The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Edition
1 journaler for this copy...
Absolutely one of the best books I read this year.
he Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is the autobiography of James McBride; it is also a memoir for his mother. The chapters alternate between James McBride's descriptions of his early life, and first-person accounts of his mother's life, mostly before James McBride was born. The novel depicts the conflicting emotions that James endures as he struggles to discover who he truly is, as his mother narrates the hardships that she had to overcome to educate her children. The novel also depicts the emotional struggle James has with uncovering his true identity only through discovering his mother's past.
Ruth had a very depressed childhood in Suffolk, Virginia. Her father owned Shilsky's Grocery Store. He made her and her brother Sam work hard before and after school. They did their homework at the store when there were no customers at the counter. Ruth's father sexually abused her as a child. He did not let her be friends with Gentiles. Ruth had a secret friend, Frances. They hung out at school and their homes secretly. Ruth had a black boyfriend named Peter. Segregation was in action in 1930s, 40s, and 50s so they had to meet secretly. Ruth got pregnant with Peter; soon her mom discovered it and sent her to live with her aunt in New York.
Her Aunt Betsy helped Ruth get an abortion; Aunt Mary was mean but she gave Ruth a job in her leather factory where Ruth met a black man Andrew Dennis McBride. They fell in love, married, and had eight children. Andrew McBride died of lung cancer. James McBride is the son of Andrew McBride. Later, Ruth remarried another black man, Hunter Jordan, and had four more children. James McBride grew up in a family of 12 siblings, a black stepfather, and a mother whose past was a mystery until he went out and discovered it for himself.
James decided to look into his mother's past in order to have an easy emotional transition into his future. He had always been confused about his racial identity, which lead to outrageous behavior. He ended up failing out of school, reverting to the streets, and doing all kinds of unruly things. His supportive family put him in check, and he was able to find music and activities that reformed his life and distracted him from his confusion and his mom's weeping.
he Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother is the autobiography of James McBride; it is also a memoir for his mother. The chapters alternate between James McBride's descriptions of his early life, and first-person accounts of his mother's life, mostly before James McBride was born. The novel depicts the conflicting emotions that James endures as he struggles to discover who he truly is, as his mother narrates the hardships that she had to overcome to educate her children. The novel also depicts the emotional struggle James has with uncovering his true identity only through discovering his mother's past.
Ruth had a very depressed childhood in Suffolk, Virginia. Her father owned Shilsky's Grocery Store. He made her and her brother Sam work hard before and after school. They did their homework at the store when there were no customers at the counter. Ruth's father sexually abused her as a child. He did not let her be friends with Gentiles. Ruth had a secret friend, Frances. They hung out at school and their homes secretly. Ruth had a black boyfriend named Peter. Segregation was in action in 1930s, 40s, and 50s so they had to meet secretly. Ruth got pregnant with Peter; soon her mom discovered it and sent her to live with her aunt in New York.
Her Aunt Betsy helped Ruth get an abortion; Aunt Mary was mean but she gave Ruth a job in her leather factory where Ruth met a black man Andrew Dennis McBride. They fell in love, married, and had eight children. Andrew McBride died of lung cancer. James McBride is the son of Andrew McBride. Later, Ruth remarried another black man, Hunter Jordan, and had four more children. James McBride grew up in a family of 12 siblings, a black stepfather, and a mother whose past was a mystery until he went out and discovered it for himself.
James decided to look into his mother's past in order to have an easy emotional transition into his future. He had always been confused about his racial identity, which lead to outrageous behavior. He ended up failing out of school, reverting to the streets, and doing all kinds of unruly things. His supportive family put him in check, and he was able to find music and activities that reformed his life and distracted him from his confusion and his mom's weeping.
