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Okay...I finished "The Sexy Part of the Bible" yesterday...but I needed a moment before I could comment about it. The main character in this book, Eternity, literally haunted me! I dreamed about her story and I'm not kidding.

The author went "H.A.M." on this book and I've never read anything quite like it. There are phrases and ideas from the book that keep replaying over and over in my mind. For example "all black people hate each other"..."we who go with the landscape"..."without our real mother we cannot be born"..."too black to represent Africa"...and "Africa has been cloned"...are just a few.

At the end of the day, I loved this book. I would recommend it if you want a great read with an interesting story line and realistic insight into things that we don't talk about on a day to day basis, like how we view ourselves and how we really feel about each other. (When I saw "we," I mean those of us that are of African descent...you know black folk all around the world.) What you may find, through Eternity's eyes, is a brutal type of honesty that will probably make you cry and will probably hurt your feelings, but in the end, you'll find yourself glad that she said it all and held no punches.

Check out the synopsis & go from there. If you read it, or if you have already read it, I'd love to hear what you thought of it. I think I might be in need of a discussion, or a drink, or therapy. Amazing job Kola Boof!

My vote: 5 stars out of 5

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Oh wow.

What a fabulous review. I'm so glad you liked it.

I am now writing my next book, "She Wiped It On the Wall." Which is a totally different story about black women

and religion. It's less controversial but just as powerful, I think you will love it.

Don't forget to leave a review on Good Reads or Amazon.Com for me sister.

tima usrah (through fire comes the family)

KOLA BOOF

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Black women and religion are hot button topics of mine, too, Writergirl.

I'm amused at how you and Kola seemed to have bonded. Why? Because she is the poster girl for self promotion and you, - who I've had to figure out just recently released a book, yourself, - have refrained from the hype, seemingly reluctant to plug "The Velvet Closet" You are modest to a fault, girlfriend. I am outing you. ;)

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OMGoodness WriterG, I had the same reaction to this book. I was reading it during the holidays and wasn’t able to give it my full attention as it deserves so I’m going to read it again. The cloning of Africa has stuck with me though along with some thoughts on our men and how we love them. One of my favorite things about Kola’s writing is how she describes the beauty of Black women. Beautiful in our own right not just a parallel of european standards.

Kola, woman you’ve done it again.

Then I read Mama Ruby. You too Ms. Mary [may I call you Mary?]. You almost got me in trouble again on the bus. When I got to the part about a certain regular visitor to the neighborhood professional I let out a loud ‘OMG’ and folks started easing away from me. Mama Ruby has been one of my favorite characters since The Upper Room and now I remember why. Now I’ve got to re-read The Upper Room too.

Thanks Ladies! You both helped me through the holiday dramas.

Crystal

p.s. WriterG - glad to add you to my list. Good investigating Cynique!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I’m reading the VIPs by Scott Poulson-Bryant. It starts off with 4 childhood friends called together years later and being asked the question “which one of you bastards is my father?” Yeah, like the book/movie Lace, which the author credits.

DRAMA testosterone style. It’s a fun read that would be good as a vacation book.

Crystal

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  • 5 months later...

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.

...follows the story of 3 families as they take part in The Great Migration from South to North. Non fiction, but reads like a darn good piece of fiction. So far I love it.

Great book. I enjoyed it very much because it's a reflection of my family's history.

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Started The Bluest Eye today, and barely made it out of the prologue before saying "Oh so *this* is why she's one of the great ones!"

I am already loving the writing style, and I know I'm going to like this book. Can't believe I waited so long to pick this one up! Better late than never though.

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Welp...a quarter of the way through The Bluest Eye, I realized that the characters sounded vaguely familiar. A little further, and I remembered...

I've read this book before, and the experience was traumatic...not because it was a terrible book (it was a great book), but rather because I had to read it & discuss it in mixed company. This book was something I had to read in a high school literature class. I want to say I was probably a freshman or sophomore. I hated trying to "explain" the many different things going on in this book to my white classmates (although there were only a few of them). They never seemed to get it, or to even try. Even the teacher (who was white) was somewhat patronizing in her teaching of "what the author is trying to say." In the end, the reading experience ended up tossed into the back of my mind with the rest of the stuff I'd rather forget.

Then it happened again in college when the literature assignment was Beloved. Again, same thing, only this time there were like 18 white kids to our 2 blacks in the class. And we 2 clung together and defiantly dared anybody to offend us during the discussion of this book. That experience was a little better than the high school one, although I still didn't feel comfortable "explaining" the color issue - light vs dark, and things of that nature.

Nevertheless, revisiting Morrison at this new stage in my life has been a good thing. I'm glad I'm taking the time.

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  • 3 months later...

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