I wasnt going to include Searching for Tina Turner, the debut novel from Jacqueline E. Luckett, in my list of rock and roll fiction. Its not about a rocker. Not really. But it belongs on my list, all right.
In this tale of a woman searching to find herself once her kids are grown and shes become disenchanted with always sublimating herself for her husband, its all about Tina, baby, and the lessons our main character, Lena, learns from the rock icon. These pages vibrate with Tinas music her lyrics, in particular.
There is strength in those famous words, theres no denying that. As Lena runs around France, finds herself, almost repeats the mistakes she made the first time around, and eventually connects with her own strength, I found myself not only rooting for her but remembering who I am, too.
SFTT is one of those books that made me angry, grossed me out (when she chased all over like a groupie. It was SO beneath Lena), made me cry, and made me laugh out loud. And the ending? Absolutely perfect.
Okay, maybe parts of the book and the ending were a bit too pat. So what? The book needed it. Lena needed it. We, the reader, needed it.
Know what else I need now? A copy of I, Tina. Theres much to be learned from Tinas tale, methinks.
As for Ms. Luckett, bring on the next one, baby. Shes a strong new voice who transcends skin color (I didnt even realize the heroine was African American until I saw the Essence Book Club badge on the cover.) and speaks to all of us women.
Except maybe not Tina Turner. Shes been there, done this. Survived it. So does Lena.
And so will we.
In this tale of a woman searching to find herself once her kids are grown and shes become disenchanted with always sublimating herself for her husband, its all about Tina, baby, and the lessons our main character, Lena, learns from the rock icon. These pages vibrate with Tinas music her lyrics, in particular.
There is strength in those famous words, theres no denying that. As Lena runs around France, finds herself, almost repeats the mistakes she made the first time around, and eventually connects with her own strength, I found myself not only rooting for her but remembering who I am, too.
SFTT is one of those books that made me angry, grossed me out (when she chased all over like a groupie. It was SO beneath Lena), made me cry, and made me laugh out loud. And the ending? Absolutely perfect.
Okay, maybe parts of the book and the ending were a bit too pat. So what? The book needed it. Lena needed it. We, the reader, needed it.
Know what else I need now? A copy of I, Tina. Theres much to be learned from Tinas tale, methinks.
As for Ms. Luckett, bring on the next one, baby. Shes a strong new voice who transcends skin color (I didnt even realize the heroine was African American until I saw the Essence Book Club badge on the cover.) and speaks to all of us women.
Except maybe not Tina Turner. Shes been there, done this. Survived it. So does Lena.
And so will we.
She has it all, money, a beautiful house, 2 wonderful children, a loving husband, but Lena isn't happy. This is how her husband Randall and his friends see her life, truth is money cannot buy happiness.
Her husband is more concerned with his career and having a dutiful wife as he rises to be the first black CEO of his company. Her son has dropped out of college and has a drug habit, her daughter is sick of her name, extremely intelligent, and at the age of everyone's life should revolve around her. Lena has put her dream of becoming a photographer on hold time and time again, to be the wife she is expected to be.
Her husband gives her an ultimatum, live with it or get a divorce. Using the autobiography of Tina Turner, who Lena idolizes, for strength and wisdom, she opts for divorce and starts her life over. Friends take sides but her sister understands and sends her a plane ticket and tickets to a Tina Turner concert in Nice, France, which happens to be close to where Tina Turner has a home. Lena spends 3 weeks abroad hoping to meet Tina, but actually finding herself after 25 years of putting everyone else needs before her own.
While Lena's husband was never physically abusive like Ike was with Tina, the emotional abuse was truly there. I really came to hate the husband in this story, the daughter was just going through typical coming of age angst, but the son's drug abuse was a serious issue his father really didn't take seriously, so Lena had to handle it. Sadly there are many families going through the same issues in this world and fighting to hold it all together. I am glad Lena was able to stay true to herself and start to follow her dream.
This story is not a new one, but the time spent in France, the vivid description of the places, the people, the food and the wine, made you feel like you were actually there. The "snapshots" Lena was taking added so much vivid color to the story. You just knew she was going to survive her past and move on to her future. This really saved this book from being just another book about an unhappy marriage.
http://dollycas.blogspot.com/
Her husband is more concerned with his career and having a dutiful wife as he rises to be the first black CEO of his company. Her son has dropped out of college and has a drug habit, her daughter is sick of her name, extremely intelligent, and at the age of everyone's life should revolve around her. Lena has put her dream of becoming a photographer on hold time and time again, to be the wife she is expected to be.
Her husband gives her an ultimatum, live with it or get a divorce. Using the autobiography of Tina Turner, who Lena idolizes, for strength and wisdom, she opts for divorce and starts her life over. Friends take sides but her sister understands and sends her a plane ticket and tickets to a Tina Turner concert in Nice, France, which happens to be close to where Tina Turner has a home. Lena spends 3 weeks abroad hoping to meet Tina, but actually finding herself after 25 years of putting everyone else needs before her own.
While Lena's husband was never physically abusive like Ike was with Tina, the emotional abuse was truly there. I really came to hate the husband in this story, the daughter was just going through typical coming of age angst, but the son's drug abuse was a serious issue his father really didn't take seriously, so Lena had to handle it. Sadly there are many families going through the same issues in this world and fighting to hold it all together. I am glad Lena was able to stay true to herself and start to follow her dream.
This story is not a new one, but the time spent in France, the vivid description of the places, the people, the food and the wine, made you feel like you were actually there. The "snapshots" Lena was taking added so much vivid color to the story. You just knew she was going to survive her past and move on to her future. This really saved this book from being just another book about an unhappy marriage.
http://dollycas.blogspot.com/
