Zelda Lockhart

Doris Payne is a master storyteller who has a breathtaking life story to tell. Growing up as a black girl in a mining town in West Virginia, she set herself two goals: 1) safe and protect her mother from her abusive father, 2) live the life of the glamorous white women she would see in the magazines. Thanks to her intelligence, ability to read people, and sense of fashion, she succeeds in both by becoming the world’s most successful jewelry thief.

Those who morally judge her career choice show more might want to think about the moral justification of the life she would have had, had she chosen the ‘conventional’ path as the daughter of a black coalminer in a world of systemic racism and sexism.

Payne’s unapologetic and extremely funny narration makes it hard to put the book down, and even harder not to fall in love with this amazing woman. show less

While I thought the writing was clear and easy to read, nearing the last few chapters the storyline would get confusing switching from the voice of Odessa to Ella Mae. Some of the scenes with her brother, sister and cousin was reminiscent to the movie "Crooklyn" by Spike Lee. Odessa's world consists of changing baby diapers, dodging her malicious "Deddy" who molested her twice, and finding her place within a family that harbors secrets. At times, I wanted to choke Bernice, Odessa's mother, show more for neglecting her daughter's needs emotionally and physically. Bernice allowed and enabled her alcoholic, pedophile husband to steal the pure innocence of Odessa. She was denied a childhood that should have been filled with playing, after-school activities, and making friends. The ending was full of revelations and surprises. Overall, I thought this book was a good quick read. I will wait patiently for the next novel by this freshman author. show less

I listened to this book on Audio. The narrator was excellent and drew me into the story of Doris Payne. But what a story. I found it fascinating to read about her life of crime, but I found little to like about her choices. I could understand a bit of why she was so determined to make good on her own, but her methods were criminal, and she never showed remorse for her actions. Great fun reading about her fashion and her travels. All in all if you want to hear a story from the criminal point show more of view, it was an easy read and funny throughout. show less

This is a very difficult book to read as it centers around generations of abuses within one family. Told by Odessa, the "Fifth Born" (of eight children) we follow her through a life of violence, physical and mental abuse, a father's rape of his daughter (while the mother stands by and even begins to get jealous of the daughter), parents unable to love their children and stop the vicious cycle that it all is. The writing, while beautiful, even poetic, in some spots, is inconsistent and show more choppy. I also just got really numb to page after page of such hatred. The "Deddy" is so patently hateful and nasty, as described by everyone in this book, that I cannot fathom his rape, murder and hate really extended this widely with no one doing a darn thing about it. This must be the author's experience/exposure/knowedge base, so I do not deny its existence, but there is so little hope, in anything, here. Maybe that's the point. Hopeless. Accordingly, it was a chore to read at times, of beatings, blood, rape of children, even though it's short and the writing style was easy to read. Maybe there are just too many books like this, I don't know. Without adding any spoilers, the ending was absolutely goofy and that made it all seem like a far-fetched nightmare. There are better books on dysfunctional families, that is, if you haven't had your fill of them. show less