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uhhlexiconic's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Perhaps too slow to start and unclear in how it flips between perspectives, Mama Day ends with a bang once the story of modern love and old magic begins in earnest. Bittersweet and romantic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Child death
jadeanne's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Loved the writing style. George and Cocoa's dialogue and inner thoughts were so fun to read - witty and sharp. The story was also very interesting with lots of little details easy to miss. Complex, well-crafted, tense novel. I really loved it!!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Physical abuse
barry_x's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
What a stunning book this is! The moment I finished it, I felt like I just needed to breathe and rest, and let the novel lie there in my thoughts for a while. It is a book which I found captivating, emotional and yet I can't describe it as a rollercoaster. It is a novel which asks you to take your time, to live with the characters at perhaps a slower pace, because this is a novel set in a world where everything just needs to slow down.
Mama Day is mostly set on the island of Willow Springs, which is in the waterway to the Atlantic ocean between Georgia and South Carolina. The land belongs to the residents of Willow Springs having been bequeathed to them by the island's former slave owner, and the former slaves in turn being free people on the island. It is connected to the mainland and is 'part' of the United States, and yet it is not part of either the state of Georgia or North Carolina. In many respects it exists as a micro-state, it has utilities like electricity and telephone, yet it is also poor and a simpler, yet harder life. The book is set in the 1980's but there is always the sense that Willow Springs is a couple of decades behind.
The book is mostly from the perspectives of multiple points of view. Two elderly sisters Abigail and Miranda, known as Mama Day whose ancestry traces back to the woman who liberated the island are the heart of the novel on Willow Springs. Abigail's granddaughter Ophelia (aka Cocoa and Baby Girl) and her husband George are two other major points of view as we follow the story of their marriage and their return / coming to Willow Springs.
The characterisation is superb. Abigail and Mama are beautifully portrayed. Mama is the elderly healer and midwife on the island, in an uneasy recognition with the mainland doctor and the on island medical charlatan. She's also the informal matriarch of the island as characters come to her for help with things. Mama is the one with the sharp tongue and a no-nonsense attitude who doesn't take any disrespect from anybody, whilst Abigail is the nurturing, kindly grandmother whose love pours out of everything she does. That probably feels like a disservice to Mama because it is evident everything she does is guided by love, she's just going to share it a different way.
The dialogue between these two ladies especially is so immersive. I don't know how people from the Southern US states really speak but they sound so authentic as a pair of elderly ladies whose wit and tongue hasn't slowed down. Quite often, I found myself smiling or laughing at the interplay between them and the other characters in the novel.
I guess Mama as a character is the novel's hook, even though the novel is not really about her. On Willow Springs magic exists, and it is magic that can create and help, or cause harm. There is much about the need to believe in order to understand. And yet, all the magic can be rationalised away with a scientific explanation. Is Mama Day a herbalist, a storyteller, a folklorist? Is there magic of the ancestors travelling down the generations. There is an alignment between a deep knowledge of the land and environment and superstition and tradition.
The novel wasn't marketed as fantasy, or magical realism or speculative in any way, and to a large extent it isn't and didn't need to be. For in this novel, the magic is in the ordinary, the everyday, the way things are just done around here. It is matter of fact. There are certain scenes in the book where characters do things and as a paragraph it just seems like an action anyone could do, but in the context of the book it is infused with meaning and understanding and significance - it is though everything happens for a reason.
Of course in this novel, I haven't mentioned Ophelia and George much. The novel is their story, of them meeting in New York, falling in love, getting married and as per tradition eventually visiting Willow Springs. Much of the book is them speaking to each other about their life together, as if looking back and remembering. It is like a long love letter of explanation and justification.
Other readers mileage may vary, but I didn't particularly like either of them, and I don't believe either of them loved the other. I think they both needed something, someone, but they weren't it. It is a tale of 'star crossed lovers' - indeed there are Shakespearean references everywhere. Ophelia from Hamlet, Ophelia and George read King Lear, and of course Mama / Miranda weaving magic on an island beset by storms like The Tempest. Both George and Ophelia do things that make me not like them. George at times behaves in quite a misogynistic way and there are undercurrents of control and examples of domestic violence from both of them. In many respects it is the story of a failing and failed marriage. Even though I didn't particularly care for them it is a testament to the strength of the writing that I was still so thoroughly engaged in their story. The thread of communication and needing to communicate in a marriage is so strong here.
The supporting characters add a richness to the story. On the face some seem caricatures but they all feel totally natural in the context of the novel. It's a novel that is so grounded, so comfortable in it's own world. I laughed, I felt sad, I felt touched and was rewarded with the gift of reading a beautifully written book.
Mama Day is mostly set on the island of Willow Springs, which is in the waterway to the Atlantic ocean between Georgia and South Carolina. The land belongs to the residents of Willow Springs having been bequeathed to them by the island's former slave owner, and the former slaves in turn being free people on the island. It is connected to the mainland and is 'part' of the United States, and yet it is not part of either the state of Georgia or North Carolina. In many respects it exists as a micro-state, it has utilities like electricity and telephone, yet it is also poor and a simpler, yet harder life. The book is set in the 1980's but there is always the sense that Willow Springs is a couple of decades behind.
The book is mostly from the perspectives of multiple points of view. Two elderly sisters Abigail and Miranda, known as Mama Day whose ancestry traces back to the woman who liberated the island are the heart of the novel on Willow Springs. Abigail's granddaughter Ophelia (aka Cocoa and Baby Girl) and her husband George are two other major points of view as we follow the story of their marriage and their return / coming to Willow Springs.
The characterisation is superb. Abigail and Mama are beautifully portrayed. Mama is the elderly healer and midwife on the island, in an uneasy recognition with the mainland doctor and the on island medical charlatan. She's also the informal matriarch of the island as characters come to her for help with things. Mama is the one with the sharp tongue and a no-nonsense attitude who doesn't take any disrespect from anybody, whilst Abigail is the nurturing, kindly grandmother whose love pours out of everything she does. That probably feels like a disservice to Mama because it is evident everything she does is guided by love, she's just going to share it a different way.
The dialogue between these two ladies especially is so immersive. I don't know how people from the Southern US states really speak but they sound so authentic as a pair of elderly ladies whose wit and tongue hasn't slowed down. Quite often, I found myself smiling or laughing at the interplay between them and the other characters in the novel.
I guess Mama as a character is the novel's hook, even though the novel is not really about her. On Willow Springs magic exists, and it is magic that can create and help, or cause harm. There is much about the need to believe in order to understand. And yet, all the magic can be rationalised away with a scientific explanation. Is Mama Day a herbalist, a storyteller, a folklorist? Is there magic of the ancestors travelling down the generations. There is an alignment between a deep knowledge of the land and environment and superstition and tradition.
The novel wasn't marketed as fantasy, or magical realism or speculative in any way, and to a large extent it isn't and didn't need to be. For in this novel, the magic is in the ordinary, the everyday, the way things are just done around here. It is matter of fact. There are certain scenes in the book where characters do things and as a paragraph it just seems like an action anyone could do, but in the context of the book it is infused with meaning and understanding and significance - it is though everything happens for a reason.
Of course in this novel, I haven't mentioned Ophelia and George much. The novel is their story, of them meeting in New York, falling in love, getting married and as per tradition eventually visiting Willow Springs. Much of the book is them speaking to each other about their life together, as if looking back and remembering. It is like a long love letter of explanation and justification.
Other readers mileage may vary, but I didn't particularly like either of them, and I don't believe either of them loved the other. I think they both needed something, someone, but they weren't it. It is a tale of 'star crossed lovers' - indeed there are Shakespearean references everywhere. Ophelia from Hamlet, Ophelia and George read King Lear, and of course Mama / Miranda weaving magic on an island beset by storms like The Tempest. Both George and Ophelia do things that make me not like them. George at times behaves in quite a misogynistic way and there are undercurrents of control and examples of domestic violence from both of them. In many respects it is the story of a failing and failed marriage. Even though I didn't particularly care for them it is a testament to the strength of the writing that I was still so thoroughly engaged in their story. The thread of communication and needing to communicate in a marriage is so strong here.
The supporting characters add a richness to the story. On the face some seem caricatures but they all feel totally natural in the context of the novel. It's a novel that is so grounded, so comfortable in it's own world. I laughed, I felt sad, I felt touched and was rewarded with the gift of reading a beautifully written book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse
Minor: Child abuse and Slavery
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The most striking thing about this novel is Gloria Naylor's ability to set a scene. Willow Springs as a setting is so lush and evocative, I almost wished it were real. But if it were real, knowing of its existence would only spoil the magic of such an intentionally isolated community. Naylor's ability to create palpable characters that are so easy to love within that setting was also striking. Abigail, Mama Day, Coco, and George each had complex, well-developed thoughts and lives.
Where this book didn't work for me, ultimately, is the plot. At some point in the middle, I felt like the whole story dragged. There was also quite a lot of magical realism but perhaps not enough for my taste! What can I say, magical realism is one of my favorite genres.
If you like character studies set in the Deep South with a sprinkling of magic, you may love Mama Day.
Where this book didn't work for me, ultimately, is the plot. At some point in the middle, I felt like the whole story dragged. There was also quite a lot of magical realism but perhaps not enough for my taste! What can I say, magical realism is one of my favorite genres.
If you like character studies set in the Deep South with a sprinkling of magic, you may love Mama Day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
caydencj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Vomit
lauconn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
rlgreen91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a gorgeous, gorgeous book. I deeply enjoyed The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills - this has to be one of the greatest opening sequences of novels by a writer of all time.
There's a lot to like in this novel - of course you have Naylor's beautiful prose, describing both the natural world around us and bouts of magical realism. Mama Day and Abigail are reminiscent of so many of the Black women I've knowing throughout my life. I think if I had to pick one part of the novel I'd love to unpack more, it would be the relationship between Cocoa and George. I'll admit - I had a hard time at first believing their relationship would last. In my reading, they both seemed too inflexible to do the compromising necessary to be in a relationship with someone. While I don't think you should change yourself for the sake of being in a relationship, you do need to shift your life to be able to live in relation to the other person - and it was hard to imagine that they would do that. But they did over time, and it was great to see that type of shift depicted, even if they still got on each other's nerves a lot. A lid for every pot, I guess.
I do wish I had been able to attend the book club discussion for this one - I would have enjoyed hearing others' thoughts. Perhaps I'll stumble upon a group discussion for it in the future. Great book - 5 stars easy.
There's a lot to like in this novel - of course you have Naylor's beautiful prose, describing both the natural world around us and bouts of magical realism. Mama Day and Abigail are reminiscent of so many of the Black women I've knowing throughout my life. I think if I had to pick one part of the novel I'd love to unpack more, it would be the relationship between Cocoa and George. I'll admit - I had a hard time at first believing their relationship would last. In my reading, they both seemed too inflexible to do the compromising necessary to be in a relationship with someone. While I don't think you should change yourself for the sake of being in a relationship, you do need to shift your life to be able to live in relation to the other person - and it was hard to imagine that they would do that. But they did over time, and it was great to see that type of shift depicted, even if they still got on each other's nerves a lot. A lid for every pot, I guess.
I do wish I had been able to attend the book club discussion for this one - I would have enjoyed hearing others' thoughts. Perhaps I'll stumble upon a group discussion for it in the future. Great book - 5 stars easy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Suicide, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Abortion
alatarmaia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I picked up this book by impulse when it was on sale, and then ended up never reading it for about a year and a half. HUGE mistake. I could have experienced the magic so much sooner.
Mama Day is a fascinating look into a tiny Black island community, with a vivid history and a culture whose depth and meaning the author skillfully relates without overloading the exposition. The bonds between the residents of the islands, their entangled pasts, and the trauma in some of those pasts were amazingly clear even when so few details were granted.
I can't find the right words to explain my feelings on the magic in this book, the way it's written, the way it's performed, its effects and its subtlety and the moments where it loses that subtlety. All I can say is this is an amazing narrative on family and tragedy and surviving tragedy.
Mama Day is a fascinating look into a tiny Black island community, with a vivid history and a culture whose depth and meaning the author skillfully relates without overloading the exposition. The bonds between the residents of the islands, their entangled pasts, and the trauma in some of those pasts were amazingly clear even when so few details were granted.
I can't find the right words to explain my feelings on the magic in this book, the way it's written, the way it's performed, its effects and its subtlety and the moments where it loses that subtlety. All I can say is this is an amazing narrative on family and tragedy and surviving tragedy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Child death and Death
Minor: Slavery
In the beginning, the character Cocoa refers to other races/ethnicities with food-based terms. It comes from a Black woman, but it might be uncomfortable for people to see Asians and other groups referred to like that (I found it mildly demeaning). One major character also grew up in an orphanage where children were routinely denied food at meals as punishment.
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