Save the date! On January 5th, 2010, RAWSISTAZ (online & local chapters) will be having an online celebration for the 10 Year Anniversary of Sugar, written by Bernice McFadden on January 9th, 2000.
If you’re looking for the chat, click HERE to join us, starting at 10AM EST.
On her blog, she shares:
Dear Book Lover:
You may not know me or my novels, because I am a member of a growing band of African-American writers of literary fiction who are slowly disappearing. And not because I am lacking in talent and credentials; in fact I have already published a number of books with major publishing houses and have been reviewed by national newspapers and well-respected literary journals, and have received critical acclaim and awards for my efforts. My work has been hailed as vivid, thought provoking and brilliant. I have been compared to Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston and Gloria Naylor.
The fact that my novels may disappear is not due to the downward spiral of the economy or the pound of flesh it has taken from the book-publishing industry. No, my demise began long before the floor of the housing market began to rot away and the stock market crashed through.
Why?
I don’t rightly know why publishers market fiction written by African-Americans ONLY TO African-Americans – but it has become common practice. And by doing this, they’ve placed all AA authors in one box forcing them to compete for the attention of ONE audience.
The word that has been coined to describe what is happening to AA writers is: Seg-Book-Gation. Continue Reading…
For many of the RAWSISTAZ members, Sugar is at the top of the list for favorite books of all time and we’re looking forward to re-reading and discussing the book with Bernice, as well as helping in her efforts to sell 10,000 books. It is sad (and just plain wrong) seeing one of our favorite (and most talented) authors NOT on the NYT Bestseller lists, not celebrated more and not easily selling 10,000 books to ALL readers.
So, if you haven’t already…Buy a Copy of Sugar and join us on January 5th via our Black Book Chats for our online celebration with Bernice!
THE RAWSISTAZ REVIEW (from the archives)
Reviewed: May 24, 2001
Sugar by Bernice L. McFadden
Plume, January 2001
240 Pages, Paperback, $14.00
ISBN: 0452282209
Genre: Fiction
RAW Rating: 5.0 (out of 5)
SUGAR is one of the most engrossing novels that I have read in a long time. McFadden weaves a tale so vividly, the reader is easily transported into the storyline. 1940, Bigelow, Arkansas is where this Southern tale begins, with a scene so disturbingly painful and detailed that it grips your heart and propels you to read further. SUGAR’s opening line, JUDE IS DEAD, is powerful, and we learn that Pearl and Joe Taylor have lost their only daughter Jude to a horrific event, and Pearl, a once vibrant, loving wife and mother, finds herself devastated over the loss, a piece of her soul, her heart gone forever.
Move to 1955, where life in Bigelow seems to be normal, and Pearl has buried the pain of Jude’s death deep within her. That is, until a scandalously sexy and provocative woman waltzes into their small town, right next door to Pearl, creating rumors and upheavals with the women and gawking and lust with the men. Pearl is struck by the resemblance that Sugar has to her deceased child. Pearl and Sugar have their own personal demons that have plagued them, and this connection sparks a friendship between the odd couple. Through their friendship, and the unfolding of their painful paths, the women become more family than friends, but all is not glorious as the past looms over them, bringing pain, grief, and the reopening of old wounds.
McFadden writes with such beauty that it’s easy to get lost in the novel. The plot is full of drama and realism of the time period and will invoke anger and despair, hope and forgiveness in those who read it. The town, the people, the dialogue is so vivid, so realistic, that it’s easy to believe every account in the novel, even the truly painful. SUGAR is an exquisite piece of literature, and it’s definitely deserving of being on every reader’s bookshelf.
Reviewed by Shonie Bacon, RAWSISTAZ.com
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Shonie Bacon is the co-author of Luvalwaz, a RAWSISTAZ reviewer and the founder of The Nubian Chronicles.
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