Mother of Pearl: Summary and book reviews of Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes, plus links to an excerpt from Mother of Pearl and a biography of Melinda Haynes.
Mother of Pearl
by Melinda Haynes
Hardcover: Jun 1999,
448 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2000,
466 pages.
Set in the Deep South in the late 1950s, Mother of Pearl vividly brings to life the extraordinary inhabitants of the small town of Petal, Mississippi. Central to the novel are the stories of Even Grade, a 28-year-old black man abandoned by his mother at birth; Valuable Korner, a 15-year-old white girl whose family history holds a trunkful of damning secrets; and Joody Two Sun, an enigmatic obeah woman who sees into the hearts and minds of the townsfolk from her riverside camp on the outskirts of town. Cast in a tragicomic passion play, Even, Val, and Joody find their destinies entwined as they search for the love and family that they have always been denied.
The New York Times Book Review
A fictional [town] as entangling as kudzu....Haynes gets away with [plot] contrivances...because of the sheer vitality of her prose....In the end...Petal still has its edgy charm. Summer here may be sweltering, but there's enough going on to keep the beauty parlor abuzz.
The New York Times Book Review
A fictional [town] as entangling as kudzu....Haynes gets away with [plot] contrivances...because of the sheer vitality of her prose....In the end...Petal still has its edgy charm. Summer here may be sweltering, but there's enough going on to keep the beauty parlor abuzz.
Publishers Weekly
This wise, luminous novel demonstrates her great gifts for language, courageous storytelling and compassion.
From Library Journal
The story takes place in the segregated South, but it is timeless, and the characters are unforgettable.
From Library Journal
The story takes place in the segregated South, but it is timeless, and the characters are unforgettable.
Oprah Winfrey
It is an extraordinary read...Melinda Haynes is my catch of the year.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of Sister of My Heart
With deft humor and deep sympathy for human suffering, Melinda Haynes has created a novel that weaves together mystery and magic and the small bright delights of everyday life.
Oprah Winfrey
It is an extraordinary read...Melinda Haynes is my catch of the year.
Pat Conroy, Author of Beach Music Mother of Pearl is a first novel of immense and staggering power. I had never heard of Melinda Haynes in my life, but everyone in America will be hearing about her very soon. Her sentences have the beauty of coined silver forks resting on linen. Her dialogue shimmers. Something absolutely wonderful is going on here and it might be the surprise one feels encountering greatness.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Pittmand R Watson More Pearl I can relate to the characters, which is important to me as a reader. Any reader can relate, especially if you are from the South. Please give me more!!!
Rated of 5
by Book Fanatic Mother of pearl I thought that this book was a very interesting read. At first I did not want to read it because it looked boring but I started it and found a treasure. The rural feel of the book was intense and it pulled my heart strings.
Heartbreakingly beautiful and inescapably human, ordinary and extraordinary people chart their own courses in life. In the aftermath of one tragic afternoon, they are all forced to look at themselves and face up to the observation that the truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.
The story of a violent, war-haunted, alcoholic father and a strong-willed, loving mother who struggled to protect her three sons from the effects of poverty and ignorance that had tainted her own life.
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by Pittmand R Watson
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