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By the Light of My Father's Smile
By the Light of My Father's Smile is Alice Walker's first novel in six years--a stunning, original, and important book by "one of the best American writers of today" (The Washington Post).
A family from the United States goes to the remote Sierras in Mexico--the writer-to-be, Susannah; her sister, Magdalena; her father and mother. And there, amid an endangered band of mixed-race Blacks and Indians called the Mundo, they begin an encounter that will change them more than they could ever dream. Moving back and forth in time, and among unforgettable characters and their stories, Walker crosses conventional borders of all kinds as she explores in this magical novel the ways in which a woman's denied sexuality leads to the loss of the much prized and necessary original self; and how she regains that self, even as her family's past of lies and love is transformed.
By the Light of My Father's Smile presents, as Alice Walker puts it, "a celebration of sexuality, its absolute usefulness in the accessing of one's mature spirituality, and the father's role in assuring joy or sorrow in this arena for his female children." It explores the richness and coherence of alternative culture, experience of sexuality as a celebration of life, of trust in Nature and the Spirit, even as it affirms the belief, as Walker says, "that it is the triumphant heart, not the conquered heart, that forgives. And that love is both timeless and beyond time."
A family from the United States goes to the remote Sierras in Mexico--the writer-to-be, Susannah; her sister, Magdalena; her father and mother. And there, amid an endangered band of mixed-race Blacks and Indians called the Mundo, they begin an encounter that will change them more than they could ever dream. Moving back and forth in time, and among unforgettable characters and their stories, Walker crosses conventional borders of all kinds as she explores in this magical novel the ways in which a woman's denied sexuality leads to the loss of the much prized and necessary original self; and how she regains that self, even as her family's past of lies and love is transformed.
By the Light of My Father's Smile presents, as Alice Walker puts it, "a celebration of sexuality, its absolute usefulness in the accessing of one's mature spirituality, and the father's role in assuring joy or sorrow in this arena for his female children." It explores the richness and coherence of alternative culture, experience of sexuality as a celebration of life, of trust in Nature and the Spirit, even as it affirms the belief, as Walker says, "that it is the triumphant heart, not the conquered heart, that forgives. And that love is both timeless and beyond time."
222 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
107 people are currently reading
4000 people want to read
About the author
Alice Walker
245 books7,344 followersNoted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as
The Color Purple
(1982).
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 238 reviews
August 10, 2012
Lyrical, honest, sensual, beautiful, harsh... all of these words could be truthfully applied to this work. Alice Walker's exploration of sex, love, life, and relationships through the eyes of those who surround us, both living and dead takes the reader on a journey that spans not just the physical geography of the world, but a strange geography of the soul.
There were moments that were uncomfortable for me; the beginning chapters were almost too voyeuristic. However, I am certain this was done with intent - Ms. Walker wanted to unsettle her reader, to make them look at the world through eyes other than their own. She handles this masterfully, and brings the reader through this discomfort to a place of understanding, unity, and joy - which is how it ought to be when dealing with love and sex.
I am sure that each reader will take something a little different away with them from this book. For me, it was about the healing that can be done within, when one has support from without, but that can only be done within: many people can help or hinder, but in the end we are each of us responsible for our own selves. Somehow, I think I am likely to come back to this book at some point - and that I will take something different with me then. I'm looking forward to that journey as well!
There were moments that were uncomfortable for me; the beginning chapters were almost too voyeuristic. However, I am certain this was done with intent - Ms. Walker wanted to unsettle her reader, to make them look at the world through eyes other than their own. She handles this masterfully, and brings the reader through this discomfort to a place of understanding, unity, and joy - which is how it ought to be when dealing with love and sex.
I am sure that each reader will take something a little different away with them from this book. For me, it was about the healing that can be done within, when one has support from without, but that can only be done within: many people can help or hinder, but in the end we are each of us responsible for our own selves. Somehow, I think I am likely to come back to this book at some point - and that I will take something different with me then. I'm looking forward to that journey as well!
April 2, 2009
holy crap, i say!
all right. i had to let this one sit and rumble around before i can get my mind around. i'm not all the way there yet, by any means. however, i have made progress with walker's point about it being not only crucial that parents are honest with their children about sex but that it's soul important to teach them the joy of sex. even further, to give them our blessing to be loved in the way our bodies are meant to be.
i think about what our kids are exposed to on a constant basis in our society - even kids as sheltered as mine - and there is no escaping the fact of "sex" and "sexy". turn on a disney movie and see that even "brainy" belle is quite gorgeous AND stacked with a to die for waist! walk through any given kids' section at any given department store and see what they're selling to the majority of little girls. and it's parents buying this stuff! i mean, i don't know any 3 year olds that have $25 to spend on a mini-skirt that says "sweetie" across the butt. so, ... when our kiddos get old enough to experience the sheer unrelenting totalness of teenage hormones, we tell them to just say no. we tell them good girls don't. which is in exact contradiction to what mainstream society has spoon fed them for their 15 years. i agree that the pressure is so much more extreme on our girls. first, they're supposed to look a certain way. but when that certain way starts getting the inevitable results, they're told they're bad for encouraging that reaction and forget about their human nature. hmmm....... interesting.
i'll keep thinking.
all right. i had to let this one sit and rumble around before i can get my mind around. i'm not all the way there yet, by any means. however, i have made progress with walker's point about it being not only crucial that parents are honest with their children about sex but that it's soul important to teach them the joy of sex. even further, to give them our blessing to be loved in the way our bodies are meant to be.
i think about what our kids are exposed to on a constant basis in our society - even kids as sheltered as mine - and there is no escaping the fact of "sex" and "sexy". turn on a disney movie and see that even "brainy" belle is quite gorgeous AND stacked with a to die for waist! walk through any given kids' section at any given department store and see what they're selling to the majority of little girls. and it's parents buying this stuff! i mean, i don't know any 3 year olds that have $25 to spend on a mini-skirt that says "sweetie" across the butt. so, ... when our kiddos get old enough to experience the sheer unrelenting totalness of teenage hormones, we tell them to just say no. we tell them good girls don't. which is in exact contradiction to what mainstream society has spoon fed them for their 15 years. i agree that the pressure is so much more extreme on our girls. first, they're supposed to look a certain way. but when that certain way starts getting the inevitable results, they're told they're bad for encouraging that reaction and forget about their human nature. hmmm....... interesting.
i'll keep thinking.
January 1, 2013
"When life descends into the pit
I must become my own candle
willingly burning myself
to light up the darkness around me"
This poem is the last entry of the novel. It tells about the next best thing to "hope" for – creating one's self, not without sacrifice such as getting burned, but also not without gain such as transforming into a flame - a light of hope. Whether by burning or transforming, life is being created; creating is living. This only shows how powerful the novel's chant is: We are closest to the Creator when we create.
Perhaps women have the best opportunity, if not privilege, to enjoy such capacity to create. Early mothers created pots from clay; early society related the myth of creation to the clay – the first human beings were believed to have come from clay. It wouldn't be a surprise to hear that the Creator is a woman and her womb, the wondrous oven.
But stories,visions,and ideas such as these have been conquered, along with the lands, forests, waters, springs, peoples. "History" has written off stories of Woman the Creator.
However, in the case of the character Susannah, history was not able to completely write off the images of clay molded by a woman's hands. As she rediscovered herself, she came home to that part of history that was lost. Indeed, the capacity to develop compassion, peace, equality, security from within, is not something easily conquered. The self - love and intimacy with the self – is not something a passing historian can jot down and/or erase off. It is always there.
This also means that history is written all over one's body. A person searching for history is one meant to come home to one's body, one's sexuality - the core of loving one's self and not just for reproductive purposes. Searching for history in one's body is a "crossing over" within. Achieving this means having to lose one's mind, especially when the mind has been conquered by nations, sucked into the cloth of beliefs, monetized by markets, zipped shut by fathers and brothers (sometimes by mothers and sisters).
This is why the novel shares the image of a Mad Dog, which is considered wise because it has lost its mind. The idea is to have visions: "instead of thoughts, we have visions, and that is how we guide ourselves."
A dominant vision in the novel is that of the moon, like an image of a father's smile; a moon half hidden, half exposed, signaling and blessing the fullness of the woman's longing, desires, sexuality. On the other hand, the moon is also the woman; recognized as the Mundo, revered as much as the idea that the woman is a creator. And so history needs to be retold.
I must become my own candle
willingly burning myself
to light up the darkness around me"
This poem is the last entry of the novel. It tells about the next best thing to "hope" for – creating one's self, not without sacrifice such as getting burned, but also not without gain such as transforming into a flame - a light of hope. Whether by burning or transforming, life is being created; creating is living. This only shows how powerful the novel's chant is: We are closest to the Creator when we create.
Perhaps women have the best opportunity, if not privilege, to enjoy such capacity to create. Early mothers created pots from clay; early society related the myth of creation to the clay – the first human beings were believed to have come from clay. It wouldn't be a surprise to hear that the Creator is a woman and her womb, the wondrous oven.
But stories,visions,and ideas such as these have been conquered, along with the lands, forests, waters, springs, peoples. "History" has written off stories of Woman the Creator.
However, in the case of the character Susannah, history was not able to completely write off the images of clay molded by a woman's hands. As she rediscovered herself, she came home to that part of history that was lost. Indeed, the capacity to develop compassion, peace, equality, security from within, is not something easily conquered. The self - love and intimacy with the self – is not something a passing historian can jot down and/or erase off. It is always there.
This also means that history is written all over one's body. A person searching for history is one meant to come home to one's body, one's sexuality - the core of loving one's self and not just for reproductive purposes. Searching for history in one's body is a "crossing over" within. Achieving this means having to lose one's mind, especially when the mind has been conquered by nations, sucked into the cloth of beliefs, monetized by markets, zipped shut by fathers and brothers (sometimes by mothers and sisters).
This is why the novel shares the image of a Mad Dog, which is considered wise because it has lost its mind. The idea is to have visions: "instead of thoughts, we have visions, and that is how we guide ourselves."
A dominant vision in the novel is that of the moon, like an image of a father's smile; a moon half hidden, half exposed, signaling and blessing the fullness of the woman's longing, desires, sexuality. On the other hand, the moon is also the woman; recognized as the Mundo, revered as much as the idea that the woman is a creator. And so history needs to be retold.
December 4, 2018
I have found another literary heroine in Alice Walker, and have again developed another of my creepy-strong fan-girl crushes. Wow.
First of all, this woman can WRITE. She writes sentences that knock the wind out of you, or have you scrambling for a pen to write them down. Her writing is so supple and fluid; it was such a refreshing read.
And the themes she raises were so relevant and meaningful and gut-punchy. I had so many moments of those head-noddy-uhuhuh moments - you know the ones I'm talking about! She talks about gender and sex and race, and western culture's tendency to change and destroy... She is just so honest and open and real and again, I say relevant.
I love you Alice Walker - let me know if you're ever free for tea! Smooches!
First of all, this woman can WRITE. She writes sentences that knock the wind out of you, or have you scrambling for a pen to write them down. Her writing is so supple and fluid; it was such a refreshing read.
And the themes she raises were so relevant and meaningful and gut-punchy. I had so many moments of those head-noddy-uhuhuh moments - you know the ones I'm talking about! She talks about gender and sex and race, and western culture's tendency to change and destroy... She is just so honest and open and real and again, I say relevant.
I love you Alice Walker - let me know if you're ever free for tea! Smooches!
June 2, 2017
I picked this book up from my local department store with no hesitation once I've seen Walker's name on the top.
Unfortunately, it fell short.
The book was confusing with the constant switching of POV of characters.
I also never realized how much I would miss quotation marks around a dialogue.
This particular edition comes with a readers guide so I will read that and hopefully have it shed some light on what Walker was trying to say, but I am not so optimistic.
Unfortunately, it fell short.
The book was confusing with the constant switching of POV of characters.
I also never realized how much I would miss quotation marks around a dialogue.
This particular edition comes with a readers guide so I will read that and hopefully have it shed some light on what Walker was trying to say, but I am not so optimistic.
January 26, 2014
This is one of the best books I have ever read because it is practically breathes. It is so profoundly human, and returning to it again is its own timely meditation. It speaks to me on several levels--that as a man, as a soon-to-be-father, as a lover of women and justice, as a broken heart, as a healing soul. No story I've ever read speaks more to human health than this one--sexual health, forgiveness, healing personal wounds, finding peace.
Alice Walker, who I've said before is a sort of guru or spiritual mentor to me, is a radical writer, and By the Light of My Father's Smile was destined, upon publication, to be banned in some communities for its depiction of sexuality (albeit a lovely, healthy depiction of sexuality). Since I've heard very little over the years since its publication speaks, sadly, to how little this book has probably been read. And what a shame! Father's Smile deserves to be read, to be pondered, to be cherished. It is one of her best books, and one of my all-time favorites.
Alice Walker, who I've said before is a sort of guru or spiritual mentor to me, is a radical writer, and By the Light of My Father's Smile was destined, upon publication, to be banned in some communities for its depiction of sexuality (albeit a lovely, healthy depiction of sexuality). Since I've heard very little over the years since its publication speaks, sadly, to how little this book has probably been read. And what a shame! Father's Smile deserves to be read, to be pondered, to be cherished. It is one of her best books, and one of my all-time favorites.
July 4, 2016
Part of the brilliance of Alice Walker is how intricately she weaves themes and concepts into her characters' lives. When she sets out to illuminate a social issue, it never overbears; instead, it presents itself naturally as an intrinsic part of human life, so rather than reading like a textbook set out to teach you about a certain concept, you feel it as much as intellectually understand. I've probably learned more about the lives of those who are different from me from Walker's books than I have from any other author, and for that, I'm always completely thankful and enriched.
And not only does she deliver her characters masterfully, her writing, on a mechanical and aural sense, is impeccable. I challenge you to find a bad sentence in By the Light of My Father's Smile.
And not only does she deliver her characters masterfully, her writing, on a mechanical and aural sense, is impeccable. I challenge you to find a bad sentence in By the Light of My Father's Smile.
Want to read
October 17, 2015All right, perhaps someone can help clarify something. As part of the creative writing course I'm taking, we had to read the first chapter of Alice Walker's By The Light Of My Father's Smile, which I did. I loved enough to look for it here, but the synopsis sounds nothing like the excerpt. Like, not even remotely similar! The characters and setting are different, the themes don't line up at all, from what I can tell. Yet, the cover and title, even the copyright date are the same.
Here's a link to the excerpt: http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/rc/li...
Anyone that's read it, can you please help? I'd be greatly appreciative!
So apparently the linked excerpt is actually from Anne Tyler's A Patchwork Planet, which is funny because I read that probably ten-twelve years ago and it still isn't remotely familiar. Weird.
December 1, 2010
"By The Light of my Father’s Smile is held together by a construct that at first seems artificial initially: a father is looking down on his daughter after his own death.
She was not even aware at the time of my death that she missed me. Poor child. She did not cry at my funeral. She was a stoic spectator. Her heart, she thought, was closed. (3)
As an atheist, I found the idea of an afterlife from which the father was speaking a little disappointing. However it becomes far more interesting when reading on, because we discover that the tradition drawn on is that of the Mexican “Mundo” tribe, the philosophy of which features prominently in this book. On the one hand, the journey of the book is towards the reconciliation of the father and his daughers, Susannah and Magdelena. However the title does not only refer to the relationship of children and parents. It is also about the sublime experience of love-making, since the “Mundo” tribe, describe the sickle moon as a father’s smile blessing the procreative cycles, which allow sexual intercourse to be fruitful. At the beginning of the book, it is clear that sex for the daughters is a transgression and the journey towards reconciliation with the father is also a path towards healing their view of love-making.
In Walker’s vision, a reconciliation of familial and sexual difficulties can only be allowed when the whole family has recounted its narrative and is at peace. For this reason, the narration moves between relatives, who all contribute to the telling of the family story. Flashing back to Susannah’s and Magdelena’s childhood, the family voices tell how the parents are denied funding to study the “Mundo” tribe, ‘a tiny band of mixed-race Blacks and Indians’ due to institutional racism (14). However as a family linked to the black church, the family can become missionaries, in order to live in Mexico and secretly study the “Mundo”. Walker’s novel is ultimately a passing narrative that depicts the hateful atmosphere emerging in an atheist family passing as Christians. The father, named only with the formal title Señor Robinson, describes how he is ‘sucked into the black cloth’ of the priest’s costume and his only relief is secret, transgressive sexual pleasure when making love to his wife Langley (156).
Yet in hiding his own sexual pleasure, Señor Robinson also enforces his rule on his daughters, the uncertain Susannah and the more wayward, Magdelena. From Magdelena to Maggie to Mad Dog to June, Magdelena’s names map her course: from the innocence of childhood; to the adoption of “Mundo” peoples’ values (including a belief in the crazy wisdom of the mad dog); to the repression and domestication of her natural sexual instinct. Magdelena’s story is the most touching, as Walker conjures regret and the acceptance of lost ideals vividly.
Yet the centre of the story is Susannah, who must learn to forgive her sister for inadvertently driving the family apart. In the process of this education, Susannah takes on many mentors: women who have had to fight in a society that frowns on difference. For example, Irene, the Greek dwarf, escapes the confinement of her place in society, while Susannah’s lover, Lily-Pauline, manages to build her own restaurant empire in spite of her experience of rape, a loveless marriage and poverty. In the case of each woman, she is saved by the redemptive qualities of friendship and physical love, which leaves the reader like Susannah ‘peering through the mist of the orgasm itself […:] seeking what is essentially beyond it’ (190)."
Link: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley...
She was not even aware at the time of my death that she missed me. Poor child. She did not cry at my funeral. She was a stoic spectator. Her heart, she thought, was closed. (3)
As an atheist, I found the idea of an afterlife from which the father was speaking a little disappointing. However it becomes far more interesting when reading on, because we discover that the tradition drawn on is that of the Mexican “Mundo” tribe, the philosophy of which features prominently in this book. On the one hand, the journey of the book is towards the reconciliation of the father and his daughers, Susannah and Magdelena. However the title does not only refer to the relationship of children and parents. It is also about the sublime experience of love-making, since the “Mundo” tribe, describe the sickle moon as a father’s smile blessing the procreative cycles, which allow sexual intercourse to be fruitful. At the beginning of the book, it is clear that sex for the daughters is a transgression and the journey towards reconciliation with the father is also a path towards healing their view of love-making.
In Walker’s vision, a reconciliation of familial and sexual difficulties can only be allowed when the whole family has recounted its narrative and is at peace. For this reason, the narration moves between relatives, who all contribute to the telling of the family story. Flashing back to Susannah’s and Magdelena’s childhood, the family voices tell how the parents are denied funding to study the “Mundo” tribe, ‘a tiny band of mixed-race Blacks and Indians’ due to institutional racism (14). However as a family linked to the black church, the family can become missionaries, in order to live in Mexico and secretly study the “Mundo”. Walker’s novel is ultimately a passing narrative that depicts the hateful atmosphere emerging in an atheist family passing as Christians. The father, named only with the formal title Señor Robinson, describes how he is ‘sucked into the black cloth’ of the priest’s costume and his only relief is secret, transgressive sexual pleasure when making love to his wife Langley (156).
Yet in hiding his own sexual pleasure, Señor Robinson also enforces his rule on his daughters, the uncertain Susannah and the more wayward, Magdelena. From Magdelena to Maggie to Mad Dog to June, Magdelena’s names map her course: from the innocence of childhood; to the adoption of “Mundo” peoples’ values (including a belief in the crazy wisdom of the mad dog); to the repression and domestication of her natural sexual instinct. Magdelena’s story is the most touching, as Walker conjures regret and the acceptance of lost ideals vividly.
Yet the centre of the story is Susannah, who must learn to forgive her sister for inadvertently driving the family apart. In the process of this education, Susannah takes on many mentors: women who have had to fight in a society that frowns on difference. For example, Irene, the Greek dwarf, escapes the confinement of her place in society, while Susannah’s lover, Lily-Pauline, manages to build her own restaurant empire in spite of her experience of rape, a loveless marriage and poverty. In the case of each woman, she is saved by the redemptive qualities of friendship and physical love, which leaves the reader like Susannah ‘peering through the mist of the orgasm itself […:] seeking what is essentially beyond it’ (190)."
Link: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley...
June 3, 2019
Within the first ten pages of BY THE LIGHT OF MY FATHERS SMILE there is a extremely drawn out, extra graphic sex scene where the 'ghost/spirit' of the father watches over one of his daughters having to beg for sex from her arrogant lover. It was creepy and totally OTT. Soon after, flashing back in time, when the father wants 'forgiveness' (sex) from his wife, Langly, for thrashing their 14/15 year old daughter for being sexually active, he takes this approach:
"Everything in me wanted to break down the door, pin her flailing arms to her sides, drag her to the bed, lick away every tear, drink from her flowing body, and pour my whole being into hers. But I, my heart aching could not rise from my knees. She had seen me turn into a monster; how could I expect her to forget? I fell asleep there, growing cramped and chilled as the night wore on. In the morning, her face wrinkled like a crone and tear-stained, she opened the door, sniffed at me as if I were disagreeable garbage, and stepped gingerly around my cold, ashen, and yellowing feet."
Her punishment to him by withholding sex and sexually teasing him, but not communicating to him in words, goes on for weeks. He is successful in seducing her when she becomes sick and vulnerable from the death of her brother Joko. He strategicly 'charms' her by uncharacteristically tending to the children, making her a meal, giving her wine and bathsalts. While wearing Joko's boots she exclaims how this sex is for her brother's memory.
By page 32, every character introduced has been detailed in some sort of sexual position (except for Jako, who is dead), so the theme is very clear, and its focus is on how a father can influence his daughters sexual joy or sorrow. But is it that sexuality, specifically female sexuality, is to be enjoyed and celebrated, or to be used as a means for power? It's confusing because much of the time the sex is withheld as punishment or given out as a reward. The overused ploy of graphic sex might be overpowering and clouding the author's intended message.
Reading the first 40 pages was disappointing, to the point of groaning outloud with much eye-rolling, but what followed was much more enjoyable and worth reading. When the story started to focus more on forgiveness in relationships it became more interesting.
"Everything in me wanted to break down the door, pin her flailing arms to her sides, drag her to the bed, lick away every tear, drink from her flowing body, and pour my whole being into hers. But I, my heart aching could not rise from my knees. She had seen me turn into a monster; how could I expect her to forget? I fell asleep there, growing cramped and chilled as the night wore on. In the morning, her face wrinkled like a crone and tear-stained, she opened the door, sniffed at me as if I were disagreeable garbage, and stepped gingerly around my cold, ashen, and yellowing feet."
Her punishment to him by withholding sex and sexually teasing him, but not communicating to him in words, goes on for weeks. He is successful in seducing her when she becomes sick and vulnerable from the death of her brother Joko. He strategicly 'charms' her by uncharacteristically tending to the children, making her a meal, giving her wine and bathsalts. While wearing Joko's boots she exclaims how this sex is for her brother's memory.
By page 32, every character introduced has been detailed in some sort of sexual position (except for Jako, who is dead), so the theme is very clear, and its focus is on how a father can influence his daughters sexual joy or sorrow. But is it that sexuality, specifically female sexuality, is to be enjoyed and celebrated, or to be used as a means for power? It's confusing because much of the time the sex is withheld as punishment or given out as a reward. The overused ploy of graphic sex might be overpowering and clouding the author's intended message.
Reading the first 40 pages was disappointing, to the point of groaning outloud with much eye-rolling, but what followed was much more enjoyable and worth reading. When the story started to focus more on forgiveness in relationships it became more interesting.
May 1, 2010
Delightful, unusual--I loved the structure and perspectives of the narrators. I think there are fabulous pieces of prose on nearly every page...so, I just flipped to a random page and will cite a sample here:
"At one point Manuelito mumbled something about needing a drink. I would have died for a burger and fries. But we persevered. I thought I had to find on his body those few remaining places where he could still be quickened sexually. He thought he had to battle to find my center by pushing aside the fat."
"At one point Manuelito mumbled something about needing a drink. I would have died for a burger and fries. But we persevered. I thought I had to find on his body those few remaining places where he could still be quickened sexually. He thought he had to battle to find my center by pushing aside the fat."
August 12, 2011
I have great admiration for Alice Walker----as a writer, as a humanitarian. Like many others, the title drew me but titles aren't enough to keep readers turning the pages. This unique story was compelling and honest; the characters also compelling. They had much to say and much to offer to each other and the reader. Good character development leaves one wanting more and simultaneously feeling satisfied. Odd how that works. Characters with failings and strengths, idiosyncrasies, growth and change, and moving beyond the past created a depth that kept me reading.
February 7, 2012
I have been at a loss for expression regarding this book. I do not feel I can do it justice. It was with much trepidation that I began, not really certain that I would truly enjoy it, given what I read on the jacket. I was compelled and in the end rewarded. It is worth another reading. More than a hint of magic, less than a full on spiritual guide. Soup for the soul, perhaps?
I should add to this that there are sexually explicit moments which are a bit too much for this reader and I would like for you to be aware of this aspect....
I should add to this that there are sexually explicit moments which are a bit too much for this reader and I would like for you to be aware of this aspect....
January 25, 2009
for the longest time if you asked me my greatest fear i would say..death. so reading this book really shook me out of that and for that im really grateful. like it shows death as just another transition in life just as growing and maturing in adulthood is transition. and so you cant have one without the other. but focusing on the end makes it impossible to appreciate the journey
April 6, 2013
Alice Walker is one of my favorite authors and this is one of my favorite Alice Walker novels.
She's a brave author. She's insightful. She's poetic.
If those are words that appeal to you... try this.
She's a brave author. She's insightful. She's poetic.
If those are words that appeal to you... try this.
February 8, 2016
This book is so spiritual and beautiful. It is filled with love, sensualness, life, families. It is told in such a lyrical way that I read it all in one day. I loved it!
December 6, 2017
Onvan : By The Light Of My Father's Smile - Nevisande : Alice Walker - ISBN : 753819511 - ISBN13 : 9780753819517 - Dar 221 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1998
June 2, 2020
intimate yet wonderfully universal, this book covers every subject from life to death itself. sexuality — whether it is heterosexual or homosexual, free or punished —, parenting and its outrageous violence, but also healing from trauma, forgiveness and the inherent belief that we, as humans, are connected to the world and have the power to take responsibility for our actions in order to forgive ourselves and others, even when we think it’s too late. alice walker is a great author whose work i will keep reading with an immense pleasure.
tw: rape, violence on children, death
tw: rape, violence on children, death
March 7, 2017
"Laughter isn't even the other side of tears. It is tears turned inside out. Truly the suffering is great, here on earth. We blunder along, shredded by our mistakes, bludgeoned by our faults. Not having a clue where the dark path leads us. But on the whole, we stumble along bravely, don't you think?"
"And so you laugh," I said.
"I laugh," he said, waving his hand in the air, attempting to disguise a tear.
"And so you laugh," I said.
"I laugh," he said, waving his hand in the air, attempting to disguise a tear.
November 19, 2011
Amazing lessons to learn about illusions that stem out of our intricate personalities and to be aware that pain you inflict on others is actually the biggest punishment you can ever give to yourself.
June 25, 2017
At first this novel confused me, with it's multiple first-person narrators. It always took me a paragraph or two to figure out who was telling the story, but in spite of this, the book definitely grew on me. Both erotic and spiritual, this beautifully written novel explores family relationships, sex, death, and the meaning of love.
December 21, 2009
I can't say I loved the way 'A color Purple' or 'Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart' read. However, I LOVED this book. I don't know much about Walker, but I'm guessing she is a bit of a free spirit, unrestrained by societies ideas on love and wealth.
I never expected this book to be so...liberating. In America, as well as so many other countries in the world, a woman's sexuality isn't hers. It is something commandeered by men. Men that have women gyrating in music videos. Who have women, naked and splayed, on the cover of Playboy. Tossing bills at women in strip clubs. And when a woman finds her inner Lilith, meaning she refuses to give the man dominance over her body and her desires, she is called a whore, a slut. She's dirty. This book shows both the desire of a father to snuff out his daughters free spirit and sexuality by means of religion and what he has been taught is appropriate and inappropriate for a young lady. It also shows the extreme of the other sister, who shares herself with both men and women, and does not allow herself to be restricted. Walker doesn't describe sex perversely, as some 'wham bam thank you ma'am', rather on a spiritual higher level that is both beautiful and powerful.
I never expected this book to be so...liberating. In America, as well as so many other countries in the world, a woman's sexuality isn't hers. It is something commandeered by men. Men that have women gyrating in music videos. Who have women, naked and splayed, on the cover of Playboy. Tossing bills at women in strip clubs. And when a woman finds her inner Lilith, meaning she refuses to give the man dominance over her body and her desires, she is called a whore, a slut. She's dirty. This book shows both the desire of a father to snuff out his daughters free spirit and sexuality by means of religion and what he has been taught is appropriate and inappropriate for a young lady. It also shows the extreme of the other sister, who shares herself with both men and women, and does not allow herself to be restricted. Walker doesn't describe sex perversely, as some 'wham bam thank you ma'am', rather on a spiritual higher level that is both beautiful and powerful.
November 25, 2012
I hate to say it, but I was quite disappointed in this book. It actually bored me. I felt that Alice Walker was all over the board in this book, with the multiple points of view, the multiple stories, the various references to random cultures' historical and symbolic practices that keep women subordinated. I feel that her writing here plus all the above-mentioned tactics stole the joy of watching a linear plot unfold and puzzling out for myself the characters' development. But she would tell us that they changed 180 and 20 years went by without a backward glance in one sentence. For the most part I didn't like the characters or their voices. The ones I kinda liked--Irene--were not very believable. Or Manuelito, through his character's voice, Walker made him look simple or like a stereotypical Indian.
June 1, 2013
This little novel is a delicious read. What a treasure is Alice Walker's writing, such a gift of wisdom and fresh insight.
The storyline is of journeys home to the heartself along diverse paths linked by a common betrayal. It has the power to touch upon and stir the reader's own life journey.
I found it crafted in a very interesting and clever style, moving in first person from one character to another. Often it would take several paragraphs to identify who was speaking.
Sexuality is at the core of how the story plays out, and is treated with sensuality and sensitivity, never crass even when frank.
My only mild criticism would be around the tendency to use characters to psychoanalyse, rather than providing the context for the reader to fulfil this role.
All in all an excellent read.
The storyline is of journeys home to the heartself along diverse paths linked by a common betrayal. It has the power to touch upon and stir the reader's own life journey.
I found it crafted in a very interesting and clever style, moving in first person from one character to another. Often it would take several paragraphs to identify who was speaking.
Sexuality is at the core of how the story plays out, and is treated with sensuality and sensitivity, never crass even when frank.
My only mild criticism would be around the tendency to use characters to psychoanalyse, rather than providing the context for the reader to fulfil this role.
All in all an excellent read.
October 14, 2014
I really enjoyed By the Light of My Father's Smile and recommended it to my book club. There is a graphic sex scene in the first chapter, with a ghost watching, that may surprise the more conservative reader. This book is about sex, but it's not about sex. It's not 50 shades. It's about the role of sex in our lives and our cultures. Embracing sexuality in human-kind, and our growing adolescents. How to accept the intertwining of sex, love, and happiness. Being true to yourself. Learning yourself. I think I will read it again when I get it back from whomever I loaned it to last.
October 3, 2023
Honestly, I don't have words to explain how much I hated reading this book. With the constant switching of POV's, it was a real pain in the ass. I couldn't figure out who the narrator was until a few pages into the chapter. The much detailed description of the daughter's sex life from the father's POV in the initial chapters were super creepy. I didn't exactly understand what message the author was trying to convey through this book. Totally disappointed and definitely don't recommend!
March 27, 2007
i don't know why but i really did not like this book, which was disappointing as i usually really like walker's work. something just didn't click with me.
March 18, 2008
a lena book... of course
March 9, 2011
No matter how hopeful I am, lightning is not striking twice.
February 16, 2017
Beautiful. Alice Walker is a seamstress. ❤
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