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Make Lemonade / True Believer
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From: Sheila Welch <sheilawelch>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 16:39:48 -0500
Hello!
When I read Make Lemonade, the story and the use of language thrilled me.
It's the kind of book that made me wish I had written it. Because the book focuses so closely on LaVaughn, Jolly and her kids, and LaVaughn's mother, race doesn't seem to be an issue. LaVaughn's world, in that book, is fairly restricted and, in a way, self-contained. It's irrelevant to LaVaughn (at that point in her life) what color she is, and it doesn't matter to the reader. In True Believer, however, her world has expanded.
To me it seems unrealistic that LaVaughn never mentions skin color (that I recall) or other racial characteristics. While this may make the book more likely to appeal to all kinds of kids, I find it a little disconcerting. I've read rave reviews of True Believer, and agree that it's an excellent book. However, several things about the book felt slightly forced to me, and the lack of acknowledgement of the race of the characters seemed too obviously a deliberate deletion.
Now, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that as a white writer Ms. Wolff may not have felt totally comfortable stepping into the shoes of black characters. If this is the case, she has legitimate concerns because there's no doubt that books written out of one's "culture" are often subject to close scrutiny by those who belong to the particular group being portrayed. So, if Wolff had stated clearly that LaVaughn is black, then, as an author, she would have been suspect. "What gives her the right to talk about us? Has she ever lived that life? Does she know what it feels like to be black?" These are just a few of the questions that might have been asked. So, I can understand an author's desire to circumvent this sort of distracting (although in many cases legitimate) discussion of her work. On the other hand, to give readers a true picture of LaVaughn's world, to really get into this young girl's mind and feelings, in my opinion, some mention of race would have felt more honest. Even if LaVaughn is white, she would have to be living in a vacuum not to describe at some point the racial characteristics of at least a few of the people in her world. These are my feelings, but I'm an adult reader.
Whether the race of the characters needs to be mentioned could be put to the test by seeing how young readers respond to these books. I've heard that teen readers of Make Lemonade assume that LaVaughn is whatever race they themselves happen to be. (Sorry, I'm not sure where I read about this response.) If young readers feel the same way about True Believer, then Ms. Wolff made the right decision to exclude mention of race.
In closing, despite my comments about True Believer, these are both lovely novels with so much to offer readers of many ages. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a true reading treat.
Sheila Kelly Welch
Received on Tue 10 Jul 2001 04:39:48 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 16:39:48 -0500
Hello!
When I read Make Lemonade, the story and the use of language thrilled me.
It's the kind of book that made me wish I had written it. Because the book focuses so closely on LaVaughn, Jolly and her kids, and LaVaughn's mother, race doesn't seem to be an issue. LaVaughn's world, in that book, is fairly restricted and, in a way, self-contained. It's irrelevant to LaVaughn (at that point in her life) what color she is, and it doesn't matter to the reader. In True Believer, however, her world has expanded.
To me it seems unrealistic that LaVaughn never mentions skin color (that I recall) or other racial characteristics. While this may make the book more likely to appeal to all kinds of kids, I find it a little disconcerting. I've read rave reviews of True Believer, and agree that it's an excellent book. However, several things about the book felt slightly forced to me, and the lack of acknowledgement of the race of the characters seemed too obviously a deliberate deletion.
Now, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that as a white writer Ms. Wolff may not have felt totally comfortable stepping into the shoes of black characters. If this is the case, she has legitimate concerns because there's no doubt that books written out of one's "culture" are often subject to close scrutiny by those who belong to the particular group being portrayed. So, if Wolff had stated clearly that LaVaughn is black, then, as an author, she would have been suspect. "What gives her the right to talk about us? Has she ever lived that life? Does she know what it feels like to be black?" These are just a few of the questions that might have been asked. So, I can understand an author's desire to circumvent this sort of distracting (although in many cases legitimate) discussion of her work. On the other hand, to give readers a true picture of LaVaughn's world, to really get into this young girl's mind and feelings, in my opinion, some mention of race would have felt more honest. Even if LaVaughn is white, she would have to be living in a vacuum not to describe at some point the racial characteristics of at least a few of the people in her world. These are my feelings, but I'm an adult reader.
Whether the race of the characters needs to be mentioned could be put to the test by seeing how young readers respond to these books. I've heard that teen readers of Make Lemonade assume that LaVaughn is whatever race they themselves happen to be. (Sorry, I'm not sure where I read about this response.) If young readers feel the same way about True Believer, then Ms. Wolff made the right decision to exclude mention of race.
In closing, despite my comments about True Believer, these are both lovely novels with so much to offer readers of many ages. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a true reading treat.
Sheila Kelly Welch
Received on Tue 10 Jul 2001 04:39:48 PM CDT
