation. It is, instead, the story of a specific family full of occasionally absurd, specific characters who meander through the streets of towns and cities, searching for...well, just kind of searching.
Some of the book club babes said they'd have liked to know sooner about the story's mythological roots, but I was happy to read it first, just for the story and language without context; the understanding of Theseus's story gave me something to think about after, and it will likely be the reason for a re-read sometime in the future.
The narrator, Robin Miles, does a fine job, though her Jewish accent, when it comes up, is a bit much. But I'm glad I had her to read the menu of food, the dialogue, and the Yiddish. Listening to the audiobook means you'll miss some of the visual arrangement of text, and you'll get the foreword and afterword at the end of the book, one after another.
misterjones's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
mariahistryingtoread's review
3.0
It took me like two months to get through this book. On paper it's super interesting, but actually reading it is a different story.
Oreo is a half black, half Jewish young woman who heads to New York in order to find her father as part of an agreement made between her parents when they separated. This is so he can tell her the secret of her birth.
First off this book is like one big play on words. In fact I'd say it often feels like the book was only made so Fran Ross could flex on everybody with her fancy wordplay. Be prepared to not understand half of what's going on whether that be because of time period or dense language. I can't tell you how many times I'd Google a word and it would turn out to be a grammar joke or allusion or reference and not an actual word with a definition.
That being said, once you get to about halfway the book does move more quickly. The story is secondary to the wordplay but this is much more prevalent in the first half. Once Oreo actually begins on her journey there are now some events taking place. At that point I couldn't understand the cultural aspects more than anything else which I consider progress.
The secret of Oreo's birth is anti-climactic and I had to read it like three times to actually get the gist of what it was. It also ends rather abruptly with no real payoff, however, considering the rest of the book I was not surprised merely disappointed.
There's also some just plain weird parts that don't really add to anything. And be aware that there are parts that are obviously not PC. But, given the tongue in cheek nature of the novel and my lack of historical context I'm also not sure how much subtext I'm missing. Tons of this book *feel* like satire, but without additional knowledge I can't say for certain.
So I gave it a 3 because I did enjoy parts of the book, and I did like the idea of all the wordplay even if I didn't love the execution overall. I also liked the characters for the most part - though they were all underdeveloped.
I cannot stress this enough - do not read this book looking for story. It's about the writing itself above all else.
Oreo is a half black, half Jewish young woman who heads to New York in order to find her father as part of an agreement made between her parents when they separated. This is so he can tell her the secret of her birth.
First off this book is like one big play on words. In fact I'd say it often feels like the book was only made so Fran Ross could flex on everybody with her fancy wordplay. Be prepared to not understand half of what's going on whether that be because of time period or dense language. I can't tell you how many times I'd Google a word and it would turn out to be a grammar joke or allusion or reference and not an actual word with a definition.
That being said, once you get to about halfway the book does move more quickly. The story is secondary to the wordplay but this is much more prevalent in the first half. Once Oreo actually begins on her journey there are now some events taking place. At that point I couldn't understand the cultural aspects more than anything else which I consider progress.
The secret of Oreo's birth is anti-climactic and I had to read it like three times to actually get the gist of what it was. It also ends rather abruptly with no real payoff, however, considering the rest of the book I was not surprised merely disappointed.
There's also some just plain weird parts that don't really add to anything. And be aware that there are parts that are obviously not PC. But, given the tongue in cheek nature of the novel and my lack of historical context I'm also not sure how much subtext I'm missing. Tons of this book *feel* like satire, but without additional knowledge I can't say for certain.
So I gave it a 3 because I did enjoy parts of the book, and I did like the idea of all the wordplay even if I didn't love the execution overall. I also liked the characters for the most part - though they were all underdeveloped.
I cannot stress this enough - do not read this book looking for story. It's about the writing itself above all else.
elevy2's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lilytucker's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
wickerplane228's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
esthersedition's review
1.0
In short, this is a witty book about a half jewish, half black girl on quest in search of her father.
However, this book was simply just not for me. I don’t know if it’s because it was written quite a while ago but it was confusing to read and probably took a lot longer than it should have though it was only 200 pages.
I normally write quite long detailed reviews about the books I read good or bad, but there is not much to say here, nor did I gain anything or leave with anything enlightening after reading. It was just a witty adventurous story.
If that’s what you like, then you would like this book - but personally I would not recommend it nor did I really enjoy reading this book. Though the most interesting segment would be where Oreo (the protagonist) found herself in Parnell’s strip club.
However, this book was simply just not for me. I don’t know if it’s because it was written quite a while ago but it was confusing to read and probably took a lot longer than it should have though it was only 200 pages.
I normally write quite long detailed reviews about the books I read good or bad, but there is not much to say here, nor did I gain anything or leave with anything enlightening after reading. It was just a witty adventurous story.
If that’s what you like, then you would like this book - but personally I would not recommend it nor did I really enjoy reading this book. Though the most interesting segment would be where Oreo (the protagonist) found herself in Parnell’s strip club.
abbyyy03's review
The layout was very strange and not something I was prepared for when I started it. If I had more brain capacity then I would have appreciated the post-modernist design more.
emmamd's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kittyhearted's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0