A Day Late and a Dollar Short

A good family drama, but it was a little long - everyone in it got 'on my last nerve' to quote Viola. Each has his or her own problems, some their own fault, some not. Mostly they're trying to cope, but for pretty much the whole book they're trying to avoid facing facts and taking responsibility. It was a little odd that each kid did the very thing Viola told them to do in her posthumous letters to them. A little pat, but the ending was nice.

The book is funny in parts and Viola is a great character. All of the characters are well-written and their individual stories are very familiar in today's world. The mother begins telling the story. She then describes her (family) husband, children, and grandchildren in a way that only a mother, wife, and grandmother can. It was downright hilarious. To my surprise,however, the husband and children tell their opinions on the family and themselves. When you see how the family sees a person as opposed to how the person sees themselves you begin to think about some of the attitudes you have towards members of your own family. The beginning of the book will have you cracking up and by the end you will be in tears.

It explored in great show more details the twist and turns on an African American family through their ups and downs. It was very realistic yet honestly funny. There were times when you laughed and times when you cried, but throughout the entire book you could relate to one if not more of the events happening. show less

What can I say, I'm on a Terry McMillan jag. While not outstanding, I find her books very enjoyable reads. She tends to write interesting characters with interweaving plots. This time Viola is the matriarch with a so-so husband Cecil and 4 grown children. Each survives trials and tribulations but stay connected as a family. While McMillan tends to very clearly "write out the lesson" rather than use inference they are still fun to read. Liken it to a beach read, or a simple story to enjoy while relaxing. Doesn't take much thought or moralizing just pure escapist fun.

"A Day Late" was a sheer delight all the way through. It's the story of a
family, mother and father and four kids, all adults now, and it's written in
a very unique way, written in first person all the way through but changing
the point of view with each chapter. A great way of allowing the reader
insight into what makes each one of the characters tick. And what
characters!

Really good story! I could relate to all of the characters and their lives.

A day late and a dollar short was a very good book because it reminded me a lot of my own family. Throughout this book, the father of four kids ends up diying and the kids and their mother can't figure out how to divide up the money and land he left for them. Throughout the process of dividing up the estates, the realise that there are some other illegitimate kids that their father/ex-husband had within the times that they were all together. This only adds even more drama because the son confesses to the family that he has a drug addiction and needs some money to go to rehab. This causes even more drama in the book. Even though this book is drama-filled, it also has its bits of comic-relief so the reader doesnt get too overwhelmed with show more drama. show less

This was an excellent book. The author creates some very human characters and does a wonderful job of keeping the reader interested in what happens to them.