List Books Conducive To The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
| Original Title: | The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother |
| ISBN: | 1573225789 (ISBN13: 9781573225786) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (1997) |
James McBride
Paperback | Pages: 291 pages Rating: 4.09 | 98146 Users | 5126 Reviews
Interpretation To Books The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son. Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother. The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion--and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain. In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned. At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all-black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college--and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University. Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self-realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.
Particularize Of Books The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
| Title | : | The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother |
| Author | : | James McBride |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 291 pages |
| Published | : | January 14th 2004 by Riverhead Books (first published January 23rd 1996) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Biography. Cultural. African American. Biography Memoir. Race. Academic. School |
Rating Of Books The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Ratings: 4.09 From 98146 Users | 5126 ReviewsCommentary Of Books The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
this book spent two years on the new york times bestseller list and it's easy to see why. mcbride's "tribute" is a beautiful story, rich with detail, about his own life and his mother's. he smartly introduces almost every chapter with memories from his mother's life, in her own voice. as he tells us at the beginning and reminds us at the end, he spent 8 years talking to her and recording their conversations, so the memories in her voice are an interesting contrast to the memories in his ownA interesting story that really made me reflect, and a GORGEOUSLY narrated audiobook. I had to fight my emotions a little as to not get defensive about the language surrounding Jews in the story (tyrannical, abusive, extremely cheap Orthodox Jewish father who drove his children away), and *breathe*. Yeah, it's a bit hard when Christianity is portrayed as the accepting, welcoming religion and Judaism as something oppressive, but the truth is that Orthodox Judaism itself isn't for the
The mere fact that this woman raised 12 children, sent them all to college and watched them become successful professionals, with no money, with no help from her own family members, really with not much at all except her belief in God and incredible courage; well, this qualifies her for sainthood in my book. That she did this as a white woman married to black men, loved them both, watched both of them die, then struggled on alone, is a superhuman feat. Throw in the fact that she was the daughter
This book made me feel lucky, lucky that James McBride and his mother were willing to share their story with the world. I wished I could be a family friend and get to know the characters event better. But since that isn't possible I'm glad that the author decided to write this memoir and share his family story so that people like me can experience it and learn from it.
I read so many books, that very few actually stick with me, even 8 years after the fact. I cannot recommend this book enough. McBride writes from two different points of view: himself, and his mother. He parallels his growing up in poverty to his mother's story of moving to Harlem, before the civil rights movement. It is amazing. I had the opportunity to meet the author at a writer's conference right after we read this for bookclub, and he is a gentle soul who has the most respect for his
Yet another book that I wanted desperately to love like everyone else. I just couldn't though. While the rest of America seemed to be inspired, I just found it mildly depressing. I hate it when that happens. Synopsis in a nutshell:Mean, stingy rabbi beats his crippled wife, makes his family miserable, and repeatedly molests his daughter.Daughter (white) gets pregnant by a man (black) and has an abortion (circa 1940s. Both actions highly illegal.).Jewish family falls apart in an irredeemably
Such a gem to me. McBride is a black journalist, novelist, and jazz musician who recognizes what a wonder his mother Ruth was when she raised him and 11 siblings and gets her to open up about her secretive past. The book is lyrical and tender, tough and heartbreaking, and suffused with tales of courage balanced with humor. McBride alternates skillfully between Ruth talking about her early history and his own perspective from the inside of the family she nurtured in Brooklyn and Queens in the
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