- Paperback: 251 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st Back Bay Pbk. Ed edition (9 Dec 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316899984
- ISBN-13: 978-0316899987
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.6 x 21 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,947,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Five-year-old Clara Bynum is dead, drowned in the Potomac River in the shadow of a seemingly haunted rock outcropping known locally as the Three Sisters. River, Cross My Heart, which marks the debut of a wonderfully gifted new storyteller, weighs the effect of Clara's absence on the people she has left behind: her parents, Alice and Willie Bynum, torn between the old world of their rural North Carolina home and the new world of the city, to which they have moved in search of a better life for themselves and their children; the friends and relatives of the Bynum family in the Georgetown neighborhood they now call home; and, most especially, Clara's sister, ten-year-old Johnnie Mae, who must come to terms with the powerful and confused emotions stirred by her sister's death as she struggles to decide what kind of woman she will become. This highly accomplished first novel resonates with ideas, impassioned lyricism, and poignant historical detail as it captures an essential part of the African-American experience in our century.
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First Sentence
Dangerous ideas come to life and spread like sparks on dry twigs. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Dangerous ideas come to life and spread like sparks on dry twigs. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The first thing to know about this book is that it basically has no plot -- it's more a series of loosely connected vignettes that, when taken as whole, combine to give the reader an impression of African-American life in the 1920s in a particular neighborhood in Washington, D.C. So, while the book does open with a beautifully rendered chapter in which the 12-year-old protagonist's sister drowns in the Potomac river, that tragedy doesn't lead to the kind of linear story with clear resolution many readers might expect.
In that respect, the book is a bit of a failure -- but to my mind, it more than makes up for it by presenting a compelling roster of leading and supporting characters who bring alive the social history of pre-Depression black Washington. To be sure, the little girl's death hovers over the entire book, and the author does a great job of showing how the community rallies to support the family, but it's really about the community, not the tragedy itself. We get little peeks into everyday life, rituals, habits, social mores, and so forth. And of course, racism and it's economic and social consequences are woven throughout the book in a seamless manner.
Ultimately, it's a very personal book -- the author lost her child to an accident, and it's hard not to read the book as part of her grieving process. Also, her parents grew up in Georgetown during the era the book describes, and the book began as a story based on their reminisces, so in that sense it honors their history. It's definitely a book worth checking out if you have a connection to Washington, D.C. or just want a good fictional glimpse of African-American social history -- just don't expect much of a story.
In that respect, the book is a bit of a failure -- but to my mind, it more than makes up for it by presenting a compelling roster of leading and supporting characters who bring alive the social history of pre-Depression black Washington. To be sure, the little girl's death hovers over the entire book, and the author does a great job of showing how the community rallies to support the family, but it's really about the community, not the tragedy itself. We get little peeks into everyday life, rituals, habits, social mores, and so forth. And of course, racism and it's economic and social consequences are woven throughout the book in a seamless manner.
Ultimately, it's a very personal book -- the author lost her child to an accident, and it's hard not to read the book as part of her grieving process. Also, her parents grew up in Georgetown during the era the book describes, and the book began as a story based on their reminisces, so in that sense it honors their history. It's definitely a book worth checking out if you have a connection to Washington, D.C. or just want a good fictional glimpse of African-American social history -- just don't expect much of a story.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Breena Clarke's portrayal of a family living in 1920s Washington teetered on the edge of being really very interesting, however her style of writing is so bland and wan that we don't venture into truly creative writing. Rather oddly, some of the potential high points in the lives of the characters were summed up in a few paragraphs, whilst mundane events seemed to take centre stage. I very much wanted to root for Johnnie-Mae, but couldn't empathise with the character. It's more Mills & Boon than Toni Morrison.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up on a recommendation- i had previously read "Cane River" by Lalita Tademy and "River, Cross you heart" was also on the Oprah book list and I am so glad I purchased this.
From the very first page you are tugged into an emotional rollercoaster- happiness, sadness, loss, crisis of faith- pulling you in different directions in every chapter. Combine all these emotions with the problems of Johnnie Mae- a young, black girl on the cusp of adolesence and you have got a fantastic book.
By the time you reach the end of the book; you feel as if you have invested time in looking after Johnnie Mae in her growing up and her struggling with the death of her sister Clara- to which she feels she played a part in.
Absolutley fantastic. For people who have read "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold- this makes for an interesting contrast.
From the very first page you are tugged into an emotional rollercoaster- happiness, sadness, loss, crisis of faith- pulling you in different directions in every chapter. Combine all these emotions with the problems of Johnnie Mae- a young, black girl on the cusp of adolesence and you have got a fantastic book.
By the time you reach the end of the book; you feel as if you have invested time in looking after Johnnie Mae in her growing up and her struggling with the death of her sister Clara- to which she feels she played a part in.
Absolutley fantastic. For people who have read "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold- this makes for an interesting contrast.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great storytelling,filled with wisdom.
Enjoyed this book, well worth the time. Breena Clarke is an excellent storyteller. "River" is filled with wisdom sayings and reflections on cultural traditions of Blacks... Read more
Published on 25 Aug 1999
Absolutely a brilliant read, couldn't put it down.
This was set in Georgetown, Washington DC and even though I'm not even from the US I'd spent time there and this book caught my eye. Read more
Published on 17 Aug 1999
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