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Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 189
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 01:49 am: | 
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I just cracked open "The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. |
Troy
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 1291
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 07:29 am: |
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Everyone I talked that read Ta-Nehisi's book loved it.
I just finshed Why African-Americans Can't Get Ahead by Gwen Richardson and Fade to Black by Woody Campbell
I purchased both of these book in Houston at the National Black Book Festival. Both were interesting and quick reads (I read them both on the plane from Houston to NY).
Gwen Richardson runs CushCity.com. Woody Campbell is an ex-Houston Oiler (pro bowler) that wrote a book aguring why "Black American" is a more approriate name than "African American" to describe the descendants of the enslaved African.
There are a few novels that I'm working on that I would like to finish I will probably bring Junot's book and Ta-Nehisi's book with me to my trip BEA in LA; two books I have not started. |
Soul_sister
Regular Poster
Username: Soul_sister
Post Number: 73
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 10:02 am: |
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Hey y'all,
I am between two books at the moment -- Song Yet Sung by McBride and the Agitator's Daughter by Sheryll Cashin. I also have on hold, Laura Rowland's The Snow Empress and Zora Hurston's Mules and Men -- a different title for each of my many moods.
pls note - Troy sorry I won't be seeing you in LA at BEA - I could not swing the flight - oh well, Lord willing I plan to be in NYC in 09 -- Enjoy - and remember take lots of pictures - there will be many a colored folk out there is lala land |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 664
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 06:40 pm: |
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MY SOUL_SISTER
Don't want to get in the middle of a thread, just want to say hey!
Carey
Carey |
Steve_s
Veteran Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 321
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 11:31 pm: |
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I'm reading "Just Above My Head" by James Baldwin. The characters include Julia Miller, a child evangelist, and Arthur Montana, a young gospel singer. There's also lot to be said about the narrator, Hall Montana, Arthur's brother.
In this podcast, Michael Thomas ("Man Gone Down") begins by talking about the influence of Hall Montana's voice on the nameless narrator of his own novel.
(turn your volume down a tad):
http://podcasts.nytimes.com/podcasts/2007/02/02/03bookupdate.mp3
Hi, Kola. How are you  |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 564
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 23, 2008 - 11:32 pm: |
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I just finished up for review:
*"Never As Good As the First Time" by Mari Walker
(an interesting tale of love gone wrong and a descent into a life of drugs)
*"Bloggers' Delight," a compilation of short stories and poetry ("Smoke" by Diane Dorce and "Toss A Cross" by Torrance Stephens make the book worth buying)
*"Obsessive Branding Disorder," by Lucas Conley (for folks into nonfiction marketing materials who want to know why businesses are so brand happy)
Now I'm going back to Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." I finished about 1/3 of it so far, and absolutely loved what I read. Incredible writing. Thoroughly entertaining. (I had to put it down for a while due to review deadlines and other obligations.) |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 190
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 12:54 am: |
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Steve_s:
What did you think of "Man Gone Down"? I've put it down and picked it up a few times now. It's an unpredictable read, but something about it isn't holding me. The pacing, maybe. Love the voice, the character, the story, though.
Also, I'm not sure if your "Hi, Kola" was directed at me or not, but if it was...This is me:
http://deeshaphilyaw.com/
At least three people on AALBC--Troy, Yvette, and Cynique--can vouch for my identity, lololol! |
Truthdays
Regular Poster
Username: Truthdays
Post Number: 27
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 01:22 am: |
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You're such a liar Kola! Come on. just be yourself. We miss having you post and we know its you. |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2909
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 09:11 am: |
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LOLOL! Yes, I can definitely vouch for FK!
And along those lines, I am currently reading "Just Like a Girl" which includes a short story by Ms. Philyaw herself.
Also I am listening on audiotape to three books:
A book by one of my favorite mystery writers, Elizabeth George, "Careless in Red"
Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"
A fictionalized account of Alfred Kinsey's early days of sex research at Indiana University, "The Inner Circle" by T.C. Boyle
"The Beautiful Struggle" sounds like an intersting read. (Besides being the title of a superb Talib Kweli album! LOL) Maybe it will make a good Fathers' Day "gift" for my husband that I will just have to "borrow" first... LOL |
Steve_s
Veteran Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 322
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 05:21 pm: |
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Hi Ferociouskitty, Sorry to mislead you with my typical act of blundering idiocy, and on your own thread, too!
Someone else has described that book as unpredictable, so I guess it's true. I liked it a lot though. Beside the Baldwin influences, I noticed what seem to be allusions to Invisible Man(?)
Other than that, he's old enough to be my father (or something like that), and I run, but I don't look very much like him, more like the Soldier in the Rain, my man Steve.
Along those lines, I'm also reading "Desolate Angel," a 1979 biography of Jack Kerouac that I found in a used bookstore recently.
It's very nice to meet you.
Steve |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 191
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2008 - 01:05 am: |
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Hi, Steve...We cyber-met/sortakinda many moons ago when I posted here under the unwieldy name MahoganyAnais. ;-) I don't know if we ever dialogued directly, but I recall always appreciating your posts.
I plan to pick up "Man Gone Down" again soon. I originally picked this up because I saw it somewhere and noted that the author had the same name as my ex-husband. Definitely the oddest reason I ever bought a book!
Cheers! |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 192
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2008 - 09:25 am: |
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Yvette:
I've read Gaiman's "Coraline" with my girls. We highly recommend it for your girls--unless they spook easily. ;-)
Just read that "Coraline" was adapted into a movie. Will have to check that out.
Haven't read any of Gaiman's grown-up books.
As far as Father's Day gifts, "The Beautiful Struggle" would be apropos, but I'm telling everyone to pick up Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." Not sure if that's your Mister's cup of tea, though.
I did just read that Chester Himes's classic, "Yesterday Will Make You Cry" has been reissued. You can now read it raw as the author intended. My girl Naysue has the scoop:
http://naysue.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/jane-austen-book-club-movie-the-black-ver sion/
(Scroll down to the book title.) |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2916
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2008 - 07:58 pm: |
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FK, thanks for the tip. We'll check it out! |
Anita
Newbie Poster
Username: Anita
Post Number: 38
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - 12:30 am: |
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The Air Between Us-Deborah Johnson
If the Creek Don't Rise-Rita Williams
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood-Ta-Nehisi Coates
Midnight Mover: The Autobiography of Bobby Womack |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 670
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - 10:30 am: |
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Hello Anita
Thanks for sharing your selection. I found your last choice interesting, not that I've read it but because it's about Bobby Womack. What inspired you to pick that one. I was introduced to the reading world by my wife, she was a ferocious reader. See, I was sort of her sugar-daddy for books....and this one fellow that used to visit here quite often.....named Thumper....used to sort of compete...well....not compete but they couldn't wait to see what the other had to say about a book. So I would read what she read. She wasn't much of an Internet type person so she would always ask me to express her views on the board. Through that experience I was able to determine the differences in writing styles and adopt a view of my own. Of course good writing.....good reading....good storytelling...is basically subjective....just as "good" movies are .....am I right to assume that you liked Bobby Womack's music. I can't help but think of his classic "if you think your lonely now". |
Anita
Regular Poster
Username: Anita
Post Number: 39
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 10:43 pm: |
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Carey:
I chose to read Bobby Womack's autobiography because I love his sound and always wondered about the man behind the music. Also, I wanted to know what kind of man would pen the tune, "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much." (Now I know!!) I am the baby of eight children who jammed to Bobby with my older brothers and sisters. Recently, I purchased the American Gangster soundtrack and rediscovered the song "Across 110th Street." My oldest brother tried to convince me we watched the movie of the same name together when I was a little girl. Of course, I don't remember. So, when a friend sent the link to Bobby's book, I had to read it. Wow! What a journey. There's experience, pain, and insight behind his music. I won't give any of the book away, but he's had a heck of a journey. |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 673
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 11:31 pm: |
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Anita:
Thank you, I knew there was a hook there somewhere. "(Now you Know)" *LOL*. Okay...huh....I am not going to touch that one. You had to bring up the sound track to "Across 110th Street". While I was watching the movie it also took me somewhere. I too have travel to Thailand and I have "stories". I was in the Air Force. Yes sir....that song and that movie.....uuummmph. Again, thanks for the reply....I don't want to know "all" of the book but I gotta know.....did it touch on the "Sam Cooke" issue? |
A_womon
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 2277
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 12:11 am: |
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Wow! I Wish "HE" Didn't Trust Me So Much. Don't tell me Mr. Womack was on the Low Low too? Sheesh, why all the ole skew sexy voiced mens gotta be all the way down'ere all the time?
Oh well..sigh...If you thank you lonely nahhhhhhhh wait until toonight baabbe! heehee! |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 674
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 12:42 am: |
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See there A-womon, your mind was in the wrong place. Let me put you up on a little something....See.....the "he" was his road-dog....his boy....his Ace Coon Boom....and he was winkin' and blinkin' at ol'boys girl.....get it? see he would leave ol'guy back there with his girl and "they" did the......yeah....I guess ol'boy was feeling a little guilty about doing a little plumbing in his partner's honey pot.
So do you see why I didn't want to question Anita about her statement? I kinda thought that maybe....just maybe....she knew something about....ahhh....."honey". But you know what....I may have missed something....maybe ....just maybe she was referencing the book *smile*. See....now I done stuck my foot all up in my mouth and I can't get right......bye!
Carey
Carey |
A_womon
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: A_womon
Post Number: 2278
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 03:51 am: |
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OOOHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ok. My bad. |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 196
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 01:51 pm: |
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Correction: The Chester Himes's re-release ("Yesterday Will Make You Cry") is not new! The re-release was published in 1998 and was the unedited version of the book he published in 1953 entitled, "Cast the First Stone." The re-release is part of Norton's Old School Books series. |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 679
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 02:29 pm: |
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Hello Kitty
I have a few works by Chester Himes. He just steps right into it doesn't he. It's interesting to note that Himes was born in 1909 and his writings speak to the early years of our journey. I can only assume that many may read his works in wonderment yet for some it brings on s sense of rememberance. Yep, thanks for bringing up his name....I think I'll breeze through my copy of "run man run". As you may well know.....one can zip through one of these babies in a few short hours or less.
Carey
Carey |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 198
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 04:24 pm: |
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Carey, this will actually be my first Chester Himes book. I'll read it alongside Donald Goines's prison book "White Man's Justice, Black Man's Grief", which Naysue also blogged about. But at the moment, I'm still finishing up Ta-Nehisi's book. |
Crystal
Veteran Poster
Username: Crystal
Post Number: 408
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 06:52 pm: |
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The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini |
Anita
Regular Poster
Username: Anita
Post Number: 40
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 01:51 am: |
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Carey:
Yes, he touched on the Sam Cooke issue. When I finally closed my mouth after reading what happened after Sam's death, I felt...wow, I can't describe the feeling. I had no idea Sam played such an influential role in his career. |
Steve_s
Veteran Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 323
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 07:33 am: |
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"A fictionalized account of Alfred Kinsey's early days of sex research at Indiana University, 'The Inner Circle' by T.C. Boyle"
Characters in some of James Baldwin's novels (like the one I'm currently reading, "Just Above My Head"), often seem to embody the findings of Alfred Kinsey, which apparently showed that only four percent of American males were exclusively heterosexual, while one twelfth were predominantly homosexual and 37 percent had had at least one homoerotic experience. In that respect, Baldwin may have had more in common with the Beats than he cared to admit. To give one example, Neal Cassady (fictionalized in Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" as "Dean Moriarty"), although basically interested in women, had a sexual relationship with Allen Ginsberg -- out of compassion, according to the Kerouac biography that I'm also reading. In some ways this seems consistent with Baldwin.
Also, the interracial relationships in "Another Country," as compared to the one in "Man Gone Down," seem more symbolic than realistic (and more indebted to Virginia v. Loving than to Frantz Fanon, which might explain the angry responses it elicited from militants like Eldridge Cleaver and LeRoi Jones). "Another Country" (which I admit I never finished) begins as a story about a bisexual black jazz musician who mentally and physically abuses his lover Leona, a white Southerner who goes insane, after which he jumps to his death off the George Washington Bridge. However, the message is not that an interracial relationship will drive you crazy. On the contrary, the story is intended to portend America's fate if it continues to prevent people from connecting irrespective of differences. |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 199
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 11:07 am: |
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Steve...
You're gonna have me going back and re-reading "Another Country" and "Just Above My Head" so we can talk about this!
I used to re-read Baldwin every few years...and then I had kids. So it's been a while. I truly believe my 36 y.o. self will have a totally different read of these books than my 20-something self did. |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 700
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2008 - 10:38 pm: |
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Little, yes I could recommend a few....but listen....if I asked you to recommend a few good CD's I could assume you would look in your stax .....your mind and come up with something that you like.....right?.....without knowing me .....or knowing what I like and why I like it.....your suggestion would probably be something suited for you.....we can assume that,right?.......that's a correct assumtion based on the information.....right....okay. So instead of me asking you all those questions like, what genre....what authors....what style...etc...I'm going to give it to you straight...and why I like them.
Here we go: I'm old school and I don't read "Blue Panties" or any type of book inwhich the subject matter is centered around someones sexual exploits....done.
Although I'm not a writer, in my reading I need good.....tight sentence structure (who would have thought it).....I write like I talk and therefore I can adjust along the way AND in general conversation a person can be interupted and asked a question. However when one is reading a book....those luxuries are gone....tangling modifiers (common in poor writing)can leave me wanting. I need to be taken on a journey....the author should take me some place without using to many metaphors, I don't know anything about your reading background...however when I mention metaphoric writing, certain writers pop in the mind of many....of course one would say Terry McMIllan. It has been my experience and therefore my opinion that certain genre give way to "forgiveness" of some of the writing today. This is debatable but some of the new "street" or "crime" fiction comes to mind. Having said that, I'd be remiss if I didn't say I've enjoyed some Hip-Hop Noir. In fact I will recommend one ....The Dying Ground by Nichelle D. Tramble.
As you may well know, few things are "new" in life. There are new writers but the stories are hard to separate. I say that because there is enough reading to last you a few years in Old School and barely new writings. I mean writers like Tananarive Due....Bernice McFadden...Walter Mosely..Barbara Neely....J. California Cooper...Richard Wright....Langston Huges...Penny Mickelbury, the list goes on and on. All the writers I've listed above have excellent reads. I am not a Baldwin fan although many just love his works. Other "good" writers I don't read......."good" could be judged by "money". Some authors sell many books ....but....I don't read E. Lynn Harris....I don't read, Kimberly Lawson Roby....I've read ZANE, I don't "read" ZANE.
Okay...Caution...if you do start your road to reading on a path of quality writers....the road will narrow as you continue on your journey. The debate on this issue....the debate of this issue is fueled by "money"...."talent"..."publishers"...and a changing of cultures....just to name a few factors in .....good vs GOOD.
So my dear, what's your flavor, do you like a suspenseful read that you can snuggle with late at night?.....Murder?.....Family Drama?....Sista Girl Stole My Man?....Supernatural like Bram Stokerish?....A series like Mouse & Easy.....King Tremain and his boy?.....female protagonists?(Carole Ann Gibson) (Blanche)....how about a low down father that you would just like to sqeeze to death.....huh. Be careful what you ask for....everything good to you ain't good for you!
Carey
Carey |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2917
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2008 - 01:23 pm: |
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Steve, interesting discussion of Kinsey-ian findings and authors... I am fascinated by his work--in particular, *where* and *when* he was able to do it. You just have to know southern Indiana to know how radical that was!
FK, I agree about the desire to re-read stuff that had an impact on me early on. I wish I could do that more, but I am too...I don;t know, afraid, or something. Afraid/paranoid/whatever that I will miss something that I haven't read yet, run out of time, whatever.
Another problem with my reading is that I tend to perseverate a little in my selections. I will discover a topic or an author and then have to readreadread in that vein until I am sick of it! I sometimes have to force myself to break out and try something new when I get in these modes.
That is why I so appreciate these "what are you reading" threads as they give me new ideas and let me hear what other readers think about specific books. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 12300
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2008 - 07:10 pm: |
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What am I reading? The draft for my obituary. I'm half dead. A funny thing happened to me on my way to getting old. A life-time of observing bad eating habits clogged my arteries and I had to be dragged kickin and screamin into the OR for by-pass surgery. The only thing that kept me going was my determination to see how the election came out. Watta drag!  |
Yvettep
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 2923
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2008 - 08:12 pm: |
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CYNIQUE!!!!!!!!!
We have been so worried about you! Really, FK and I were about to send out a search party.
I so hope you GET WELL SOON. (And I feel so guilty for buying youthat burger in CHicago. I should have ordered you a salad instead.) |
Steve_s
Veteran Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 324
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2008 - 11:21 pm: |
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That goes for me too, Cynique. Please take care, read some good books, and get well soon! Love, Steve. |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 704
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 01, 2008 - 11:36 pm: |
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CYN-CYN, I was also wondering what happened to you. I yelled at you a couple of times and when you didn't respond I knew something was up....but obviously no one else did either. Your girls had your back though.....oh yeah...Yvette carried your torch....GET WELL
Oh, since you're sick...does that mean I can't mess with you (:-). I don't know if I can do that...it's hard to teach old dogs new tricks....tell you what... I'll follow Chris's lead.
Carey
Carey |
Steve_s
Veteran Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 325
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 02, 2008 - 12:18 am: |
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FK, Yvette, and Carey,
Thanks for the replies. I finished "Just Above My Head" yesterday. I was thinking about emailing Thumper my thoughts rather than posting something here, since no one's read it recently, however, according to the reading group archives, he read it in 1999, which is a long time ago. |
Ferociouskitty
Veteran Poster
Username: Ferociouskitty
Post Number: 203
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 02, 2008 - 12:19 am: |
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Again, welcome back, Cynique!
Emanuel: What did you think of ...Oscar Wao? |
Carey
Veteran Poster
Username: Carey
Post Number: 707
Registered: 05-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 02, 2008 - 01:40 am: |
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Steve, thank you, your posts are very informative. I have to be cautious when I read them because sometimes I get a little more than I need/want to know. Baldwin fan huh...he's a little to ....ahh....tense....yeah, tense for me. You know what though, I am like someone that posted above. My opinion might be different today. Today I can put a book down if I don't like it. I always thought one should finish a book....not today. Yeah, maybe just maybe...maybe I should give him one more try.
Then again maybe he's "Just Above My Head"....yeah, hey....just might be to strong for this mind. |
Steve_s
Veteran Poster
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 326
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2008 - 12:41 pm: |
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Thanks, Carey. Yes, the title seems to have multiple meanings in the novel, including the one you mention (in my opinion).
Baldwin's biographer David Leeming gave the following explanation for how the title came about:
Sometime in the mid-1970s, in Saint-Paul-de-Venice, David Baldwin had a vivid dream in which he was sitting with his brother on a porch watching a group of friends walking down a nearby road. In the dream he and Jimmy knew all about the lives of these people. "Shall we tell them?" David asked. "No," Jimmy said. "They'll find out." At lunch David described the dream, and Jimmy seemed surprised. He too had had a strange dream, in which the ceiling of his bedroom had moved menacingly down "just above my head." He told David he thought their dreams must have something to do with each other; the people in David's were looking for an author, crowding into his head, demanding to tell their story. It was time for another novel, not No Papers for Mohammed as he had planned, but one that would take its title from Jimmy's dream and the old gospel song.
It's a good thing, too, because he would have had a helluva time matching "No Papers for Muhammed" with a song title and might have done better with something like "Hasaan, You Made the Pants too Long," or "Welcome Back, Abdelkader." |
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