Taming It Down

by Kim McLarin

"Hope is a woman with every reason to be mad. Her editor at a Philadelphia newspaper thinks she got her job merely because she's black. Her white lover dumps her for another, blonder woman, and her African American boyfriend considers her a traitor to her race. But when her temper leads her to commit a desperate and irreversible act, she is forced to reevaluate her relationships with her colleagues, her men, her family, and herself. McLarin's first novel goes beyond the typical woman-in-the-Nineties-looking-for-happiness story to explore how rage can erode both individual lives and whole societies and how one woman's ability to let go and forgive can lead to healing. While the supporting characters, especially the men, are thinly drawn, Hope stands out as the perfect girlfriend: smart, funny, and caring, a woman you want to shake some sense into and hug at the same time." Library Journal

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

We tried to get the author as a speaker but she declined.
Unhappy black female journalist. Went to white private school.
Trying to find herself as a black woman.
Dates a white man, then a black militant.
Goes to Africa and sees dreadful reality there.
Pregnant, abortion, religion.
Finally admits she needs her family.
Lots of themes.
Pretty good.

[Bridgit Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found my self in this book.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young journalist coming to terms with who she is as a woman, a black woman and a journalist.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure what to think about this book. I found it really, REALLY interesting through the first half as the reader is introduced to Hope and the intense pressures she faces navigating race, identity, and a career that is often unduly influenced by both. But, then it got sort of soap opera-ish. And the painful and real problems that Hope faces because of her anger felt dramatized rather than emotional like the first part of the book. Personal sidenote for myself is that I didn't like the amount of graphic description of Hope's sexual encounters. I felt like tighter editing would not only have made me personally appreciate the gravity of those situations more, but honestly kept the story on track rather than diluting it with inane detail. Not a book I'll be reading again, and not one I'd readily recommend, although I really appreciated the author's impeccably well-written insight into race and how it might affect an individual's reality.

[Colette Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This may be one of the worst books I have ever read. If it weren't a book club pick I would have not have read past page one. Given that we will be discussing shortly, I will leave it at that, but for everyone else, I must note that the kindle version of this book (the only version available on amazon) is horribly formatted. The book itself could have benefited from editing (it is written as though this is a first or second draft) but the formatting and errors in the electronic version are horrendous.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I like the rawness of the book

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book created much discussion. I'm not going to put it all down b/c the author might see it.

[Jaycohboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book got better as it went on. I couldn't stand the main character but its what makes her so important.

[V]

I am glad I found this..bought it..and read it