Capturing all the rueful irony and racial ambivalence of small-town Mississippi in the late 1950s, Melinda Haynes' celebrated novel is a wholl... read full description
reviews
Oct 23, 2008
Bruce
rated it: 
I’m feeling guilty. I’m feeling guilty about reviewing Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes. I’m feeling guilty, first, because I didn’t read the whole book, finishing only about the first third. I rarely don’t finish books, driven not only by an inner compulsion to complete what I’ve begun but also by the conviction that the author deserves his or her work to be read in its entirety before judgment is passed, and in this case I have failed Haynes. I feel guilty, second, for having the temerity
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Sep 07, 2008
Pari
rated it:
For some reason you want to keep reading it. Not because you're hoping for an explanation or a story or a plot. But because you want to know what in the world possessed the author to write a book that makes no sense.
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Mar 05, 2008
Heather
rated it:
It makes me sad that this is the only book in probably the last 20+ years that I just put down and never finished. I just absolutely could not get into it. Boring!
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 10, 2008
Dianna
rated it: 
Melinda Haynes has taken on a Herculean task, crafting a multicharacter story that reaches across racial barriers to encompass an entire community. She doesn't shy away from the ugliness in life--bigotry of every stripe, mean-spiritedness, betrayal, thoughtless cruelty, and death--but what interests her is the potential of the human heart to find space within itself for the most unexpected people. With its strong, lyrical language and fully realized characters, Mother of Pearl is a fine novel an
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Jan 26, 2009
Amanda B.
rated it: 
This book I came upon in advisory, randomly. I picked it up, saw it was in the Oprah Book Club and also saw that it took place in the South while segregation was still occurring, which interested me. After reading this book, I do not regret picking it up because it has such an interesting story of these people who are basically trying to find themselves. Haynes uses a lot of Character Nyms, imagery, and characterizations to develop the novel in a way that is classic. The story is mainly about a
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Aug 25, 2011
Although I’m not done with this book yet, I must admit it is sort of magical in how at first you think you’re going to be bored senseless with it and then it sort of takes hold of you. I admit the descriptive language is sometimes lost on me, especially when Hayne’s describes animals and plants I’ve never seen before. While there are a lot of characters and a lot of things going on, I think the story is told in an episodic manner that makes it easier to digest. My favorite character, by far, is
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Feb 04, 2012
Mary
rated it:
I'm going to review "Mother of Pearl" by Melinda Haynes which I gave 5 * (and would of given 5 more!)
I'm going to begin my review by quoting from some of the jacket blurbs, to give you a sense of how well received this first time novelist was with her beautiful piece of work.
From the Chicago Tribune: "Remarkable." From The Plain Dealer in Cleveland: "Haynes is the real thing, a true artist, a genuine writer, and in this book, at least, a genius....MOTHER OF More...
I'm going to begin my review by quoting from some of the jacket blurbs, to give you a sense of how well received this first time novelist was with her beautiful piece of work.
From the Chicago Tribune: "Remarkable." From The Plain Dealer in Cleveland: "Haynes is the real thing, a true artist, a genuine writer, and in this book, at least, a genius....MOTHER OF More...
Oct 28, 2011
Brian
rated it:
Melinda Haynes' Mother of Pearl, moving like a sailing vessel, tacking to catch somewhat random winds, frequently grinding to a halt in the calms, nevertheless followed a true course to its climax. Stories guided by a tragic plot are not all that common, but this one for all its excesses and failings did arrive at its destination, following the wake of such works as Romeo and Juliet. The classic battle between Montagues and Capulets became the South's racial conflict of the 1950's; star-cross
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Aug 21, 2011
Skyla
rated it: 
Wow, I almost kept a journal while I was reading this book just to keep track of my thoughts about it. I generally do not like to read "Oprah" books but I really found this book full of great characters that you wanted to know more about. It took me about 50-60 pages to really get into it and once I was I didn't want to put it down.
I felt so awful for the majority of the characters and the issues they were dealing with (don't want to give anything away till Katie reads it! More...
I felt so awful for the majority of the characters and the issues they were dealing with (don't want to give anything away till Katie reads it! More...
Dec 11, 2009
Marsia
rated it:
Grrrrr! I started a new virtual bookshelf for this book and must say I truly despise the way the Goodreads program automatically changed--incorrectly and for the worse--what I typed in the blank. There is no reason whatever for our book categories to be automatically hyphenated, nor for changing all capital letters to lowercase. For example, I put a capital "S" in the word "South" in this category for good reason; the South in the United States is always capitalized to distin
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Sep 09, 2010
Lee
rated it:
After having read this book, I don't believe I would necessarily recommend it to others. I chose it as an Oprah's Book Club novel but it felt like this new author decided to try to throw everything in at once - it's about race, homosexuality, poverty, love (both teen and older types), a little of everything. It was difficult to follow or read in places due to the country way of speaking I suppose, but then it's the mid 50's south and she throws in a very well read but uneducated(Greek classics
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Jul 08, 2009
Lisa
rated it:
It took me a little while to get into this book, again it was in audible format, so the reader might have had something to do with that. It is verbose, and for me when listening to a book I can get lost in the poetry of the words and not get the meaning, so i had to restart a few times to figure out who was who and what was going on. I really enjoyed this book and the language though and got used to the reader after a bit. It is an interesting take on the 1950's deep south, giving us a view of t
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Aug 19, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Sometimes, people just aim too high.
The story and characters were well-crafted, I'll grant that much - but the book gave off the distinct vibe of an author that was trying too hard for a literary masterpiece. So much was overdone: too many characters with involved story-lines, too much sexuality and crass language, too much abstract literary and poetic allusion, too much.
And yet the really big moments - the emotional pivots and climax of the book - are understated, like t More...
The story and characters were well-crafted, I'll grant that much - but the book gave off the distinct vibe of an author that was trying too hard for a literary masterpiece. So much was overdone: too many characters with involved story-lines, too much sexuality and crass language, too much abstract literary and poetic allusion, too much.
And yet the really big moments - the emotional pivots and climax of the book - are understated, like t More...
Jul 29, 2011
Booklady
rated it: 
Another Oprah's book club selection, one set in her native Mississippi, weaves a tale of a virtually motherless child, a man who is an orphan, and a voodoo woman who wears age sticks(they look like painted chopsticks) in her hair. Those weird characters, and many others who enter and exit the story touch the reader because the author is so good at characterization. I wanted to put the book down many times, but the way the author put words together, I had to finish it. When reading reviews I
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Mar 31, 2009
Maya
rated it:
I read this book for a project in Ms. Shakir's class. This book was a little bit difficult to follow at some points ,but ultimately it all came together very nicely. I admit, that yes, I indeed cried at the end, twice. Once because it was sad, and once because it was happy.
This story is about a white girl named Valuble Korner, a black man named Even Grade. This is a story about Love, morals, and tough choices. I highly recommend this book. A word of advice, this book tends to get very g More...
This story is about a white girl named Valuble Korner, a black man named Even Grade. This is a story about Love, morals, and tough choices. I highly recommend this book. A word of advice, this book tends to get very g More...
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Aug 01, 2011
Brilliant! Very colorful descriptive writing, engaging characters, and a beautifully crafted story. I love the way she wove the characters together and tied up all the loose ends by the time the book was finished. I hated for the story to end and could not put it down. The first pages were a bit slow and confusing but once you got into the story and began to see the interaction of the characters, she got you hooked. There was always something to hold your interest. There was always some qu
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Sep 05, 2010
Clint
rated it:
The plot is woven around the two main characters (Even Grade and Valuable Korner) and a witch, a goat, and some wise old people who live in a quirky little southern town in the 1950's. The plot is full of twists that are shocking, humorous, and heart breaking.
I read this book with a friend and had a blast. I loved this book because it was very literary... full of symbols, motifs, allusions, and figurative language that allows the reader to explore many levels of interpretation. Defin More...
I read this book with a friend and had a blast. I loved this book because it was very literary... full of symbols, motifs, allusions, and figurative language that allows the reader to explore many levels of interpretation. Defin More...
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Jun 24, 2011
Deana
rated it:
I was over halfway through this book before I actually started to care what happened to the characters. I know, many people would have stopped reading long before that, especially with a book having as many pages as this one. But I hate to not finish a book if I can manage to get through it. And I figured I could get this through one.
The biggest challenge is the writing style. I often had to read sentences more than once in order to figure out what it was trying to say. Part of it More...
The biggest challenge is the writing style. I often had to read sentences more than once in order to figure out what it was trying to say. Part of it More...
Oct 16, 2011
Starla
rated it:
This was an unusual book for me. I almost put it down many times after starting it. There are so many characters and storylines going on that I felt lost at times.
The writing is wonderful however, and though it took me until somewhere around page 180, I wanted to know how the story would end. What each persons, or couples, outcome would be.
The ending was one that made me feel sad, and unsettled. So many unhappy people and such an unhappy time and place.
Spo More...
The writing is wonderful however, and though it took me until somewhere around page 180, I wanted to know how the story would end. What each persons, or couples, outcome would be.
The ending was one that made me feel sad, and unsettled. So many unhappy people and such an unhappy time and place.
Spo More...
Feb 05, 2010
Rut
rated it:
I read this book when I was on holiday last year, it was in the hotel lobby for borrowing. I had never heard of the book before, however the Oprah book club stamp attracted me to read this book. Its a story about a black family and a white family in America in the 50's, their struggles, later on in the book the families life's intertwine. The characters are very strong, and quite original, despite this the story is difficult to get in to, however I found the book very enjoyable the further I got
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Dec 30, 2011
Cher
rated it:
I'm starting to realize that Oprah and I have very different tastes in books! LOL This book was ok and I could just as easily have given it three stars instead of two. It's set in the deep South during the segregated 1950s. While the writing kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next, when all is said and done, I'm not overly excited about the ending.
The down side to this book was that it was difficult to stay interested in it at the beginning. Also...there are so More...
The down side to this book was that it was difficult to stay interested in it at the beginning. Also...there are so More...
Mar 11, 2008
Nan
rated it:
I can see why Mother of Pearl was one of Oprah's Book Club choices. It is beautifully written and taps into deep emotion. It came out in 1999, and thanks to Paula, I didn't miss this one. In her first novel, Melinda Haynes has constructed a very powerful, life affirming story set in the 1950s in Mississippi. The plot lines are as interesting as the characters' names: Even Grade, Canaan Mosley, Just Plain Grace, Joody Two-Sun, Valuable Korner, Joleb Green, Neva Moore . . . and others. Each name i
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Jan 02, 2008
Cynthia
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The characters were interesting, my favorites were Val, Joleb, Canaan, and Grace. The plot for the most part kept me interested--the romance between Val & Jackson (and their true blood relationship), the romance between Canaan and Grace, the friendship between Canaan and Even, the flood, and the pregnancy. Joleb was a surprise for me. At first I did not like him (how he treated Val), but after he had a breakdown, his character and the stuff that came out of his mouth were so funny-- the only lig
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Nov 06, 2010
Jeri
rated it:
I read this because it was an Oprah pick. However, after reading several Oprah picks, I've determined that I don't care for the books she likes. She was abused in her youth and she has a pension for books with similar themes. There is an underlying darkness about the novels that I don't relate to. The one thing I noticed about this particular book was the use of similes. There were so many (almost every page) that I started underlining them. This might be fun for a book club or English class
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Sep 03, 2010
Ahren
rated it:
Very interesting book with symbolism and increedible figurative language. I love the use of angles and levels in the novel as well as the play on the names used. Not an "easy" read. Required me to think, which I liked. Explores the different sides of a woman and I think the author would have you read it several times focusing on each of the"sides." Surprising, unexpected, raw. Laughed and cried. Don't let the Oprah choice scare you away.
Jul 16, 2011
Pam
rated it:
I enjoyed this book, although I couldn't decide which character to become involved with because the book was almost fragmented the way the story played out. I guess it was about the affect our lies have on other people whether we realize it or not. Valuable just made me sad and sadder still when she died. I was glad that Even raised Pearl. But I expected no less from him. I think he was the real star of the book.
Feb 22, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I found this novel difficult to get into and a hard read overall. Mother of Pearl does offer a vivid picture of life in a small Mississippi town in the 1950s and a cast of interesting characters does propel the plot forward to a satisfying conclusion. Still, I felt the writing could have been much better and much easier to read. I was originally only going to give this book two stars, but I did like the ending enough to feel it deserved three.
Dec 30, 2008
Krystal
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I had this book for years before I finally got around to reading it and now I regret having waited. I really enjoyed it. The characters are developed almost individually and then expertly twined together as the story develops. It is a sad story, so I would recommend it if you are looking for a good, well-written story that draws you in, but not if you are looking for a light read or an uplifting story.
Jun 21, 2010
Joy
rated it:
This one was hard for me to get through. And as I've been perusing other reviews on it, I see I'm definitely not the only one who had a strong urge to throw it out the window! I give this a 2.5 rating, but there are no halves here so just pretend there is! The first 300 or so pages really STUNK! The author uses crass and disgusting graphic visuals, that made me want to vomit. But the last 100 or so pages were really good, and it seemed to go much faster. So, here's the deal, start reading this
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May 10, 2010
Colin
rated it:
Ok - weird. I think Oprah most certainly has something for incest in the South (or at least someone on her staff does) because this book is chock-full of it. I mean, wow. Definitely a page-turner for those older ladies visiting the beach and in need of some hat-flapping fiction, but for the average reader, perhaps not so enticing. Definitely did not find this book up to scratch.
