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Loading... Loving Donovan (edition 2004)by Bernice L. McFadden
Work InformationLoving Donovan by Bernice L. McFadden
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) froxgirl | Dec 31, 2023 |   This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Bernice McFadden is the author of ten novels, several of which have won literary prizes. She is one of my favorite African American writers. Her prose is spare and powerful, moving easily between characters and their pasts. The people in her book are vividly alive, believable, and complex. She does not hide their pain, but her calm, understated manner of describing it is compelling. And for her, pain can be transcended, in this book as in the others I have read by her. McFadden never denies pain but she is essentially a hopeful writer. Loving Donovan is divided into three section; Her, Him, and Them. The first sections deal separately with Campbell and Donovan growing up in Brooklyn, not far from each other but never meeting. Both belong to solidly working-class families, but both families are torn by violence and lack of love. When they meet, both Campbell and Donovan have created successful lives for themselves, but they are still seeking love. At first they seem to find it with each other, but their pasts haunt them. The book’s ending is unconventional, but I thought perfect. (The fact that my plot summary is full of “but” is a clue to the human contradictions that McFadden depicts.) While this book is set firmly within the African American community, it is not about segregation or racial interaction as some of McFadden’s books have been. Instead it is a narrative of individuals and families; a narrative that none of us can pretend can only happen to other people. I enthusiastically recommend Loving Donovan, and others by McFadden. Akashic Books is to be congratulated for reissuing the books of this fine writer. I am grateful to them for sending a copy of McFadden’s latest to read and review. (  )1  mdbrady | Feb 22, 2016 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2015/11/loving-donovan-by-bernice-mcfadden-2003.ht... ] (  ) kristykay22 | Nov 30, 2015 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ) WKinsey | May 27, 2015 | This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ) Jenxy21 | May 3, 2015 | no reviews | add a review
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"Bernice L. McFadden is one of the best contemporary literary writers out there today...Her brilliance, her talent as a novelist, is the very life she breathes into all of her characters." --Terry McMillan, from the Introduction "Bernice L. McFadden was one of the best writers to emerge in the post-Waiting to Exhale explosion that introduced at least a dozen Black female novelists.Loving Donovan has generated near-cult status among readers. After more than a decade since it appeared,Donovan is being reissued. How fitting that Terry McMillan has written a new introduction. If you've read Donovan before, you will fall in love all over again. And if this is your first time, prepare yourself for an intense romance between an enigmatic antihero and a heroine who will feel like your homegirl." --Essence Magazine "Loving Donovan is brilliant. By exploring the depth of her characters, the novel transforms what, on the surface, may appear to be the run-of-the-mill, paperback sentimental, tear-jerking coupling, into an understanding, unflinching, expertly told tale of human nature." --AALBC One ofLibrary Journal's 25 Key Indie Fiction Titles for Fall 2014-Winter 2015! "A two-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist also twice honored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, McFadden presents a love story starring Campbell and Donovan--both from shattered homes, both still hopeful, and both shaped more by history than they can imagine. Don't miss." --Library Journal Prepub Alert "Loving Donovan firmly establishes McFadden among the ranks of those few writers of whom you constantly beg for more." --Black Issues Book Review "McFadden is clearly adept in keeping the reader entertained, captivated, and on our toes to try to figure out what's going to happen next. The rich characters, life situations, and language all wrapped up in such a small book and saying so much is a feat." --Brown Girl Reading Praise for Bernice L. McFadden: "McFadden works a kind of miracle--not only do her characters retain their appealing humanity; their story eclipses the bonds of history to offer continuous surprises." --New York Times, onGathering of Waters "Searing and expertly imagined." --Toni Morrison, onThe Warmest December With a new introduction by Terry McMillan. The first section of McFadden's unconventional love story belongs to Campbell. Despite being born to a brokenhearted mother and a faithless father, Campbell still believes in the power of love...if she can ever find it. Living in the same neighborhood, but unknown to Campbell until a chance meeting brings them together, is Donovan, the "little man" of a shattered home--a family torn apart by anger and bitterness. In the face of daunting obstacles, Donovan dreams of someday marrying, raising a family, and playing in the NBA. But deep inside, Campbell and Donovan live with the histories that have shaped their lives. What they discover--together and apart--forms the basis of this compelling, sensual, and surprising novel. No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumBernice L. McFadden's book Loving Donovan was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  
LibraryThing AuthorBernice L. McFadden is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (4.17)
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