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Title: Corregidora by Gayl Jones ISBN: 0-8070-6315-0 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1986 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An A+ For Gaylee Jones' Gripping Novel
Comment: I first read Corregidora as an assignment for my creative writing course in college. Usually with a gripe for such readings, it was immediately apparent why the professor had chosen this book. Corregidora is an essential look into America's past: the people, the places, and the dark events that shaped a culture. Ursa is a prime example of the hardships faced by women during that time and still do in some parts of the world. This story stands to remind us, well into the future, of the struggles people face even today.
A.E.H. Veenman, an author and reviewer
Rating: 4
Summary: Deep, Dark, and Gripping!
Comment: From the time that Ursa Corregidora is able to listen, she is told by her great-grandmother that she must retain "the evidence" in order to pass it on to her children. Initially, one would think this is a harmless request. However, "the evidence" is an oral history of how her great-grandmother was raped and then used as a whore by her white slave owner, Corregidora, as was her daughter (Ursa's grandmother) after her. Corregidora then impregnates Ursa's grandmother (his biological daughter) to produce Ursa's mother. Not only is this a disturbing history for a child to commit to memory, but her great-grandmother's resentment and distrust of men were also passed onto a young Ursa.
Although Ursa had a black father, she resembles the Portuguese Corregidora. Her light skin and fine hair causes her to be ostracized by black women and desired by black men. She expresses her lifelong frustrations in the form of song and has moderate success as a blues singer in the small local club circuit. Ursa finds herself suffering emotionally, verbally, and physically at the whim of her husband, Mutt, who begins to exhibit the same jealousy, possessiveness, and envy that her great-grandmother shared regarding her relationship with Corregidora.
Through flashbacks and internal memories, we understand Ursa's mental anguish when trying to discern between the painful slave legacy and her present day household situation. True to the mindset of the time, a woman's childbearing ability is looked upon as her only source of power and we see Ursa's torment further exacerbated when her ability to pass "the evidence" to her children is jeopardized.
This book addresses racism, slavery, and sexism on several different levels. Be warned-- it grips the reader from the beginning and goes deep in a very "Alice Walker-ish" kind of way. I experienced difficulty following the dialogue at times but I hung in there and relied on inference to follow the author's insinuations; and despite this one 'snag', I was not disappointed with Ms. Jones's first novel. This is a short but complex read; it is not for everyone, however I found it was a worthwhile literary departure from the "norm."
Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
April 4, 2003
Rating: 4
Summary: A "Blues" Novel, A Stunning Debut
Comment: I read the book after I'd already gone through The Healing and it made me understand why her debut astonished the literary community. She created a deep bluesy world in which to explore themes of love, geneology, black matriarchy, memory, forgiveness, loyalty...One wishes she could have told more stories, had a career trajectory like Morrison's but her personal life did not accomodate her gift. Ursa Corregidora is a beautiful blues singer in 1930's middle America. A tragic accident (or is it?) leaves her unable to bear children and tormented by the twisted lineage of a line of women that will end with her. I would recommend the book for anyone interested in women's fiction, black historical fiction, American fiction. Similar theme to Beloved but much more spare prose style, much is left for the reader to infer, improvise. A slim, powerful book.
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Title: Dessa Rose : A Novel by Sherley A. Williams ISBN: 0688166431 Publisher: Quill Pub. Date: 03 February, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Chaneysville Incident by David Bradley ISBN: 0060916818 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 23 May, 1990 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: MIDDLE PASSAGE by Charles R. Johnson ISBN: 0684855887 Publisher: Scribner Book Company Pub. Date: 01 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Eva's Man (Black Women Writers Series) by Gayl Jones ISBN: 0807063193 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 05 March, 1987 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Cattle Killing by John Edgar Wideman ISBN: 0395877504 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 15 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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