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Getting Mother's Body
Getting Mother's Body
Author: Suzan-Lori Parks
Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks’s wildly original debut novel, Getting Mother’s Body, follows pregnant, unmarried Billy Beede and her down-and-out family in 1960s Texas as they search for the storied jewels buried -- or were they? -- with Billy’s fast-running, six-years-dead mother, Willa Mae. — Getting Mothe...  more » is a true spiritual successor to the work of writers such as Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker -- but when it comes to bringing hard-luck characters to ingenious, uproarious life, Suzan-Lori Parks shares the stage with no one.
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ISBN-13: 9780812968002
ISBN-10: 081296800X
Publication Date: 4/13/2004
Pages: 280
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 22

3.8 stars, based on 22 ratings
Publisher: Random House
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Rowan avatar reviewed Getting Mother's Body on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Based on things that I had heard, I went into reading this book with the idea that it was going to be a madcap comedy of sorts. While that notion was incorrect, this story does have it's deliciously funny moments. But more than that, this author has a flair for period settings and strong, believable dialogue that make this an unforgettable story.
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Minehava avatar reviewed Getting Mother's Body on + 819 more book reviews
The story flows ok, the main character is somewhat interesting and her story has been told a thousand times before. Seduced by empty promisses, Pregnant, and no husband...

There are some interesting parts to the second half of the book, but over all, the book is sluggish with unecessay dialogs with strangers, and describtion of scenery and events, (some are pointlesly repeated: told from one and then the next narator point of view). The story moves ever so slow. Almost like the rest of the South. The supporting characters are interesting but muddle up the main story with their inner thoughts, (I supose it is meant to give more insight), but failing to devalope in depth. The view points jump from narator to narator so much its hard to orient one self as to where the story is now, who is talking, and what do they have to do with Billie (the main character).

The language used is the written version of the southren 1960 spoken "english" by the Black Minority and the White Trash Poor. So it is filled with what some would describe as gramar errors. I thought this was the only part of the reading that actually made the book authentic read.

Over all the book is overated, and runs on the Author's maximizing her reputation as a "Pulitzer Prize" winner. Final note though not a bad summer/entertaining reading, it is not this deep, insightful (nor is it particularly funny) book, as promissed by the author and the other reviews.


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