What do you think?
Rate this book
Weakness
Ricardo "Rick" Brown ran the streets of Washington, DC, trying to make a dollar. As a child, his tiny feet carried him through the city with no fear. Going from corner to corner, neighborhood to neighborhood, ultimately led him to produce this gripping tale about money, family, women, and love.
240 pages, Paperback
Published December 11, 2019
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Charlie Green
15 booksLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:
Charlie Green - Poetry
Charlie Green - Children's
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:
Charlie Green - Poetry
Charlie Green - Children's
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 6, 2017
One of the aspects of this book that I was looking forward to was how would a drug dealer be able to balance his love for money with his love for family (which is mentioned in the blurb for this book)? However, I did not see any balance between the two “loves”. His love for money trumps the love he has for his family since he was completely fine in putting his daughter in danger without any question right up until the end. This disappointed me greatly.
Speaking of the plot, I did not find it very suspenseful or interesting. Rick is a drug dealer, so he deals drugs, gets lots of money, and may get caught. Then, there were a gross amount of poorly-written sex scenes with countless women. It ends on an unhappy and kind of weird note, and that’s pretty much it.
I think one of the main problems here is the lack of character development. The very few characters here do not grow in any way and the backgrounds aren’t built. A drug dealer’s life I can’t imagine being a fun or relaxing one, but I can’t sympathize with Rick since I don’t understand how he ended up as a drug dealer, and more importantly the fact that he pulls his daughter into the “business” makes me like him less. To be honest, he doesn’t really grow in any way here, which then I ask “what was the point of the story?” If there was some sort of background building or some type of growth perhaps my thoughts would be different.
I also took issue with the views of women here. Rick’s views of women is low and vulgar; neither his views of women nor his numerous sexual encounters adds to the plot or likability of Rick’s character. A direct quote – “Women loved money and sex. I didn’t really know in what order, but I knew they craved both.” (loc. 1457) and “I hated when men couldn’t control their women.” (loc. 1089). Some people may be able to read comments like these and graze over them, but there are already enough people and media that undermine women, do we need more in 2017?
Lastly, within the book, there are also some errors that another round of editing would be beneficial. For one, the name of Rick’s daughter, Chanel, was misspelled at least once to “Chanl” (loc. 2426). Then, “…a change to knock.” (1162) should be “…a chance to knock.” I also believe “unproductive” should be “unprotected” in this sentence – “…I wasn’t having unproductive sex.” (loc. 1249).
Overall, I felt the story was lacking and expected more based on the blurb and reviews it has. I would not recommend this book.
https://bookloverblogs.com/2017/11/06...
*This was part of the OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day Program*
Speaking of the plot, I did not find it very suspenseful or interesting. Rick is a drug dealer, so he deals drugs, gets lots of money, and may get caught. Then, there were a gross amount of poorly-written sex scenes with countless women. It ends on an unhappy and kind of weird note, and that’s pretty much it.
I think one of the main problems here is the lack of character development. The very few characters here do not grow in any way and the backgrounds aren’t built. A drug dealer’s life I can’t imagine being a fun or relaxing one, but I can’t sympathize with Rick since I don’t understand how he ended up as a drug dealer, and more importantly the fact that he pulls his daughter into the “business” makes me like him less. To be honest, he doesn’t really grow in any way here, which then I ask “what was the point of the story?” If there was some sort of background building or some type of growth perhaps my thoughts would be different.
I also took issue with the views of women here. Rick’s views of women is low and vulgar; neither his views of women nor his numerous sexual encounters adds to the plot or likability of Rick’s character. A direct quote – “Women loved money and sex. I didn’t really know in what order, but I knew they craved both.” (loc. 1457) and “I hated when men couldn’t control their women.” (loc. 1089). Some people may be able to read comments like these and graze over them, but there are already enough people and media that undermine women, do we need more in 2017?
Lastly, within the book, there are also some errors that another round of editing would be beneficial. For one, the name of Rick’s daughter, Chanel, was misspelled at least once to “Chanl” (loc. 2426). Then, “…a change to knock.” (1162) should be “…a chance to knock.” I also believe “unproductive” should be “unprotected” in this sentence – “…I wasn’t having unproductive sex.” (loc. 1249).
Overall, I felt the story was lacking and expected more based on the blurb and reviews it has. I would not recommend this book.
https://bookloverblogs.com/2017/11/06...
*This was part of the OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day Program*
November 7, 2017
I’m normally not drawn to Urban Life novels, especially those with less-than morally pristine characters, but the premise of “Weakness” caught my attention. I was intrigued by the idea of the drug dealing MC finding a balance between his love of money and his love of his family—and it’s made pretty clear early on that he dearly loves both, though they tend to be at odds as far as his priorities are concerned. I turned the last page with thoroughly mixed feelings and impressions.
First of all, I did NOT like this main character; not only is he unapologetic about making his money pushing drugs, but he has zero qualms getting his daughter involved. I was thoroughly disgusted by the story he told about hiding crack cocaine in her dirty diaper when he got pulled over by the cops. I was hoping he’d grow, learn, or change as the novel went on, but he never did and that was disappointing…until I realized this wasn’t that kind of a story. I think the lack of character development was a better portrayal of the type of person Rick was than any amount of ‘so the moral of the story is’ or ‘I learned something today’. He’s a man with a plan that doesn’t seem to know anything else and really isn’t looking to change. I can’t relate to or sympathize with him—quite the opposite, in fact—but he is what he is and he has a story to tell.
As far as the plot was concerned, there really wasn’t one in the sense of action-driven scenes or a big, revealing, path-altering climax. In fact, “Weakness” was almost memoirish in its composition. Mr. Green gave us a peek into the sordid and questionable life of a drug dealer: prison time, a less-than-favorable or respectful view of women, and the importance placed on the hustle. In all honesty, I found the whole thing to be pretty ugly and uncomfortable, but also hard to put down. Call it morbid fascination, but I had no trouble finishing this book.
I did stumble across a number of typos, including the misspelling of Chanel’s name. Words were occasionally misspelled or misused. Another round of editing would have polished these out, and it’s always aggravating when an author doesn’t take the time to do this.
Bottom line: I’m on the fence with this one. While it was an interesting journey, I don’t feel like I walked away with anything significant. I might recommend “Weakness” to someone looking for a story about a drug dealing felon, so long as character growth or complex plot isn’t a requirement.
Review first appears on Notes from 'Round the Bend
First of all, I did NOT like this main character; not only is he unapologetic about making his money pushing drugs, but he has zero qualms getting his daughter involved. I was thoroughly disgusted by the story he told about hiding crack cocaine in her dirty diaper when he got pulled over by the cops. I was hoping he’d grow, learn, or change as the novel went on, but he never did and that was disappointing…until I realized this wasn’t that kind of a story. I think the lack of character development was a better portrayal of the type of person Rick was than any amount of ‘so the moral of the story is’ or ‘I learned something today’. He’s a man with a plan that doesn’t seem to know anything else and really isn’t looking to change. I can’t relate to or sympathize with him—quite the opposite, in fact—but he is what he is and he has a story to tell.
As far as the plot was concerned, there really wasn’t one in the sense of action-driven scenes or a big, revealing, path-altering climax. In fact, “Weakness” was almost memoirish in its composition. Mr. Green gave us a peek into the sordid and questionable life of a drug dealer: prison time, a less-than-favorable or respectful view of women, and the importance placed on the hustle. In all honesty, I found the whole thing to be pretty ugly and uncomfortable, but also hard to put down. Call it morbid fascination, but I had no trouble finishing this book.
I did stumble across a number of typos, including the misspelling of Chanel’s name. Words were occasionally misspelled or misused. Another round of editing would have polished these out, and it’s always aggravating when an author doesn’t take the time to do this.
Bottom line: I’m on the fence with this one. While it was an interesting journey, I don’t feel like I walked away with anything significant. I might recommend “Weakness” to someone looking for a story about a drug dealing felon, so long as character growth or complex plot isn’t a requirement.
Review first appears on Notes from 'Round the Bend
October 24, 2017
Weakness - a review by Rosemary Kenny
Ricardo 'Rick' Brown is a disadvantaged black youth, used to running the streets of DC and no stranger to petty crime; he loses his hospital job when sentenced for a first offence for 'coke'-dealing and is soon serving a second prison term.
Prison time is meant to reform and rehabilitate offenders, but in Rick's case it's a double-edged sword as he realises the vast profits to be made from dealing heroin. Having a higher-quality product will make him more money, from selling less than the coke ever did. Other inmates induct him into the nuances of dealing in Baltimore where police scrutiny is easier to avoid; cellmate Lorenzo, 'Zo,' reveals his Dad Jake is a dealer and will help Rick get started.
How will Rick's partner Julie, [and his daughter] cope without him while in prison - will Julie wait for him? Will his new 'career'-move get him the life he wants - and at what cost personally? Can Zo and Jake be trusted and does all end well?for Rick and his family?
With a twist in the [morality] tale at the end, this thought-provoking book by author Charlie Green will keep you turning pages right to the very end.
Ricardo 'Rick' Brown is a disadvantaged black youth, used to running the streets of DC and no stranger to petty crime; he loses his hospital job when sentenced for a first offence for 'coke'-dealing and is soon serving a second prison term.
Prison time is meant to reform and rehabilitate offenders, but in Rick's case it's a double-edged sword as he realises the vast profits to be made from dealing heroin. Having a higher-quality product will make him more money, from selling less than the coke ever did. Other inmates induct him into the nuances of dealing in Baltimore where police scrutiny is easier to avoid; cellmate Lorenzo, 'Zo,' reveals his Dad Jake is a dealer and will help Rick get started.
How will Rick's partner Julie, [and his daughter] cope without him while in prison - will Julie wait for him? Will his new 'career'-move get him the life he wants - and at what cost personally? Can Zo and Jake be trusted and does all end well?for Rick and his family?
With a twist in the [morality] tale at the end, this thought-provoking book by author Charlie Green will keep you turning pages right to the very end.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews