By Clarence Lewis
Hey Guys!!! I was having dinner with Neonu and was telling her all about a great book I���d just finished reading. She said I should write a review to share with the InSite Family, so here you go. The book is titled, ���Standing at the Scratch Line��� by Guy Johnson. Johnson is the son of renowned author and poet Maya Angelou (not that genetics has anything to do with writing).
The book was recommended to me by my mom. It sat on the shelf for 2 months because the title was so strange I thought it was about black people struggling to make it, a la Good Times. Boy was I wrong. This book is set in the early 1900���s and is about the life and times of King Tremain. One of my friends who also read the book described the character as ���the man every man wishes he was���. Remember the Godfather Part II when they show you the history of Don Corleone and how he became the godfather. Now make that character a black man building an empire during the height of Jim Crow and Harlem Renaissance. THAT���S THE HOOK!!
When I think of that time period, I picture it like ���Gone with the Wind��� and ���To Kill a Mocking Bird��� and other famous films which depict black people as always waiting to be saved or redeemed by the white majority. That���s what makes this book unique to me. It presents the idea that even in the worst of social times if you stand strong, then you can control your own destiny. King Tremain is definitely a force to be reckoned with (guns a blazing, if necessary). One of my boys read the book and called him an absolute ���stud.��� My mom thinks it���s the best book she ever read. I wouldn���t go that far. She also said that every woman wishes she had a man with some (not all) of King���s characteristics. That I can agree with whole heartedly.
I���ve turned about 10 people on to the book and everyone who's read it has enjoyed it. The book didn���t get much acclaim so you���ll probably have to find it on Amazon or some other online book store. Oh, if you do read it and you enjoy it (I���m sure you will), don���t forget to check out the sequel, ���Echoes of a Distant Summer.��� Maybe I���ll tell you about that one another time.
PS. I could say so much more about this book like what is the meaning of the title, but I���m going to let you find out that and much more on your own.
The book was recommended to me by my mom. It sat on the shelf for 2 months because the title was so strange I thought it was about black people struggling to make it, a la Good Times. Boy was I wrong. This book is set in the early 1900���s and is about the life and times of King Tremain. One of my friends who also read the book described the character as ���the man every man wishes he was���. Remember the Godfather Part II when they show you the history of Don Corleone and how he became the godfather. Now make that character a black man building an empire during the height of Jim Crow and Harlem Renaissance. THAT���S THE HOOK!!
When I think of that time period, I picture it like ���Gone with the Wind��� and ���To Kill a Mocking Bird��� and other famous films which depict black people as always waiting to be saved or redeemed by the white majority. That���s what makes this book unique to me. It presents the idea that even in the worst of social times if you stand strong, then you can control your own destiny. King Tremain is definitely a force to be reckoned with (guns a blazing, if necessary). One of my boys read the book and called him an absolute ���stud.��� My mom thinks it���s the best book she ever read. I wouldn���t go that far. She also said that every woman wishes she had a man with some (not all) of King���s characteristics. That I can agree with whole heartedly.
I���ve turned about 10 people on to the book and everyone who's read it has enjoyed it. The book didn���t get much acclaim so you���ll probably have to find it on Amazon or some other online book store. Oh, if you do read it and you enjoy it (I���m sure you will), don���t forget to check out the sequel, ���Echoes of a Distant Summer.��� Maybe I���ll tell you about that one another time.
PS. I could say so much more about this book like what is the meaning of the title, but I���m going to let you find out that and much more on your own.
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