Some Sing, Some Cry in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 10, 2010 Beverly rated it really liked it

Shelves: slavery, historical-fiction, cross-cultural

All the reviews I read basically said the same thing:
- it is not a perfect book
- but definitely glad they read the book
- not an easy book to get through
- an interesting approach to looking at black history
- it was a lyrical novel

The book did pick up once I got through the first time period - it did start to flow better for me.
There were parts were I was fully engaged and others that I thought dragged on.
There was a character or two that I really enjoyed reading about - but many were just flat ...more

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Nov 16, 2019 Rachel rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction

I don't usually do well with epic multi-generational stories, they tend to move on too fast, once you get to know a character you leave them, there's no intimacy with the individuals themselves. This one, however, is very well done and a great mix of a family's life and the history they lived through, seen through the lens of the music they love. ...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Juliana Philippa rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, 0-reviewed, advance-reading-copy-or-galley, 2010-reads, historical-fiction, amazon-vine-program, family-saga, 20th-century, literature-american, literature-african-american

Some aspects made it feel like a masterpiece, others fell a little short

A lot of the reviews already written for this book include much of the same thoughts I had, so I'll try not to rehash all the same things. Basically: the book was definitely worth reading, however it was not an easy read - and I mean that in several ways. I'm someone who, no matter how long the book is, will stay up through the night reading if I'm really drawn in. Unfortunately, that happened less and less for me with this Some aspects made it feel like a masterpiece, others fell a little short

A lot of the reviews already written for this book include much of the same thoughts I had, so I'll try not to rehash all the same things. Basically: the book was definitely worth reading, however it was not an easy read - and I mean that in several ways. I'm someone who, no matter how long the book is, will stay up through the night reading if I'm really drawn in. Unfortunately, that happened less and less for me with this book.

In terms of style, there are passages that are pure poetry and just absolutely magical; there were whole sections that I wanted to markup so I could reference them again. There were also some parts that were somewhat difficult for me to understand; especially towards the beginning, which is at the furthest point back in history that the book covers and thus, for me, had the most unfamiliar language. I would definitely not classify this last as a criticism, however - it further enhances the experience of reading the book and the feeling of authenticity - but I wanted to mention it.

SOME SING, SOME CRY deals with many complex issues, with two of the most difficult ones being rape and incest. The lives of these characters are filled with tragedies and each character - no matter how flawed - impresses you with their strength just for the sheer fact that they survived and lived through. Aside from the writing, the characters were the strongest aspect of the book; they were also the weakest.

Shange and Bayeza do an unbelievable job of creating an extensive cast of characters, all of whom are three-dimensional: complex yet accessible, flawed yet sympathetic. The characters are so well-written that they are truly brought to life and you feel sucked into their struggles, passions, failures, and dreams. It is right at that point that, for almost all of them, the authors really let the reader - or at least this reader - down. Just as we begin to feel like we understand the character, just as we begin to feel invested in their life and what will happen to them, just as we begin to fully root for them and hope that maybe *their* path will be different - they almost disappear, are relegated to the place of "the past," and the next generation takes over. It's a pattern that seemed to happen repeatedly and it was disconcerting and felt somewhat frenetic.

In a way, it's a testament to their skills as storytellers that when we are drawn away from one storyline and thrown into the next one, we are there clamoring to go back, to get more information and stay with that person, that family, that pair, just a little longer. I wasn't sure if there was perhaps a symbolic reason that this occurred, if it was a simple matter of there being only so many pages that you can have before the book becomes too long to be sell-able, or if it was another issue altogether. It *was* an issue however - at least for me.

All that being said, the very depth and breadth of this novel is amazing in and of itself, and the writing skill and compelling characters make it worth a read. "A read" seems a completely inadequate phrase, for reading SOME SING, SOME CRY is truly an experience - one that is undoubtedly worth having, despite the book's faults.
[This review is of an advanced copy format of the book] ...more

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Jul 07, 2020 Lindsey Z rated it liked it

3.5 🌟

Some of the characters I absolutely adored! Shange and Bayeza take on the gigantic task of tracing one family's lineage through enslavement, the world wars, and beyond. There is an evocative thematic thread about music, though all of the club scenes were a bit too much for me. And the book went off the rails a bit towards the end as they tried to race through decades and generations. The pacing was just off. But I do think this book examines how Black Americans respond to and are affected b ...more

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