Oprah Book Club® Selection, May 1997: Maya Angelou has had more lives than the proverbial cat, and in The Heart of a Woman she contin...
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Oct 19, 2011
Therese
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(Read 5/2009). This installment of the series was a great read (#4 of 6). Here she is really starting to come into her own as a woman, hence the title. She goes to NYC and does a little of this and a little of that: acting, singing, dancing, and so forth. She begins by still mostly thinking of herself as a performer and using the jobs she gets to pay the bills. At a certain point, her interest in writing is sparked and she joins the Harlem Writers Guild when prompted by friends.
In thi More...
In thi More...
Dec 30, 2009
Judith
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I have loved Miss Angelou's work in the past, but this one didn't click with me. It was a very easy and simple read, which was a nice break after my last toughie- Lolita, but I found myself getting more and more annoyed.
The author has had a wonderful life and has faced many challenges, but this book is very patronizing at times and I couldn't help but feel like I was being judged from start to finish. Yes, I am white, yes it is true that I will never understand-as none of us will More...
The author has had a wonderful life and has faced many challenges, but this book is very patronizing at times and I couldn't help but feel like I was being judged from start to finish. Yes, I am white, yes it is true that I will never understand-as none of us will More...
Jul 12, 2011
Tonya
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Mar 25, 2011
Catherine
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This was a fast read--short, choppy sentences speed you through the story. And it was fascinating to learn about Maya Angelou's early career--about which I knew almost nothing. For example, she appears in a Jean Genet play, The Blacks, in NYC ca. 1960 with a cast that included Cicely Tyson, Lou Gossett, and James Earl Jones.
That said, I also found the book mildly irritating. She engages in some spectacularly bad judgment on many occasions--not sure what we're supposed to make of tha More...
That said, I also found the book mildly irritating. She engages in some spectacularly bad judgment on many occasions--not sure what we're supposed to make of tha More...
Apr 14, 2008
Laila
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I really didn't like this book, which surprised me since I remember really liking "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Her life is interesting, no doubt, but I found the book to be trite, unnatural and self-indulgent. The dialogue and general intereactions between characters was not convincing, which I find disturbing considering that this is not a work of fiction.
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May 31, 2011
Mgh
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I just finished reading The Heart of a Woman as I am also reading Daughters of Fortune, which I bought in England. I must say I am liking it more than the Heart of a Woman. However, The Heart of the Women has characters in it, which I think are even more real than the people we have living around us. The book incorporates so many feelings and keeps on shifting them, but it is yet extremely understanding.In The Heart of a Woman Maya Angelou leaves California with her son, Guy, to go to New York.
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Oct 31, 2009
Donna
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The third autobiographical book in a series about her life (and what an extraordinary life she has lead). In the early 1960s, Angelou briefly lived with South African freedom fighter Vusumzi Make; she moved with him and her son Guy to Cairo, Egypt, where she became an associate editor at the weekly newspaper The Arab Observer. In 1962, her relationship with Make ended, and she and Guy moved to Ghana. She became an assistant administrator and instructor at the University of Ghana's School of Musi
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Jul 27, 2011
(21.03.1994), Here’s another interesting perspective by an interesting woman. Here’s another example of what integrity can accomplish. At what point (age) must beliefs be established in order to help one stand firm? Is integrity learned? What’s the difference between integrity and stubbornness? Which is most effective, brainwashing a child or teaching by action & example? Brainwashing by example!
Ms Angelou is a good study of the active life. One can become truly involved with a wish. I More...
Ms Angelou is a good study of the active life. One can become truly involved with a wish. I More...
Aug 19, 2011
Ronald
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The fourth of Angelou's series of autobiographical books. In this one her marriage to an African black rights activist from South Africa introduces Maya and her son Guy to a whole new arena in the struggle for the recognition of African humanity. Maya is exposed to African traditions while struggling with internal conflicts regarding male-female relations and being the mother of an African American son as he enters adulthood. I first read this book in 1993 after being impressed by her poetry rea
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May 02, 2010
Arlene
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This fourth volume of Maya Angelou's personal narrative reveals interesting and unique life experiences comparable to, but definitely beyond, her young life as told in volume one. Because of Maya's involvement in the early civil rights movement of the late 50's, and the start of the colonial African movement for independence -- and her personal relationships with the "big" people of those movements, this book would be a good read for the millenial generation. There is nothing like he
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Jan 19, 2011
Lesley
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This is the fourth in the series of autobiographies by Maya Angelou, one time stripper, dancer, singer, actress and letterly American poet laureate. I have read the first three and look forward to reading the fifth and final episode. Angelou is frank about her mistakes and her successes and how she rose from being a child brought up in the American south during the days when black people and white people lived entirely separate lives. In this volume, she has started to find her feet as a write
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Sep 25, 2009
Lynn
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I literally started and kept reading. Angelou is one courageous, outrageous woman. And this portion of her autobiography covers the late 50's and early 60's, a tumultuous time in this country with a great deal of similarity to the unrest we're currently living through, though the presenting issues seem different. (I'm not so sure they are, and the characters and mindsets seem the same to me.) For anyone who's interested in a creative life lived at full throttle, and/or who has questions about
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Jul 14, 2010
Rosemary
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now having read a bit of Maya Angelou, I find her writing a bit over-rated. I was not as impressed as I think she'd want her reader to be. There were some gossipy Hollywood details that were interesting; however, I felt her book rambled on a bit. There were a handful of details that caused me to cringe and think, T.M.I.
I found the bits of civil rights history woven through her story fascinating though. Had I remained in Utah all my life, I would have thought her very racist; howe More...
I found the bits of civil rights history woven through her story fascinating though. Had I remained in Utah all my life, I would have thought her very racist; howe More...
Apr 23, 2008
Nana
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Feb 25, 2009
Jennifer
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This was the fourth installment of Maya Angelou's autobiographical series. I did not enjoy this one as much as the previous installments, although I did still like it.
I think this one was a little more uncomfortable to read, because it comes off as more of an indictment against all whites. I understand that it was a turbulent time period and there was a lot of rampant racism in both obvious and more subtly imbedded forms.
It was also a little more frustrating to read abou More...
I think this one was a little more uncomfortable to read, because it comes off as more of an indictment against all whites. I understand that it was a turbulent time period and there was a lot of rampant racism in both obvious and more subtly imbedded forms.
It was also a little more frustrating to read abou More...
May 18, 2011
Steph
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A beautiful memoir by a talented, remarkable woman. The Heart of a Woman provided me with a vivid revelation of the depth of spirit of African Americans, much more so than any other work I've read thus far. What I appreciated most was not only being able to recognize ( perhaps for the first time) the breadth of distance that slavery, bigotry, and hatred have created amongst whites and blacks, but also recognizing the commonality of the human spirit which we all share; a love of family, passion,
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Jan 23, 2011
Diane
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I really wanted to like this book. Maya Angelou is a fascinating woman but she comes across as self-absorbed and petty in this memoir. There was a lot more information about her sex life than I needed. I really wanted to know more about the civil rights movement and some of the terrific people that she knew in the 1950's and 1960's. She writes some lovely poetry but the writing here was very flat and chock-full of dull cliches. I was disappointed.
Jul 29, 2010
Laura
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I really enjoyed reading about Angelou's life. I had no idea how much she did for the civil rights movement or that she was such a renaissance woman. Reading about her struggles as a black American really gave me perspective on their fight. However, the "blue-eyed devil" bits seemed a little unfair to me, but then again, I won't ever fully understand the pain the black community has suffered.
I found her experience as the wife of a South African freedom fighter fa More...
I found her experience as the wife of a South African freedom fighter fa More...
Feb 08, 2010
Jsarno49
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In this personal narrative, Maya Angelou relates her life during the 60s when she entertained Billie Holliday, served as a coordinator for SCLC, married a South African freedom fighter, and lived in New York, London, and Egypt, all the time raising a teenaged son. As fascinating as her life was, her strength of character and intelligence is inspirational. What a strong and remarkable woman! This is a good read written by a fine writer.
Mar 15, 2009
Karen L.
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I am not the Oprah book Club kind of reader, but I am the discount book store kind of shopper. Picked this up cheap and enjoyed it. I've enjoyed a few of her poems and heard she is quite an accomplished woman. She really is quite an amazing lady. I did not agree with all her lifestyle choices, but she gets my praise when it comes to guts! This was an interesting read, but not good enough to good enough to ever read again.
Aug 04, 2009
Christina
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This book gave me a better insight into the life of this poet. This book looks at a 10 year period during which Maya works as a nightclub singer to raise money to support herself and her young son, marries and then divorces a South African freedom fighter, becomes involved in the civil rights movement, and establishes her writing voice. This is a very complex and fascinating writer.
Jan 29, 2011
Carrie
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I've said it before, but I really love the way that Maya Angelou writes. She's really an amazing woman and has been through so much, and yet she never once sounds whiny or like she's preaching. After the amazing life she's lead, I'd be willing to let her become arrogant and holier-than-thou...but she still manages to come off as really down-to-earth. And so funny!
There was a whole lot to love about this story - all the run ins with famous people like Billie Holliday and Martin Luthe More...
There was a whole lot to love about this story - all the run ins with famous people like Billie Holliday and Martin Luthe More...
Sep 19, 2011
Chevonne
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Loved this book! The way the story read was good. It kept me reading and evoked reactions out of me with each new piece of information and with each story. I had a few laugh out loud moments and points where I was so shocked that I had to turn the page back to relive the movie playing in my head from the beginning
Jul 05, 2010
Dawn
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This book covers the period of Ms. Angelou's life in the late fifties, early sixties. The historical aspects are amazing and the people she meets and works with are people that in time become major figures in their own right. At times the writing style was difficult to read, but overall the book was interesting
Jun 27, 2011
Rachel
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Maya living in New York and becoming a part of the Civil Rights movement, continuing her singing and acting careers and then, suddenly sidetracked by yet another romance. Which leads her to Africa! I continue to be awed by her strength, determination and ability to bounce back from every set-back.
Feb 22, 2010
Not as dark as the first autobiography, but almost. It's interesting to get to know the person who has generated some very insightful and wise sayings. But, it's not a feel-good experience doing so. I guess it should have been more obvious to me that one cannot triumph without travail.
Apr 20, 2009
Havilah
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I love this woman! She's fabulous and strong and powerful. I really enjoy her stories and reading about the life that she's lead. We should all have the confidence and power that she does. This is a very inspirational book and all my ladies should read it.
Mar 25, 2010
Mrs. Revier
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What a life she has led! very historical. i eenjoy her so much. what a lady! Patrice Roth gave this book to me when i graduated with my Master's degree. And later we went to see Ms. Angelou speak at Augie. Awesome!
Aug 04, 2011
I like Angelou's memoir work, as it give much insight into the complexities of her life, her loves, her social consciousness, her connections to Mother Africa, and to her family here and there.
Sep 20, 2010
Read by ACRL Member of the Week Michelle Dartis. Learn more about Michelle on the ACRL Insider blog.
