Reviews

Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime: Stories by J. California Cooper

africanbookaddict's review against another edition

3.0

!!! https://africanbookaddict.com/2016/08/13/mini-reviews-some-love-some-pain-sometime-letter-to-my-daughter/
I kinda wish there was more variety to the stories. I can only remember 3 stories out of this collection. The rest were predictable and quite simple, without much depth- in my opinion. But I do look forward to reading her full novels, in the future. Maybe i'd enjoy those more.

kimg1208's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Awesome I love every story written J California Cooper an excellent writer miss her greatly.  Every story has a lesson to learn.

awkblackgirl's review against another edition

4.0

I was enveloped in each short story. The characters were real human beings that lived intricate and often difficult lives. Despite their various struggles, they all managed to find some glimpse of love amidst all that pain.

sunnydunlap's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Read a few of these short stories and you’ve got the gist which is; if you be “respectable” you can get a good man who will love you and take care of you for the rest of your life. Oh and you need to have socially acceptable dreams and ambitions to have a happy life such as completing college, buying or owning a home etc. According to the virtue signals in this book, a life isn’t worth life if it’s not done “right”. This messaging grated on my nerves. I could hardly finish it. Though I pressed on because I tried to read through the lens of the times written by the author, consider her age and her background. That’s the only way I could get through all of the dogma.  

Who would like this book?

-deeply religious folks who live life according to set rules 

-people who really enjoy seeing others get their come uppence 

-people who stand for J. California Cooper

-people who live by rules and mores society has set before them and believe others should be punished for not abiding by these standards 

-people who enjoy southern dialect and this time period (I enjoy southern dialect but this wasn’t done well in this book. Dialect was only depicted in misspellings (ie. “bliving” instead of believing ) or lengthening words (de…ter…mined) NOT pronunciation or idioms (ie. Horse of a different color) 

-people who can’t get enough of Tyler Perry drama movies

meringued's review against another edition

4.0

So lovely; this should be required reading, lessons on how to be a human.

sweddy65's review against another edition

3.0

J. California Cooper could write the pants off any reader. Her stories were brilliant. For me, however, they didn't resonate despite the beautiful prose since the stories were so often about finding a man, a subject in which I have very little interest. I wanted to see her characters strutting around the page independently, doing all the things they were doing, without worrying about finding a lover man.

mjewrites's review against another edition

3.0

What starts out as a fast and enjoyable read becomes a little tedious once you notice all the stories follow a similar theme—which isn’t a bad thing, short story collections usually do follow one or more central themes for cohesiveness. But it got to a point where I knew where each story would end up before finishing it because they’re all the same. I do think it’s worth a read but maybe better suited in small chunks spread out from one another so it’s not so monotonous. 

reeds_reads's review against another edition

It’s a collection of short stories and I checked it out from the book so had to return it and might  check it out again soon. The stories I read were EXCELLENT

shanaetheflyest's review against another edition

5.0

This collection of short stories is brilliant. Cooper did a magnificent job capturing the lives, emotions, and problems of Black women in America. I found each story touching and compelling. The horror, the love, and the pain each of the women in these stories experienced is so gripping that I found myself completely lost in the stories. I enjoy each story so much, I don't even have a favorite - they are all so amazing!! The first story, "Femme Fatale" will hook you and you'll find yourself just like me: waiting for the chance to open the book and pick up where you left off. I definitely recommend this book because the writing, plots, and historical significance of these stories cannot be ignored. As a lover of women writers and African American fiction, I may be biased because Cooper writes stories that fit perfectly into my literary niche. But beyond my preferences, as an avid reader and one who drinks the English language like it water, I'm telling you that this is one of, if not the best, collection of short stories I have ever read.

gmdudley4's review against another edition

4.0

I would not call this a book of short stories - they read more like long form short stories. And yes, they are really about Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime. Each of the stories centered on Black women navigating love; love of men, love of children, love of control, and love of self. J. California Cooper has a style of writing that is so fresh that I am having a difficult time truly describing it. This book offers real life lesson - I've highlighted several passages in each of the stories. This book was a great follow up to Family. I would recommend it to a friend.