|
I finished the book with more respect and appreciation for both Jewish and Christian religions, and for Whites and Blacks. McBride wrote a very good book alternating chapters about his mother's Jewish childhood with chapters about his mixed race and Christian childhood. I very much recommend this book. I will keep this short. Mr.
Between the hideous onslaught of Jewish stereotypes (positive and negative stereotypes are mentioned, but the negative capture the spotlight), at least the author included some of the delicious things we cook when we're not robbing poor people, slagging off disabled family members and spitting racist remarks in yiddish. "I opened the lunch bag Mameh had packed for me and inside, tucked between the knishes and matzoh balls and chopped liver, was her Polish passport."Maybe we should throw in some kugel. Perhaps some pastrami on rye.
She never cleaned and rarely prepared a meal for the children but let them fight for the jars of peanut butter she brought into the house, with the weakest going without and all of them going hungry. She did do a good job of teaching her children the importance of education but that education was paid for through the generosity of the same Jewish people she taught her children to think of as cold and unfeeling. I found this book interesting and entertaining. She beat the children and let the oldest beat the younger ones. Oh, yes, she also refused to visit her own dying mother.The book is interesting and not without value but I'm surprised that it is taught in high schools as a tribute to a wonderful mother. I was fascinated by his mother's early life and I enjoyed the stories of the children raising themselves in New York.What I didn't like was the underlying principle that says if people have professional degrees, then their mothers must have done a great job.This mother had 12 children even though she was living in poverty. She left the children alone at night while she went to work.
What an awful, self serving book. Furthermore, it seems as if he thinks himself incapable of racism solely because his mother is white, which is illustrated by his obsession with race apparent in every chapter. That being said, I do wish he would have spent more time on her story, which seemed very interesting, as most of the book was about his own coming of age.
I agree that the story was sloppy and disorganized, not to mention repetitive. The listing of her progeny and their degrees was just too much for me, and the epilogue had little relevance to anything and it was left to the reader to determine in any case. I found it odd that McBride felt the need to arbitrarily state the race of every character in the book, given the title.
It seems to me he was trying to reassure himself that his mother was indeed a perfect person, not an irresponsible, distant, aloof one as the facts seem to depict. There were numerous contradictions and I would have greatly appreciated some insight or continuity in whatever point this book is trying to make. This book was more like a shout out to the people he had come across in his life, with long winded introductions to random people that not only had nothing to do with his mother, but took away from her story.
He repeatedly lists his numerous awards and reminds the reader how accomplished he is in a poor and uninspired style.
The mom's background was a strong Jewish family with a Rabbi as a father. This is a very well written book that incorporates 2 lives, mother and son and what it was like to live in a black community with a white mom.
|
