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Nowhere Is a Place

by Bernice L. McFadden (Goodreads Author)

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 483 ratings · 43 reviews

Bernice L. McFadden, whom the novelist Adriana Trigiani calls �a master storyteller,� has crafted a touching novel about a young woman uncovering a surprising family history.

Her spectacular debut novel, Sugar, established Bernice L. McFadden as a writer to watch in African-American literary fiction. In Nowhere Is a Place, she spins a fully realized and memorable portrait...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published February 2nd 2006 by Dutton Adult (first published February 1st 2006)

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The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

Black Caucus of the ALA Award Winners - Fiction

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May 01, 2013 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

A beautifully written story about a mother and a daughter, who were not close, who rebuild a relationship during a road trip to a family reunion. There are many questions that Sherry and Dumpling have for each other but have never asked. Sherry also writes a book about her family history. I loved this book and how it visits the pain and suffering of the past and how the family has continued to work through the difficult times and persevered. The road trip not only helps Sherry answer her questio...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sherry and her mother, Dumpling, have never had a very close relationship. In an attempt to get some answers and find out who she really is and where she comes from, Sherry suggests a road-trip with Dumpling. As they drive cross-country, Dumpling shares the family history back four generations and Sherry brings it to life in novel form. The story comes to life for us, the readers, in small chunks. We read about Sherry and Dumpling, then we read about Lou, the little American Indian girl sold int...more

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Apr 21, 2013 OOSA rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Past Holds the Key

Sherry and her mother Dumpling have never had the best relationship. As the middle child, Sherry has never received a lot of her mother’s attention or affection. After another failed romantic relationship, Sherry begins to realize that the key to her unhappiness lies in the past. So she sets out on a road trip with her mother to discuss the past and unlock the demons that have plagued their relationship for years.

Alternating between the present and the past, McFadden skill...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Mocha Girl rated it 4 of 5 stars

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
A Journey Straight To The Heart..., February 20, 2006

Bernice L. McFadden's latest release, Nowhere Is A Place, centers on a journey of discovery that spans across country, generations, and time. No nonsense, down-to-earth Dumpling and her distant, bohemian daughter, Sherry, have a long history of misunderstanding and miscommunication. So when Sherry unexpectedly suggests a road trip from Paradise, Nevada to a family reunion in Sanderville, Georg...more
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
A Journey Straight To The Heart..., February 20, 2006

Bernice L. McFadden's latest release, Nowhere Is A Place, centers on a journey of discovery that spans across country, generations, and time. No nonsense, down-to-earth Dumpling and her distant, bohemian daughter, Sherry, have a long history of misunderstanding and miscommunication. So when Sherry unexpectedly suggests a road trip from Paradise, Nevada to a family reunion in Sanderville, Georgia, both readers and Dumpling are in store for an eye-opening experience where family secrets are exposed after a lifetime of suppression.

Unbeknownst to Dumpling, Sherry plans to use the time to delve into the family history to find a source of her lifelong angst stemming from an unwarranted slap in the face. A slap received from her mother years before as she was sitting innocently in her Great Uncle Vonnie's lap. Suspecting Dumpling may be a reluctant participant, Sherry cleverly begins penning a hypothetical story (of their family history) in a notebook and asks Dumpling for comments and tests her reactions at the conclusion of each passage.

Sherry's story-within-a-story of their ancestors is equally (if not more so) engaging than the road trip itself. Sherry begins with the capture and enslavement of their oldest known matriarch, Nayeli (renamed Lou after the slave master's deceased beloved family dog) from her Indian village into the American slave trade. As they travel from city to city (which ironically are symbolic to their family history), Sherry continues to write more segments that involve the bewitching Suce (Dumpling's grandmother), the conniving vamp, Lillie (Dumpling's mother), and many other notable relatives. These stories stimulate a long overdue dialogue between mother and daughter bridging their emotional gap and allowing them to bond in ways that have always eluded them. As they near their destination and as the family genealogy progresses into modern day, Sherry carefully and skillfully forces Dumpling to acknowledge and address a dark, dirty family secret.

McFadden's writing is as sharp as it has always been complete with her layered storytelling style, character depth and her resplendent ability to "take you there." The horrors, ugliness and heartbreaking aspects of slavery are not spared and the author pulls on the reader's emotions through these difficult, dark, and violent episodes; however, it balances well with her depiction of the cleverness, courage, sacrifices and ingenuity the Lessing family ancestors embodied to overcome it. After learning their history, it is no doubt that these women have inherited strength and wisdom to survive anything, even the secret Sherry is withholding from Dumpling. (less)

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Jul 01, 2011 Jodie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

In this novel two narratives are used to tell us the stories of a Southern slave family. Straight away I knew this would not be as good as Mudbound (so I recommend for a truly touching portrayal of share cropping that would be the one to read).

Okay, so, there is a present day narrative between Sherry and her mother Dumpling as they travel across the country to participate in a family reunion that neither have been to for many many years. These two have a very fractured relationship, Sherry is a...more

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Jul 15, 2011 J rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: avid-reader-recommendations, read-in-2011

(FROM JACKET)Nothing can mend a broken heart quite like family.
Sherry has struggled all her life to understand who she is, where she comes from, and, most important, why her mother slapped her cheek one summer afternoon. The incident has haunted Sherry, and it causes her to dig into her family's past. Like many family histories, it is fractured and stubbornly reluctant to reveal its secrets; but Sherry is determined to know the full story. In just a few day's time her extended family will gather...more

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Dec 23, 2009 Izetta Autumn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: african-american

My star rating does not accurately capture how much I enjoyed this book - and admire the author, Bernice L. McFadden. I think my review will be more helpful than the actual star rating.

The novel opens on the story of Sherry, who has fled an abusive relationship, and settled happily in Mexico, with a new love Falcon, with whom she is expecting her first child. Sherry, reluctant to share her new love or the fact that she is pregnant, decides to embark upon a cross country trip with her mother to...more My star rating does not accurately capture how much I enjoyed this book - and admire the author, Bernice L. McFadden. I think my review will be more helpful than the actual star rating.

The novel opens on the story of Sherry, who has fled an abusive relationship, and settled happily in Mexico, with a new love Falcon, with whom she is expecting her first child. Sherry, reluctant to share her new love or the fact that she is pregnant, decides to embark upon a cross country trip with her mother to better understand an incident in which her mother slapped her as a child.

McFadden masterfully draws out the relationship between mother and daughter, mainly by writing from one perspective at a time, using flashbacks and personal narrative to propel the story forward. We enter the novel by way of Sherry, the middle child of a family of five, who according to her mother has always been "strange." We learn that to Dumpling, being "strange," means that Sherry drinks green tea, has lived a somewhat less than fully anchored life, has friends throughout the country, and won't eat fast food. Sherry centers us, because it is her perspective that opens the novel, we learn of how she left the abusive relationship she was in, the circumstances surrounding how the relationship ended, and what she perceived to be a lack of support and care from her mother - which has led to her reluctance to share her rebuilt life with Dumpling.

Early in the novel, McFadden alternates between Sherry and Dumplaing as they each tell their story, as they drive across the country together, headed to their family reunion in Sandersville, Georgia. McFadden pairs the personal narratives of Sherry and Dumpling with the story of how Sherry's family came to call Sandersville its ancestral home. This technique, for the most part, works extremely well. As a reader, I had a greater sense of the family dynamics informing Dumpling's own parenting as the novel progressed. McFadden I think is also spot on in her portrayal of a family with deep secrets and a strong reticience to ever speak about or examine the past - a past filled with sacrifice and pain.

There are, however, two ways in which this technique begins to falter. First, strictly on an aesthetic level, the switch between italics (the thoughts and narrative of Sherry and Dumpling) and regular type-set print (as the history of the family unfolds)is distracting. It is a superficial concern, but the differentiation in type-set becomes tiring to the eyes - and seems unnecessary. While as a device, it is quite effective, allowing the reader to more completely understand Dumpling, as the novel progresses, we get fewer and fewer opportunities to hear from either Sherry or Dumpling. The story becomes engulfed in the narration of the past, without any of the context of how the past impacted future generations, which grounds the beginning of the novel so well.

Toward the end of the novel, as the pieces of the puzzle come together, I think McFadden expertly poses (and then answers) the question: What if? The plot of her novel is imaginative and deeply creative. While parts of this last too long without sufficient suspense, McFadden succeeds beautifully in drawing out the personalities, dynamics between the enslaved people in Sandersville, and the tough choices that Black people have made to survive. McFadden also knows her history - she carefully includes the history of American Indians who were enslaved in the Americas - although I have questions about her timeline as I've always understood that enslavement of American Indians tended to happen up to the late 18th century.

What I like is that McFadden doesn't present us with characters who just endure. Instead, the enslaved people in her novel are full characters, trying to make a way and a life. They are proactive, determined, and brave. McFadden tells a story of bravery, that I think so many African-Americans have been eager to hear or imagine - Black people taking there destiny, the land that they worked.

As a reader, I was also struck by McFadden's compassionate rendering of a character who could be considered a monster. I'm ambivalent about the portrayal - and McFadden's decision to link a character's moral deficiency to a physical anomaly. That is in large part why I have given the novel 3.5 stars and not 4. I think disability studies and many writers, have ad naseum discussed the ways in which using physical disability to signify moral turpitude (or the reason for a character's bad behavior) is both offensive to people with disabilities, and also serves as a short cut for the writer - i.e. this person is emotionally deformed because they are so grotesque, so now they will do a bad thing, without necessarily building the full character up or showing the actual rejection the character purports to have endured. So I'm still trying to tease out how I feel about the depiction of this particular character and his relationship with the other womyn in the novel.

It's not clear to me, given all the family had survived, why they kept the secret. Who was being protected? Why was Suce so sure it could not have been? For such well realized characters, the lack of explanation or illumination in this particular arena, seems like a misstep.

Overall I really enjoyed this novel and can't wait to read more by McFadden. I'm also thinking of suggesting this novel for a book club.(less)

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May 08, 2013 Robin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bernice McFadden never disappoints this reader! This multi generational novel begins with a young woman searching for answers and to discover her roots and ends with a healed relationship with her Mother. I have to say while reading this novel, I cried because Bernice McFadden brought to life a terrible time in American history, slavery. Her narrative rang so true, I felt ashamed at how my ancestors could have ever found anyone a procession rather than a person. With that being said, all of her...more

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May 25, 2009 Taya Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Bernice McFadden "is" a masterful story teller.

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Sep 30, 2012 Rosalind rated it 3 of 5 stars

This would not rank as one of my favorite Bernice McFadden novels, but I still enjoyed it. I don't think I will remember anything about it though. I did like the back story about the slaves; that was really interesting. I tend to like how she treats historical events and brings to life those things from our past that some would like to see left in the past. I also like how she made it relevant to what was going on with Sherry and Dumpling. But, and I can't place my finger on the reason, this jus...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Tracy Darity rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: tracy-s-book-club

Nowhere Is A Place, by Bernice McFadden, is the first novel by this author that I am unsure what to do with. Ms. McFadden is an awesome writer and her narratives are a God given blessing. Nowhere Is A Place is two stories woven into one. The first story is about Sherry and her mother, Dumpling. The second story is the history of their ancestors. It is the second story that is the most powerful, and at times left me annoyed by the interruption of the first. For this reason, I am going to give Now...more Nowhere Is A Place, by Bernice McFadden, is the first novel by this author that I am unsure what to do with. Ms. McFadden is an awesome writer and her narratives are a God given blessing. Nowhere Is A Place is two stories woven into one. The first story is about Sherry and her mother, Dumpling. The second story is the history of their ancestors. It is the second story that is the most powerful, and at times left me annoyed by the interruption of the first. For this reason, I am going to give Nowhere Is A Place a rating of 3.5 stars.

The story opens up with Sherry vacationing in Santa Rey Obius, Mexico, where she meets and falls in love with Jazz Pianist, Edison Powell. Their eight-year relationship is a tumultuous one, and we soon learn that Sherry doesn’t have much luck with love. Her Bohemian life-style one could say plays a part. But more so, the unresolved issues between mother and daughter are the biggest issue. After a bad break-up with Edison, Sherry retreats to Mexico and falls in love with the young son of the local mechanic. Love opens its arms for her once again but this time it leaves a present, she is now pregnant. At this point I am convinced that the book will be about Sherry, her new man, and how she will build a better relationship with her child than her mother did with her. That fantasy was only in my mind, but I admit, the element of surprise is a good thing.

Her pregnancy does move something within her, but it is to strengthen her relationship with Dumpling. The family has an upcoming family reunion in Georgia and Sherry decides there is no better way to get to know someone than a cross-country road trip. She convinces her mother to come along and this is where the book took a sharp left. During their journey, Sherry informs Dumpling she wants to write a book about the stories she’s heard through years of their family history. Dumpling is hesitant, but eventually agrees. The story then rotates between Sherry and Dumpling’s road escapades and moments of bonding, to Dumpling reading what Sherry has written from the stories Dumpling has shared with her.

The retelling of the family history; their Indian heritage, ancestors sold into slavery, the sexual molestation that has kept Dumpling away from her hometown for decades, take on a life of its own and is more of what I love from Bernice McFadden. At times the reader spends so much time with Lou, Buena, Brother, Suce, and the other cast of characters from the past that it seems almost an intrusion when Sherry and Dumpling reappear.

At the end of the book, Sherry has accomplished what she set out to do, which was to mend fences with Dumpling so her unborn child could have a chance at a relationship with her grandmother. But she also uncovers the secret behind a vicious slap across the face when Dumpling caught her sitting on her Uncle Vonnie’s lap as a child. She never tells Dumpling that she is pregnant but our elders are wise and pregnancy is one of those things that people just seem to know.

Nowhere Is A Place was inspired by Ms. McFadden’s own desire to search her family history. True supporters of her work will, like me, find a way to love this piece with the same spirit as we have those before it, and the ones to come. Still looking forward to reading her latest release, Glorious, which I hear is awesome.

Tracy L. Darity is the author of two novels, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not! and Love…Like Snow In Florida on a Hot Summer Day. For more information, please visit www.TracyLDarity.com/Bookshtm.

(less)

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Mar 26, 2008 Laya White rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: poc-books, fiction, poc-50-book-challenge

Thoroughly engrossing and difficult to put down, Nowhere is a Place is a story of family and forgiveness. In the present, Sherry and her mother Dumpling are travelling cross country back to the small Georgia town where Dumpling was raised for a family reunion. Between them lie years of misunderstandings and divergent beliefs and lives. Sherry has finally found peace in new love, and suggests the trip as a way to find peace with her mother as well.

Sherry has decided to write a book about their an...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book, the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars was I didn't like Vonnie's character & what he did.

It was really interesting to see the progression of slavery to acceptance of African American people and all those affected. I also really enoyed the progression of Lou & her story, from a small Indian slave all the way to what her family became & how much it grew. I would recommend this book.

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Aug 03, 2011 Chandra Griffin added it

As we speak I am reserving copies of everything she has ever written. This is not even the book she won awards for and I am in awe! I love this book. The way the stories were interwoven between past and present, the mentalities of slaves then and Aftrican Americans now, and the actual stories come together to create an awe inspiring experience. I highly HIGHLY recommend this one!

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May 08, 2013 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recently read this book and thought it was a provocatively wonderful book that I should have read before now. It was the May assigned book for my book club and we went over time on this one. It had everything, covered over 3-4 generations, and offer a healthy dosage of humor throughout the narrative that have you shaking your head at the ills of slavery.

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Sep 21, 2012 Ilaniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love McFadden's writing style--she uses words in a beautiful way. This book reads deceptively easily. It's a painful story that encompasses a family history of slavery, abuse, and poverty across four generations. Nonetheless there is joy, love, and brilliant audacity, even in the face of the numerous tragedies. Definitely recommended.

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Feb 25, 2010 CaShawn rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished this one over the weekend and it was wonderful! It was not at all what I expected, and that was a very good thing. It took me down my favorite road of families, African-American history, secrets and spirits. I couldn't put it down and I will miss these characters very much.

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Feb 02, 2013 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have loved all of Bernice McFadden's books. This one is no exception. The story goes back and forth between present day and slavery times(describing how their family came to be). Sad, funny, and true. It explores the relationships between family, mothers and daughters, and the secrets they keep.

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Jan 15, 2009 Deborah rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book is two stories intertwined. One takes place in the days of slavery following the fortunes and misfortunes of a single family and the other is their current family returning to a family reunion. Wonderful characters and great story line. Please read.

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Jul 31, 2011 Martine rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was my first book of yours Bernice, and I was amazed at your story telling/history lesson that I had to read any other books you'd written. It was beautifully written and I was engrossed. This story led me to Sugar!

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Aug 11, 2011 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Today, many are trying to discover their roots. This book provides an example of what may have been. Based on historical stories, it all seems plausible. I thought the title is misleading and the end of the book a little weak; but the historical story line very intriguing.

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Feb 09, 2013 Donna Bennett rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story within a story, guiding you from today into the past with great smoothness. A wonderful story of family, secrets and history. A slap received from her mother years before has haunted Sherry and it causes her to dig into her family’s past. The story echoes of Toni Morrison's "Beloved", where she sacrificed her child. But, in this case Lou did it to save the other (twin). I never really even thought about the fact that Native Americans were part of slavery as well. The writing in this no...more

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Jan 14, 2009 Smiley rated it 5 of 5 stars

im loving this book because i feel like i can relate to the relationship the author has with her mother and the story of Lou is sad,but every time theres more to the story i can't put the book down!

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Mar 01, 2013 Nola Summers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Outstanding story, writing that just pulls you in and doesn't let you go. I am fast becoming a Bernice L. McFadden fan.

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May 15, 2012 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another successful book with strong characters and flowing prose by McFadden. I love this author's writing.

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Nov 12, 2012 Leatha Writes rated it 5 of 5 stars

As usual I am in awe of Bernice McFadden story telling style. I loved this book.

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Jan 16, 2010 Adriana rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Nowhere Is a Place by Bernice L. McFadden, Sherry and her mother Dumpling haven’t been close for years. However, when Sherry calls up and asks Dumpling to drive cross-country with her to the family reunion, Dumpling is glad, but also a little bit perplexed. During the trip, they retell their family history from Native-American Lou to former slave Suce to wild and free Lillie. As the women share their relatives’ struggles, hopes, sorrows, and secrets, they begin to understand their past, their...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Bethy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Had me hooked from the first few lines. Revived my love for fiction writing. So well written, amazing ability to make the words come alive, create amazing imagery and really draw me in to want to keep reading. This is my first book of McFadden I have read. Definitely will be reading the rest of her books.

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Apr 26, 2013 Rachel Slaiman added it · review of another edition

It was a book that was not easy to follow, but understood where the author was going with the story.

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Apr 01, 2011 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-books

Book was very well written. Characters were believable and brilliantly presented.

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