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Reviews
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 A truly unique story from first page to
last, June 6, 2008
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Ken Coleman has put together a wonderfully historic pseudo-biography that
reads lke a true interview of Queenie Jones, "the most famous, notorious, and
controversial black entertainer of all time." I personally could not tell if
this was a fictional account of an actual person or straight fiction. This
centenarian has seen it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly but mostly in
reverse order. Being a black girl in the south in the early 1900's she witnessed
the worst of America's history with lynchings and murders of black people just
for being there. Some of her story is reminiscent of that of Bessie Smith,
Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker, and later even Eartha Kitt and more,
inparticular finding a safe place to perform in France. But I am ahead of myself
here.
Take a small girl who is very close to admiring of her preacher father, only
to loose him when he is caught by white men when he went after the light
coloured boys who raped her at the age of 14. Queenie was left with feelings of
shame, guilt, and pregnant as well. As she says, "I deserved it. I was being
punished for being forward with boys. God was teaching me a lesson that took me
another fifty years to learn." This is the way her life began seeing children
and men hung, stumbling across corpses just because they were black.
This is not necessarily the story of white vs. black though. This is a story
of love, growth, of fame and fortune, and finally peace. This is a running
history of America as told from the lips of one person who lived it all, the
complete century. Buy it is also a story of an awakening.
For what seems an unfathomable reason and is not explained in the early part
of the book, Queenie has asked a young Jewish writer to come and write her
memoirs. Steven Eidleberg cannot understand why she has asked for him, and the
most she would tell him was that one of his stories showed insight and
compassion, she called it brilliant, Pulitzer Prize material. But throughout the
book he cannot shake the feeling that more is involved.
The entire interviews are held in the hospital in secret while Queenie
reminices but grows weaker every day. The life she led as a great, but raunchy
entertainer through the thirties to the sixties is a revelation of how many did
live. A big woman with a big presence and amazing talent, her anger and lack of
trust through those years made her tough and scrappy, and placed her
insituations where only her great talent and fame saved her.
The interaction between these two extraordinarily different people is a
marvel to behold. Steven feels spellbound by the story and believes this book
will be his best writing ever. A story "needed to be told." But his devotion to
both the story and Queenie herself causes alot of rumbling in the Jewish
community and gradually affects his marriage, but he cannot let go. So much of
the history of the black people he had very little idea of because it was
virtually ignored in the jewish community, and yet there are commonalities too,
both races were ostracized for different reasons. Both are outcasts and both are
in a way segregated. This book gives the reader alot to ponder on these
relationships and on the history of both. Understanding how blacks accepted
thier lot is very psychological and I for one found these comparisons and
reasonings of great interest.
The book is packed with famous names in black music genre and the author has
made it feel very real and intense, and yet there is a full retinue of feelings
described and eventually dealt with as laws changed. There is an open joy in
Queenie and yet she could fist-fight with the best of them. She could pack any
venue with her talent. She survived the decades in whatever manner she was able.
She was still perforning in her 70's, was internationally famous, and always
controversial and confrontational. A period of time comes into her life that
brings her into a relationship that changes her competely.
What more say I say, there are surprises through the book, but especially
toward the end. There is humor, great insight, and unusual but close connection
between the writer and the singer as he writes as fast as he can to get the full
story before she passes away. There is a wiseness in Queenie of age that probes
Steven's insecurities and blind acceptance of the life he's led as a Jew. I
particularly enjoyed one quote, "when the student is ready, the teacher will
appear." How often true. The book is very conversational in nature and I
really enjoyed reading it. I feel I learned from it too. Mr. Coleman has done a
remarkable job of writing the story in the voice of Queenie and of Steven, so
much that it is difficult to remember it is a fictional story.
I liked this book, it was different. I came to realize I liked it when I
forgot it was fiction. These characters are so true to life it made the story
more engaging. Queenie is one tough "sistah." There's drama, parts that made me
laugh, and parts that are so real it's easy to relate. The women in my book club
used the term "she's every woman." We highly recommend.
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Reviewed by the Afrodisiacs Book Club
****1/2 stars
First the desenting opinion (singular). There are technical errors that
should have been caught before going to print, hence the half star. Now the
majority, this is an easy and a good read. Queenie weaves her way through
historical events of a century. A female opinion was " she expresses the
insecurities no matter the race, religion, or economics i.e. it's always about a
man."
The most interesting opinion was Queenie was the alter ego of the writer of
whom had gotten to a point in his life where he was starting to question what
if? The alter allowed him to relive, explore, and experience the many things he
thinks he's missed. At the end of the story he confesses he wanted to be a
professional basketball player but there was no future for a short Jew with no
talent. There seems to be a draw outside of his culture that he never explored.
Here the alter answers what if? Sheesh, does there always have to be hidden
symbolism is everything? Can't a shoe just be a shoe?
-
Guys that read Book Club Atlanta Ga.
I must say I get this story. This is a story of a guy setting out on a
journey to settle in mind once for all if he had made the right choices. The
relationship between a large, extroverted, black woman and a small, reliable,
predictable, nebbish is creative to say the least. It is in every guys nature to
be risky and risque, and she affords him this opportunity. When with her he can
be all the things he's ever wanted to be, the thing things those in his world
would not understand or tolerate. That's why he cannot stay away from her.
With her he is the guy and he's important, respected, and needed. He steps
outside his predictablity, his wife says "you're changing Steven." The one
line that makes the story is when Queenie asks, "what's it worth to you?" At
that point I got it. I got it when at the end of the story he explains it to his
daughter. I got it when he took his youngest out of school to meet Queenie. Of
course he'd want his most prized possesion to meet his other most prized
posession. I got it when he moves into a bachelor pad and the first thing he
buys himself is a basketball jersey. The whole crux of the story is a guy asking
himslelf, what's it all worth? Good men are safe, great men are daring. Good men
make good soldiers. Great men lead into battle. Good men accept the challenge.
Great men sacrifice to accomplish what they
believe.
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