The Upper Room

I loved Mary Monroe's, Mrs. Wiggins. I thought it was a gem. The Upper Room did not entertain me as much. There were more racist names called than I felt comfortable with, and I really wanted Mama Ruby to be the devil, and I did not like that she never got justice. get away with all her evil deeds. I felt a great deal of empathy for Maureen, who was deceptively kidnapped as a newborn by Mama Ruby. What Mama Ruby did to her best friend, Othella, was just as unforgivable as Othella's actions.

Mamma Ruby treated Maureen and Maureen's twins as possessions instead of family. She was truly a frightening villain in size, strength, sound, and all her actions. After the story began, it was impossible to stop reading it. I would have stopped show more reading if I had not hoped that Maureen would be able to escape Mama Ruby's control.

I just realized the old feelings of anger were stirred up by Mama Ruby. When my baby was born, my mother-in-law displayed the same possessiveness as Mama Ruby. My marriage was unhappy at the time. My now ex-husband wanted to be pampered by me, have me do all the housework, pay the bills, and work full-time. To be able to have any quality time with my baby, I actually had to drive to another town with my baby to see my mother. Those memories did not like being stirred up. show less

Mama Ruby is folk hero of sorts at a migrant camp in Florida where she lives among other pickers. She's as notorious as Stagger Lee (google it). NOBODY messes with Mama Ruby and those who are foolish enough to try, disappear! She has a few friends who are willing to do anything for her, whether it's disposing of dead bodies or lying when the police come knocking. She is an insane mix of Saturday night revelry and Sunday morning holiness. Mama Ruby has even christened the second floor of her house "The Upper Room" where no men are allowed. In the upper room Maureen, the daughter she has stolen from her best friend, is kept safe.

I read this book after I finished the recently published prequel, "Mama Ruby." There is a huge gap between the show more publishing date of The Upper Room (1985) and Mama Ruby (2011). The Upper Room is a journey into the madness of Mama Ruby's world, a master manipulator who is determined to keep Maureen under control for the rest of her life. show less

Title: The Upper Room
Author: Mary Monroe
Publisher: Dafina
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"The Upper Room" by Mary Monroe

My Thoughts:

'The Upper Room' was decent but sad in many chapters. Mama Rudy was one dramatic character that kept me shaking my head and wondering why she did all the horrible things she did. Besides Maama Rudy being an obese person, she was a person with alcoholism and a serial killer who seemed to be able to get away with all of it. But what got my attention was that she claimed to be religious, and people seemed to go with her program. I did laugh at some of Mama Rudy's acts, but not like many of them, and how she got through all of the things she did was quite a wonder to me. This author put it out there, show more leaving me to say, wow, all over the place. show less

Author Mary Monroe takes you (the reader) across the towns of Shreveport,Silo and final Goons.She introduces us to the characters Ruby Montgomery,and her best friend Othella..and host of others.....We follow the character Ruby on her journey,and the reason for her chastizing, lies,healing,being religious,to being a devil in desguise.. and why The Upper Room, is the reason for Mama Ruby evilness,well not the room perse,but lets just say her daughter Maureen plays a major role.Mama Ruby character in the book you probably read or probably haven't read before,but I know one thing,She will remain in you memory as a character you just don't want to cross...... and to add to the story the author throws in some southern dialect .... that had me show more laughing...some of the words were Ax(ask),shet(shut),tetch(touch)..and and lot more.I had to read them over to get the gist of what they were talking about.Mind you it didn't stop me from reading on,in fact it just enhanced the the story much more.The Upper Room will have you laughing,crying,in shock,surprised,shaking your head,saying OMG,and literally have you droping your jaw........I really enjoyed this book!......This is definitely a MUST READ...... show less

Interesting as well as entertaining. You should read "Mama Ruby" before this one.