It don’t matter how old you are, you always need your momma.
Bernice L. McFadden’s first novel, written in 2000, was my introduction to this American Book Award winner [2017 for The Book of Harlan], and I will definitely be reading more of her work. I only hope that she doesn’t end each beautiful story with such a storm cloud. If I’d been turning pages rather than listening, I’d have hurled the book across the room—but as I listen on my phone . . ..
Set in 1950’s Arkansas, this is the story of an unlikely friendship between a matronly Baptist, Pearl and her new neighbor, Sugar, who is a prostitute. They have seemingly nothing in common and yet everything in common—though only one will learn of their greatest bond by the end of the story. Abandoned at birth to the care of three prostitutes, Sugar’s lack of motherly love has caramelized her to a brittle shell of a flashy woman. Pearl, on the other hand, has been an empty shell of herself ever since the brutal murder of her daughter twenty years before. As they find their ways into each other’s arms, there are hearty laughs and heartbreak aplenty. I can’t stress enough how much I loved this story for its compassionate portrayal of both characters as they help each other to understand and move beyond their pasts.
It took McFadden a decade to polish and publish this work, as she describes in this 3-minute interview about her writing career, yet she has since gone on to publish some twenty more.
Penguin, 256 pages—recently rereleased in 20th Anniversary edition—or 8 hrs. 44 mins. on Audible.