Saved Folk in the House
Sonnie Beverly
** ( 2/5)
Okay- I am going to preface this review by saying that I do not like short stories. It seems weird given my short attention span, that I would not Love short stories- which can offer everything a regular novel does in half the time. But – I do not. I cannot stand * most short stories. In fact the only ones I recall that I actually like are Flannery O’Conner’s, particularity A Good Man is Hard to Find. Other than that, I leave short stories alone. I tried Z.Z. Packer’s acclaimed ( acclamied= Today show pick) Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, but I just couldn’t get into it. I liked the first few, but just gave up halfway through the book.
That being said, I read this book for my March Book Club # 2 meeting. This book has been on my Recommended for you list on Amazon since it came out, but for several reasons, I never read it.1). It has a relatively low rating (all those Amazon people can’t be wrong- or rather they usually are not* Update the overall rating has increases significantly since I wrote this review in Feburary and revised it for posting) and 2). It’s a book of short stories. So when it was listed as my book club selection, my first thought was to skip the meeting, but since that defeats the purpose of being part of book club ( only reading books you find interesting) I begrudingly bought the book and tried to read it.
Saved Folk in the House are a collection of three short stories surrounding characters that are very loosely related- except for the fact that the love God and have made mistakes. Here is the description from booklist- ( I couldn’t formulate one myself)
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
In "the village," a Virginia suburb, everyone knows and looks out for one another. Zakia Wilkes is a smart girl who goes to college and discovers she is pregnant two months after graduation. Eventually, she marries Jay, who provides her a comfortable life. Yet with all of her possessions, she still feels incomplete. In her search to fill the void, she becomes very involved in her church, at the expense of her marriage. Nikki Riley leaves the village for Atlanta after her divorce. She joins the church she has always watched on television and lands a job working in its accounting department. She also falls in love with her neighbor. Nikki is very close to her cousin Rae, who refuses to work legally. When Rae is incarcerated, she reflects on her cousin's preaching and starts a Bible study in jail. Rae's influence helps to reduce the violence amongst the women. Each woman relies on her faith to get what she needs and wants out of life and the lives of those she loves. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
In Part One, Saved Babies Daddies, Zakia, part tomboy and part princess, is left alone and a single parent. Hard- working and determined, she puts her hopes and dreams into her child, her career, and her new marriage. Still feeling a void in her life, she returns to church. But the more she becomes immersed in God, the more her life begins to crumbleuntil faith pulls her through. The story continues with Real Saved Folks. Nikki, the newly divorced best friend of Zakia, believes her life will improve if she joins a church she has watched on television for years. Instead, she finds more challenges. Falling for a younger man doesnt make her life easier, but she soon discovers that where her spirit resides is what truly matters. Finally, in Out of the Mouths of Saved Babies, the children, grandchildren, and friends of the earlier characters are gathered together for what will prove to be a very eventful summer where God will use children to show adults what true faith really means.
After the first story, I skimmed the rest- so this review is probably a.) Biased and b) I did skim the book, but based on the amazon.com reviews, I’m not too far off the mark. Now as of note, some members of my book club did enjoy this book. I was not one of them. I found the book lacking in many areas, particualry character development, the story went by too fast and tried to incorporate too much. I felt bogged down and tired just reading the first story. Then I couldn’t relate to the characters (lack of development) and the story was kind of all over the place. Also the book was very “preachy”, which I can’t stand. I love Christian Fiction, Book club # 2 is dedicated to it, however, this book took the Christian aspect overboard. If I wanted to be preached at, I’ll go church or bible study. I like CF books that incorporate God and the bible into the theme/ story or even use biblical stories to supplement or to enhance the story. This book did neither. It forced the message/ bible verses down my throat. To be honest, I was very disappointed in what I did read and returned the book and got my $15.61 back
My advice- checks it out from the library or read it in the store, but then again if you like short stories, maybe you might like it.
