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Simone
In the year 1930, the community of Potluck, Louisiana was one of divided lines - not of black and white, but of the haves and the have-nots. Of the residents of Potluck was one Simone Tout, a young woman of twenty years born an only child to a father who started the town school and a mother, Berta, who was proudly employed as a cook in the mayor's kitchen.
Two men - one you love, one you hate...
Georges Andrieux, the handsome, well-educated son of the mayor, is a man that Simone despises - a man who is more than aggressive in his determination to make Simone his wife. Berta of course is thrilled, but against her mother's wishes the headstrong Simone has plans of her own in the form of Cotton Neal, a young man who Berta considers as nothing better than a common thug, jailbird, and bootlegger from the wrong side of the tracks.
"Ain't nothing but a bunch of wild ass negros up in them hills..."
But to Simone, Cotton is the air she breathes - her future husband and the love of her life.
While Simone and Cotton prepare to run away together, the owner of a local opium den is found floating face down in the river. When Cotton is blamed for the murder he disappears, and while law enforcement work vigilantly to apprehend him, Simone is left to endure Georges' bitter, violent form of jealousy. When he threatens to reveal Cotton's whereabouts, Simone finally falls into his trap as he uses blackmail as a form of revenge.
Toni...
You run away only to have your car break down on the side of the road. You accidentally murder the mother of a good samaritan...
The events that follow will change the lives of each woman forever.
Two men - one you love, one you hate...
Georges Andrieux, the handsome, well-educated son of the mayor, is a man that Simone despises - a man who is more than aggressive in his determination to make Simone his wife. Berta of course is thrilled, but against her mother's wishes the headstrong Simone has plans of her own in the form of Cotton Neal, a young man who Berta considers as nothing better than a common thug, jailbird, and bootlegger from the wrong side of the tracks.
"Ain't nothing but a bunch of wild ass negros up in them hills..."
But to Simone, Cotton is the air she breathes - her future husband and the love of her life.
While Simone and Cotton prepare to run away together, the owner of a local opium den is found floating face down in the river. When Cotton is blamed for the murder he disappears, and while law enforcement work vigilantly to apprehend him, Simone is left to endure Georges' bitter, violent form of jealousy. When he threatens to reveal Cotton's whereabouts, Simone finally falls into his trap as he uses blackmail as a form of revenge.
Toni...
You run away only to have your car break down on the side of the road. You accidentally murder the mother of a good samaritan...
The events that follow will change the lives of each woman forever.
278 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2017
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261 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 24, 2017
Simone, by Angel Berry, is set in a context that is historically as well as geographically charged: the year is 1930, and the place is Louisiana. As the book description underlines, the conflicts are not clearly racial, but rather based on a peculiar dynamic between race and class.
The novel is constructed around a simple, yet well executed scenario: what if, the novel seems to ask its readers, you're in love with someone you can't have? Although the premise doesn't sound too original (and it isn't), this isn't anything to worry about in terms of engagement. The narrative succeeds in offering a thrilling progression of events, with a good tempo and very few slow points. Although things progress in a more-or-less predictable way, this isn't at all problematic, as Berry's language and personal style more than adequately make up for what lacks in terms of originality. Personally, I'd much rather read a well-written unoriginal story, rather than a badly written larger-than-life one. After all, although this book is marketed as an African-American novel, it is first and foremost a literary fiction one, involving sociocultural commentary, personal struggle, and reflection. It is in this context, however, that there is some room for improvement.
Although the characters are generally well-written, realistic, I think they could have a bit more depth and richer inner worlds that would truly allow something greater than themselves to peer through. As it stands, the characters come off as slightly too unidimensional, concerned only with their main aim (as provided by the story), and they appear a bit too disconnected from their - arguably very important - sociocultural setting. It isn't detrimental to the reading enjoyment of the book, but it feels a bit like a lost opportunity to provide something even better. Partly, I think this is also a consequence of a sharp division that occurs about half-way in the novel - the shift in time/space as well as character focalization has a thinning effect.
Still, to counter the criticism above, this novel remains a text that is clearly superior compared to so many others out there. Its story is intense, engaging, and accessible whether one is interested in African-American literature or not (to put it this way, I see absolutely no reason why international audiences wouldn't find this book interesting). After all, its story could be a story that has occurred anywhere, at any time, and I think managing to portray this might be one of the novel's greatest achievements
The novel is constructed around a simple, yet well executed scenario: what if, the novel seems to ask its readers, you're in love with someone you can't have? Although the premise doesn't sound too original (and it isn't), this isn't anything to worry about in terms of engagement. The narrative succeeds in offering a thrilling progression of events, with a good tempo and very few slow points. Although things progress in a more-or-less predictable way, this isn't at all problematic, as Berry's language and personal style more than adequately make up for what lacks in terms of originality. Personally, I'd much rather read a well-written unoriginal story, rather than a badly written larger-than-life one. After all, although this book is marketed as an African-American novel, it is first and foremost a literary fiction one, involving sociocultural commentary, personal struggle, and reflection. It is in this context, however, that there is some room for improvement.
Although the characters are generally well-written, realistic, I think they could have a bit more depth and richer inner worlds that would truly allow something greater than themselves to peer through. As it stands, the characters come off as slightly too unidimensional, concerned only with their main aim (as provided by the story), and they appear a bit too disconnected from their - arguably very important - sociocultural setting. It isn't detrimental to the reading enjoyment of the book, but it feels a bit like a lost opportunity to provide something even better. Partly, I think this is also a consequence of a sharp division that occurs about half-way in the novel - the shift in time/space as well as character focalization has a thinning effect.
Still, to counter the criticism above, this novel remains a text that is clearly superior compared to so many others out there. Its story is intense, engaging, and accessible whether one is interested in African-American literature or not (to put it this way, I see absolutely no reason why international audiences wouldn't find this book interesting). After all, its story could be a story that has occurred anywhere, at any time, and I think managing to portray this might be one of the novel's greatest achievements
August 2, 2017
I received this Early Readers Edition in exchange for an honest review.
This was the most intense short novel I've ever read. It was a very quick read though and I finished it in three hours. It was captivating, almost from the beginning. Simone's character is truly pathetic and you can't help but feel for her because her character never really catches a break. Toni's character is only briefly in the book, but her circumstances are devastating and you can't help but see a direct line of sadness and hopelessness linking her to Simone; a character she never knows but who she becomes intertwined with nonetheless.
A lot of the things that happen in the book were given away by the synopsis (again, it's a short novel, not a whole lot of room there for conflict) but still, somehow, I could not put this book down. The level of detail in this novel was perfect. The author didn't go into detail with every aspect of the book, which would have made it over-explained and drawn out needlessly, but she described things in a way that was almost poetic. Immediately I was hooked on descriptions of the characters and the setting. It added that extra bit of flavour to an already beguiling story.
There was a lot of sadness, death and frank language and treatment of African American's that was hard to read, but necessary to the story. It made the story the tragedy that it was, but because of it I don't know that I could read the book again. I always have a hard time reading about characters who truly deserve a happy ending and never get the extent of what they deserve. It's the only thing stopping me from giving this book a five star rating.
This was the most intense short novel I've ever read. It was a very quick read though and I finished it in three hours. It was captivating, almost from the beginning. Simone's character is truly pathetic and you can't help but feel for her because her character never really catches a break. Toni's character is only briefly in the book, but her circumstances are devastating and you can't help but see a direct line of sadness and hopelessness linking her to Simone; a character she never knows but who she becomes intertwined with nonetheless.
A lot of the things that happen in the book were given away by the synopsis (again, it's a short novel, not a whole lot of room there for conflict) but still, somehow, I could not put this book down. The level of detail in this novel was perfect. The author didn't go into detail with every aspect of the book, which would have made it over-explained and drawn out needlessly, but she described things in a way that was almost poetic. Immediately I was hooked on descriptions of the characters and the setting. It added that extra bit of flavour to an already beguiling story.
There was a lot of sadness, death and frank language and treatment of African American's that was hard to read, but necessary to the story. It made the story the tragedy that it was, but because of it I don't know that I could read the book again. I always have a hard time reading about characters who truly deserve a happy ending and never get the extent of what they deserve. It's the only thing stopping me from giving this book a five star rating.
September 15, 2017
I'd give this book a solid 3.5 starts.
This author does know how to tell a story. The novel is short, fast paced, and grim with excellent dialogue accents and use of descriptions to set the scenes and personalities of the characters.
She does a very good job of bringing us to the South and all that it entailed during that era. It is a struggle from page one to the end for all of the characters. The number of characters, the pacing and size of the book make it difficult to become invested in many of the characters, and I like to become invested in the characters, so if an author takes their time to let the story unfold I'm o.k. with that. If you prefer shorter, grim, depressing stories, you will like this book despite some of its hiccups.
I give it a 3.5 stars instead of a solid 4 due to inconsistent formatting, which made it difficult to follow the story at times, and on occasions having to backtrack to see if I missed something due to an incorrect word. I don't want to work to hard at reading a book.
This author does know how to tell a story. The novel is short, fast paced, and grim with excellent dialogue accents and use of descriptions to set the scenes and personalities of the characters.
She does a very good job of bringing us to the South and all that it entailed during that era. It is a struggle from page one to the end for all of the characters. The number of characters, the pacing and size of the book make it difficult to become invested in many of the characters, and I like to become invested in the characters, so if an author takes their time to let the story unfold I'm o.k. with that. If you prefer shorter, grim, depressing stories, you will like this book despite some of its hiccups.
I give it a 3.5 stars instead of a solid 4 due to inconsistent formatting, which made it difficult to follow the story at times, and on occasions having to backtrack to see if I missed something due to an incorrect word. I don't want to work to hard at reading a book.
March 20, 2018
Simone by Angle Berry contains several loosely connected narrative threads. I felt the writing was richly textured and the tone resonated vibrantly. The characters are drawn so that I could see and feel them. There is powerful story telling here. And, excellent writing.
In the hands of a professional editor, I believe this could be an exceptional book. As with many self-published books, the lack of that level of editing does show through. There are occasional sentences that don’t quite make sense, an instance or so of character names being confused, there are confusing context switches, and the ending felt disorganized and confusing.
As it is, it is an interesting book full of potential and I enjoyed reading it. If you have some patience to set aside what I’ve described in the second paragraph above, I believe you’ll treat yourself to some beautifully rendered story telling. And, keep an eye out for the future work of Angel Berry. I believe she is a very talented writer, with a bright future.
In the hands of a professional editor, I believe this could be an exceptional book. As with many self-published books, the lack of that level of editing does show through. There are occasional sentences that don’t quite make sense, an instance or so of character names being confused, there are confusing context switches, and the ending felt disorganized and confusing.
As it is, it is an interesting book full of potential and I enjoyed reading it. If you have some patience to set aside what I’ve described in the second paragraph above, I believe you’ll treat yourself to some beautifully rendered story telling. And, keep an eye out for the future work of Angel Berry. I believe she is a very talented writer, with a bright future.
August 25, 2017
It started as a nice story set in a time I kept thinking about "I'm glad I didn't live back then". Part 1 was an interesting insight in what the life of a woman was like in the 1930s in America. I could easily sympathize with the main character Simone and was curious to find out how the story ended. But the way Part 2 developed ... wow ... I certainly wasn't prepared for that. Definitely worth reading.
June 9, 2018
Simone is two stories linked by two characters, both are stories of class and racial differences, both are at times gentle sweet and romantic, and others involve extreme violence. Both are well written descriptive with believable characters good and bad and downright evil, and a real sense of time and place. This is powerful excellent story telling and recommended.
October 18, 2017
I have a mixed feeling about this book. It was sad and tragic. Wish story would have concluded with a happy ending.
I have received this book through a giveaway in exchange for honest review.
I have received this book through a giveaway in exchange for honest review.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews