I am glad that I listened to this book because I don't think I could have stuck with it in print. Given the Oprah connection, I am happy to have it in my library. Parts of it I loved, but other parts....

possibly

angelou mayas Blue

the different voices and readers was effective....

no...too complex...too many characters

I'm tired of the constant theme of Oprahs bookclub....the Black plight.

There was no redeeming character throughout the book... no positives in the picture of society it painted. I know their lives were very difficult but wish the author had more compassion for the characters.

Engaging Beautiful Sad

I loved hearing the narrator read the accents that sound like home (I live far away now). Her voice is beautiful and easy to listen to.

Recommend

It's potential

maybe

yes. The narration can't save a poorly written story from itself.

Probably but they were swallowed by the negatives and lost like the story was.

I've read other stories in which there were multiple family members over a period of time and they kept some thread tying them together. It jumped from one child to another and the story of the first one was as a young man after the death of her twins; it was almost over before realizing he was one of her children. I think he was mentioned once again near the end but was never a part of the rest of his siblings or her life. Then I thought each one was going to be a character portrayal and eventually lead to something. It did, The end.

If you like that kind of story try SOME SING, SOME CRY. It's extremely long covering 3-4 generations but it worked. I got to know the characters and they kept relating to each other both directly, and in time, generationally as well. This bvook missed the mark.

If I could have known what happened to the children as thay became adults. Like the baby by Lawrence, what became of her. It's as if all were crazy and had several problems. To me it seemed like the book was abridged and not unabridged.

Probably

None of scene was very memorable for me, usually I can remember the characters names but about the only name I remember is Hattie.

I really don't remember to many scenes, maybe the one when Hattie left with the baby

None

I can not imagine anyone being able to follow this story

Disjointed story, i was lost and could not keep my place. i had to keep backing up and still could not figure out what she was talking about.

yes

I enjoyed the brief yet extensive visit with each character. Although set in a particular time period, the characterizations, situations, and reactions were timeless. I cared about each one of character because I understood them.

I loved that I had an opportunity to get to know Hattie and her husband first. Also the all the complexities of the "why's" that created the "who" that drove the "what" were not made evident all at once. I understood her and them little by little through relationship (which shape us all).

Adenrele and Bahni are my favorites and this performance was stellar (as expected!)

I listen as I drive.

I wanted the ending to wrap up differently although I was not disappointed.

I Have been a member for several years and this is probably the best book I have purchased. The author's use of the language is amazing. I have already started recommending it to my friends.

More sympathetic characters. Haggard Hattie and sorry children. I usually buzz through books, but after six weeks I had only listened to 40 or so chapters (out of more than a hundred.) Couldn't figure what Oprah thought was so great....I was up to the 3rd child (after the twins deaths) and decided that it was too depressing to continue..

Life is too short to spend any more time on characters I don't care about.

What genre was it supposed to be??

I only heard one narrator in the time I spent with the audiobook and she was fine. No problem with the narration..

Definite disappointment.

Hope Oprah gets over this kind of reading.