In this hotly anticipated conclusion to his popular Invisible Life trilogy, E. Lynn Harris delivers a masterful tale that traces the evolving lives of his beloved characters Nicole Springer and Raymond Tyler, Jr., and reintroduces readers to their respective lovers, best friends, and potential enemies. Abide with Me moves between the worlds of New York City, where Nicole has recently settled in order to pursue her dream of returning to the Broadway stage, and Seattle, where a late-night phone call from a U.S. Senator is about to change Raymond's life dramatically. Relationships and ambitions are tested as Harris deftly guides us toward this entertaining novel's conclusion.
Sexy and heartwarming in equal measure, Abide with Me will thrill new readers as well as fans already familiar with Harris's unique take on the universal themes of love, friendship, and family. E. Lynn Harris has truly done it again.
E. Lynn Harris was born in Flint, Michigan and raised, along with three sisters, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where he was the school's first black yearbook editor, the first black male Razorbacks cheerleader, and the president of his fraternity. He graduated with honors with a degree in journalism.
Harris sold computers for IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and AT&T for thirteen years while living in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. He finally quit his sales job to write his first novel, Invisible Life, and, failing to find a publisher, he published it himself in 1991 and sold it mostly at black-owned bookstores, beauty salons, and book clubs before he was "discovered" by Anchor Books. Anchor published Invisible Life as a trade paperback in 1994, and thus his career as an author officially began.
Invisible Life was followed by Just As I Am (1994), And This Too Shall Pass (1996), If This World Were Mine (1997), Abide with Me (1999), Not A Day Goes By (2000), Any Way the Wind Blows (2001), A Love of My Own (2002), I Say A Little Prayer (2006), Just Too Good To Be True (2008), Basketball Jones(2009), and Mama Dearest(2009),all published by Doubleday, and In My Father's House(2010), published by St. Martin's Press. Ten of Harris's novels hit the New York Times bestseller list, and his books have also appeared on the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. In 2003, Harris published his first work of nonfiction, a memoir entitled What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, which was also a New York Times bestseller. Today, there are more than four million copies of his books in print.
Harris's writing also appeared in Essence, Washington Post Sunday Magazine, and Sports Illustrated, as well as in the award-winning anthology Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, Go The Way Your Blood Beats. His novella, "Money Can't Buy Me Love" was published in Got To Be Real: Four Original Love Stories. Freedom in This Village, a collection of short stories edited by Harris, was released in the fall of 2004. His short fiction appeared in Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writers (Harlem Moon), a 2002 collection he edited with writer Marita Golden.
Harris won numerous accolades and prizes for his work. Just As I Am was awarded the Novel of the Year Prize by the Blackboard African-American Bestsellers, Inc. If This World Were Mine was nominated for a NAACP Image Award and won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. Abide with Me was also nominated for a NAACP Image Award. His anthology Freedom in this Village won the Lambda Literary Award in 2005. In 1999, the University of Arkansas honored Harris with a Citation of Distinguished Alumni for outstanding professional achievement, and in October 2000 he was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. He was named to Ebony's "Most Intriguing Blacks" list, Out Magazine's "Out 100" list, New York Magazine's "Gay Power 101" list, and Savoy's "100 Leaders and Heroes in Black America" list. Other honors included the Sprague Todes Literary Award, the Harvey Milk Honorary Diploma, and The Silas Hunt Award for Outstanding Achievement from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Harris was a member of the Board of Directors of the Hurston/Wright Foundation and the Evidence Dance Company. He was the founder of the E. Lynn Harris Better Days Foundation, a nonprofit company that provides support to aspiring writers and artists.
Not a terrible book but certainly not a great or really even a good one. Yet somehow: readable.
I will admit there is just no way I would have been able to spend the time to physically read this novel line by line. That may actually be true with any E. Lynn Harris book. But the flexibility of audiobooks absolutely helps the reader glide through this with some ease and without feeling robbed of valuable and minimal time.
I would hate to call this a novel. Instead, I found it best to regard this book as three separate short stories. Essentially Raymond, Yancy & [Naomi? I forgot the characters name already], and Basil have their own personal dramas going on throughout the book. Very little interaction between them and there is no central threat. They each tackle their own battles on their own without involvement of the others much at all. This is why it is easy to skip around chapters and really not miss a beat.
I have a hard time with Harris' books sometimes. They are often so chopful or stereotypes it gets in the way of originality. And trust me there is not an ounce of Original in this book. You have seen and heard and read it all before. And that's okay! There is nothing new anymore anyway, however dont insult the reader. The reader still wants to know the author has made an effort.
In the Harris World: Never fails to find a gay male character suffering with AIDS. A self-absorbed Angry Black Woman is never too far away. And men, both gay and straight, are obsessed with sex, self and power. Oh and yes Harris can only describe black people by comparing their skin tones to food! And why are we still yapping about interracial dating? Where are the three dimensional characters??
Having worked in bookstores I have often found the genre "African American Fiction" to be vague. What does this mean? Books BY or ABOUT Blacks? Both? And if a Black author wrote say The Lord of the Rings where does it get cataloged? Harris seems to have defined this genre for me: truly its just reality-show drama that centers and is stirred by Black characters. Abide With Me is no exception.
I do have my share of compliments as well. Most of them are for the audiobook's narrator who has narrated other Harris novels wonderfully. (I Say a Little Prayer: A Novel my favorite)
I recommend audio, notsomuch the printed novel. Enjoy and skip the ending.
It took me a while to get through this book compared to the other ones because I simply couldn't understand why we had to hear about other people despite the fact that they are a part of Raymond's life. It's odd to go from one character's POV to like three. I was disappointed by the end of this trilogy.
I would give this 3.5 stars if I could. It was a very readable book and provided a fantastic next chapter to the story of Raymond and Trent, Jared and Nicole, and set us up for Basil's next adventures on the down-low. I think the third-person narration distanced me too much from the story so I didn't enjoy this one as much as I expected. It provided a great setup for the next instalment, though which I can't wait to read.
If you haven't already read anything by Harris, this isn't the place to start, but it is a fun book about a topic that is still under-publicised. First you should read the earlier books in this trilogy (start with Invisible Life) or one of the stand-alone stories like Basketball Jones.
Short version: I liked this book and it was a worth conclusion to the Invisable life triolgy.
Overall this was a good read or listen I should say. Mirron Willis once again was the narrator of this audio book and though I am not a huge fan of his, he seems to be a good fit for Raymond. I don't really want to get into each individual character but there was nice development of returning characters even a few welcome surprises I was however let down that ***SPOILER Raymond and Basil didn't have one more night of heated bed-burning passion but whatevs.*** Raymond is still an unlikable character, he's very uptight which the author acknowledges but doesn't change and through Raymond (and pretty much all of the gay or bi characters) there is this not so subtle undertone of self-loathing based on their sexuality, it really gets under my skin personally. Anyways, don't want to use this review to drag the author or some of his problematic themes because overall I did enjoy this book series and their aren't really many (good, well-written) novels featuring primarily lgbtq POC so I applaud him for creating this world and these memorable characters during a place and time where many people could not have been very accepting.
Shocking. Abiding love so sweet. Trust and friendship linked like fresh air after long draughts. Gay matters acted so naturally. Treason and back stabbing hummed not subtly but surely. In the end, strong characters win. As Nicole wrote to Delaney "her Dad used to try to teach her ' tough times don't last long, but tough people do'." What splendid way of treating life, than the way life treats you, kindly, strongly, never give up. Everything happens for a reason, and it's not always bad reasons. Basil and Yancey, they seem to suit each other like sugar and cream in strong coffee. Raymond too found his peace, whispered by ghostly-not-so-angelic but spirit from heaven, Kyle.
I liked this book, specifically because it shows black people winning in life and actually successful. This story shows a group of friends and the issues they are going through. They all get a good ending honestly. Basil is the craziest but his story is fucked and I’m able he could work out his issues and make it work for him. Raymond actually annoyed me because yea your man cheated but you don’t think you you’re the reason why he cheated???? Nicole and Jared love them but come on Nicole girl.. your man do everything for you and you can’t be in the mindset of getting a child. It’s a fun read. Also it might be best to read the books before this one. I didn’t and I think that would of helped a little more but you don’t have to read the other books to understand this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was a rered from about 16 years ago. It was like reading it for the first time. I love these characters so much. Raymond Tyler, Jr. will be a character I will love and appreciate forever. His family was also such a big part of the story. His mom and brother are some of my favorite characters as well. Just like his best friends Jared and Nicole. I love how much Nicole and Raymond's relationship has progressed.
This was story about the turmoil of love, friendships, and one's career. I thought it was written incredibly. It goes by fast, but its fun and you get lost in the world of the characters. I enjoyed it.
Great book! So many ups and downs! Hopefully Nicole will stop being naive, Trent will make things right with Raymond, Raymond will find the perfect direction in which to go, Jared will finally become a father, Peaches & Enoch will find a resolution to keep their home and business, Delaney and Nicole will never let their true friendship die, Basil will find peace and calm in the new family he has found, and Yancey....huh... I hope karma kicks her ass!
Goodness gracious I just finished this novel and that Basil character was off the chain. I didn't expect some of things that were said to come out of his mouth 😳. The overall story was ok 🤷🏾there were ups and downs but it was a story that will get you through the day. I guess I'll check out the next book just to see what happens with Basil I'm curious as hell 🤔😏
I loved this book. It touches on real adult issues and scenarios but leaves some things to the imagination. It’s a story of love, regret, growth and new beginnings.
E. Lynn Harris is not James Baldwin. Studying the back of "Abide With Me" (as well as the author's biography on the back of the dust jacket), you would not know this. Yes, he is the winner of several literary awards and has drawn millions of readers to his popular writing style. But the type of books E. Lynn Harris writes are vastly different than the type of books Mr. Baldwin created.
"Abide With Me" is the 3rd book in the "Invisible Life" trilogy. We're re-introduced to the characters Raymond, Nicole, Basil, Jared and Trent. Mr. Harris moves through these characters' lives and inner turmoil via a series of vignettes; each chapter is about 3 to 5 pages and covers much ground. There isn't a lot of exposition so the dialogue is the main focus through everything. If you happen to forget a detail or two, it will assuredly be re-covered within the next chapter or so. You find yourself imaging what each character is thinking and feeling and sort of work through it. Because of this, this book comes across as an extremely light read.
I think anyone who is seeking the closure that "Abide With Me" promises (it being the last in the aforementioned trilogy) will feel disappointed. Mr. Harris depends too much on the reader's knowledge of books prior; there is little to no description of what came before. (It wasn't until 300 pages in that I figured out what relationship one character even had to the ingénue.) This isn't to say I didn't fully enjoy reading the book. It's merely my understanding of what was promised versus what was delivered. Avoid reading the dust jacket (or this review, for that matter) at all costs.
Books of this ilk come across as supermarket fiction. It's obviously great for those who aren't vast readers because a lot of the fat of a story is cut and it saves time for the juicy gossipy details. You see the plot coming from a distance but are pleased at yourself for analyzing the situation. When all is said and done, you're smiling and glad to have tackled yet another book, especially so for those who have never even read (or heard of) James Baldwin.
Some of our favorite characters are back in the end of this trilogy. Raymond Tyler has been recommended for a federal judgeship. In the process, some disturbing things come up in his background that may not be in his favor. Some will also test his relationships with others. Meanwhile, he’s trying to help Miss Peaches with a legal matter. His time in New York brings some clarity to his life, but also puts him in constant contact with the infamous Basil Henderson.
I was elated to find out that Basil found a therapist and began to open up about his life, and why he was such an a$$hole. I can’t wait to see what becomes of him and the woman who has caught his eye at the end.
Which leads me to Nicole. She went thru the most in this book. From dealing with expanding her family, focusing on her career and trying to be a good friend, she allowed a snake in her garden. I, for one, cannot wait until that snake is revealed.
It’s been over 20 years since I’ve read this book, and I believe I love it more now than I did then. My favorite character is a tie between Raymond and Miss Peaches. My least favorite goes to Raymond’s father. You’ll have to read the book in order to find out why. This is one book/series that I highly recommend.
(FROM JACKET) At the end of "Just as I Am", Raymond Tyler, Jr., was beginnning a relationship with Trent, a fraternity brother from his college days, while Nicole had found love with Jared, Raymond's buddy from Atlanta. As "Abide With Me" opens, Raymond and Trent are settled in Seattle, where Trent's career as an architect has blossomed and Raymond's law practice is booming. All seems well. Then, late one night, Raymond gets a call from a United States Senator that threatens everything he's built.
Raymond, facing a crisis of faith, travels to New York hoping for the support of his best friend, Jared, who's moved North after five years in Atlanta. His wife, Nicole, is performing in a revival of "Dreamgirls", her lifelong fantasy at last coming true. When things start to go wrong, her young and beautiful understudy, Yancy Braxton, steps into the spotlight a little too smoothly.
Abide With Me is fun to read on a soap opera level, and functions as a kind of mental popcorn. But has Harris grown as a writer over the last five years and with five commercially successful books? His primary motivation as a writer seems to provide a sanitized, yet titillating look at gay lives and gay sex. Readers are urged to demand better quality writing, and to demand growth from the authors they support.
LOVED THIS book. First of all, it's written by a gay black man, and has all kinds of love and sex in it. It's full of faith, love, honesty and family. It also has lying, treachery, cheating, and sickness. He has the ability to have at least ten different stories going on, intertwining them all, and allowing you to follow them all. I love this author and will keep this book to reread!
Love Elynn Harris Books -- I usually read them in one or two sittings. I feel like I am there with the characters in the story!!! Love the characters Raymond and Basil.
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