Reviews

Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime: Stories by J. California Cooper

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mjewrites's review against another edition

3.0

What starts out as a fast and enjoyable read becomes a little tedious once you notice all the stories follow a similar theme—which isn’t a bad thing, short story collections usually do follow one or more central themes for cohesiveness. But it got to a point where I knew where each story would end up before finishing it because they’re all the same. I do think it’s worth a read but maybe better suited in small chunks spread out from one another so it’s not so monotonous.

reeds_reads's review against another edition

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It’s a collection of short stories and I checked it out from the book so had to return it and might check it out again soon. The stories I read were EXCELLENT

shanaedidgood's review against another edition

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5.0

This collection of short stories is brilliant. Cooper did a magnificent job capturing the lives, emotions, and problems of Black women in America. I found each story touching and compelling. The horror, the love, and the pain each of the women in these stories experienced is so gripping that I found myself completely lost in the stories. I enjoy each story so much, I don't even have a favorite - they are all so amazing!! The first story, "Femme Fatale" will hook you and you'll find yourself just like me: waiting for the chance to open the book and pick up where you left off. I definitely recommend this book because the writing, plots, and historical significance of these stories cannot be ignored. As a lover of women writers and African American fiction, I may be biased because Cooper writes stories that fit perfectly into my literary niche. But beyond my preferences, as an avid reader and one who drinks the English language like it water, I'm telling you that this is one of, if not the best, collection of short stories I have ever read.

gmdudley4's review against another edition

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4.0

I would not call this a book of short stories - they read more like long form short stories. And yes, they are really about Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime. Each of the stories centered on Black women navigating love; love of men, love of children, love of control, and love of self. J. California Cooper has a style of writing that is so fresh that I am having a difficult time truly describing it. This book offers real life lesson - I've highlighted several passages in each of the stories. This book was a great follow up to Family. I would recommend it to a friend.

bookbliss925's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I don’t want the pain anymore….I’m too old to have too many kinds of pain in my life anymore.”

“She grieved when he left because her life was too big for him once he got out of her bed.”

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If you’ve never read a book by J. California Cooper, I urge you to ASAP! This legend is a master at storytelling.

This collection of 10 stories makes you feel like you are sitting right next to the narrator having iced tea or lemonade at the kitchen table or on the porch. When I say she can turn a phrase, OMGGGG!! Like, I constantly read and re-read passages because they were so good!

Every story is heartfelt, sad but good, honest, humorous, inspiring, uplifting and motivating. If you love rainbows after the storm or happily ever after endings, this is a book you will definitely enjoy. Just so much real and unadulterated content. But packed full of life lessons and wisdom.

While I’ve read pretty much all her books before, that was over 25 yrs ago, so I decided to revisit her catalog for GUARANTEED good reading.

This book get ALLLL the stars 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟