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Summary: A Gracious Plenty
Review: This is one of the most meaningful books I have read in my lifetime thus far.
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Summary: Unique and comforting
Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend who knew my interest in cemeteries. I had heard of Sheri Reynolds, but had not read her previous two novels. I was immediately fascinated with her characters, who were wounded human beings--without being too pathetic. I thought Reynold's approach to communicating with the dead was original and thought provoking. Her settings were simply described, yet thick with images. This author can accomplish a lot of story telling in a relatively short book, and not leave the reader unsatisfied. A Gracious Plenty made me a Reynolds fan, and I went on to read (and enjoy) her other books.
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Summary: Great and mysterious book
Review: I really liked A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds. It shows a creative interpretation of communication with the dead. It also shows what it feels like to be rejected by people and how to seek comfort in your true friends.
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Summary: Even we can learn from the dead
Review: This was the first book I have read from Sheri Reynolds, and it will not be the last. I was so drawn into the charecters she writes about that I could not put the book down. From her main charecter Finch's struggle to deal with life with her body covered with burns, to the dead and the stories they have to tell. The irony of her now best friend who is dead who she wishes she could be like and vice versa. Each one with their own tale interweaving into one another. I loved how it the two worlds work as one and that it just is not final. I enjoyed this book so much I passed it on to my mother when she finished we gave it to my best friend. So far it has been to 5 people and each of us say the same thing, it was a beautiful touching story. Very well written, I can not wait to get more books written by Sheri Reyonlds. *When it rains I wounder who is working now. *
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Summary: A fine nouveau
Review: Sheri Reynolds is a brilliant author. First, I have to say that I loved the name Finch for her main character. The book absolutely hit another level of writing that is so very rare to find. She scooped into the depths of faith, purgatory, humanity, love, and disappointment. I could feel myself as Finch lying on the grave and listening for any sound of the dead. My favorite part is the dialogue and relationship between Finch and the dead. When the "dead" confess and cuss despite I giggled from deep inside. Reynolds has deep experiences and the heart of a child. This is a definite book for my "library."
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Summary: A tearjerker, a comic, a tragedy all in one beautiful novel!
Review: When I recieved this book I couldn't wait to dig in. It sounded like a very beautiful story. The woman in the story has been scarred for life. She was burnt by boiling water when she was a little girl. Now as a middle aged woman, the town thinks she is crazy. She keeps herself confined to her cemetary and claims to talk to the dead people. The towns people laugh and send there kids over to make trouble for this pour woman. But the woman does not care. She learns so much from the people living in the graves of her cemetary. There are so many life lessons. But when A storm threaghtens her life and the spirits start to fade away she will learn the most important lesson of her life. Read the book to learn her lessons and the lessons of the people around her. The words in this novel flow like honey, smooth to look at but sticky to touch. You won't be dissapointed.
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Summary: Sheri Reynolds is amazing!
Review: I loved this novel! I bought this book after reading Reynolds' novel, The Rapture of Canaan, because I just loved her style of writing. I've decided that Reynolds is one of my favorite writers.Reynolds has once again created many characters that will stay in my mind for quite some time! The book is wonderfully written & the stories are perfectly told. I highly recommend this book to everyone -- especially those who have read The Rapture of Canaan (liked it or not) & to those that usually enjoy the types of books from "Oprah's book club".
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Summary: A Literary Epiphany
Review: Just wanted to share a literary epiphany that I experienced recently as a result of reading this book. You know - one of those moments where fiction fuses with reality and you're left in a head spin trying to find that place where the two co-exist. I attended the Unity Day Festival in Chicago a couple of weeks ago with a friend. The day was clear and extremely hot, we were hard pressed to find a shade tree or any darkness that could provide momentary relief from the sun. Surrounded by the heat generated from the sun, Bar-B-Q grills and a thousand or so Black folks out "concerting", my friend and I ventured into the swell of people, figuring we'd rather be out and about in the heat instead of sitting still in it. We walked closer to the concert stage and stopped in the midst of spread blankets and smoking grills. People were standing, swaying just enough to blend with the rhythmic melody of Faith Evans while not overheating in the intensity of the sun. To my right stood a woman dressed in white pant and blouse holding a plastic cup, wet with condensation created from the chill of its contents. The woman - her physical appearance - was extremely maimed and disfigured. From each hand extended three digits, reduced in number by the conjoining of the index and middle finger, the pinky and ring finger. Her face seemed to be the final resting-place for eyes that have sucked in too many shocked, afraid, and uneasy expressions from others. Eyes that seemed designed to show the imbalance of compassion and fear; the compassionate eye being small and thinly shaped, stretching itself in both directions in an attempt to gather more. The eye of fear was swollen; and overfilled with its substance, protruded slightly from its orbit, creating limitless space for expansion. Her nose was grandiose and distinctively separated down the center by a scar that concluded at her lip. Her mouth was war worn and battle torn. It contained the casing for teeth, the majority of which had long retreated from the red and black gums whose job it was to keep them secure. The remaining teeth stood at exhausted attention, the absence of their comrades displaying the weakness in both the formation and the remaining teeth. Contributing to this oral war was her tongue. Reptilian in size and motion the tongue lashed throughout her mouth and on occasion surfaced from its fortress of teeth and gum to survey the battlefield. Lifeless, stringy black hair situated itself atop her head, disheveling itself with each breeze. Her back was bent; not only to support the growth that emerged from the back of her shoulder, but also, it seemed, to accommodate the weight of her physical other-ness in a world that finds comfort in similarity. As I took in the totality of her being, I stared. Not a stare of shock, fear, or indifference; but a stare of familiarity. The quizzical stare that says, "you remind me of someone that I once knew". As I searched the expanse of my memory for a clue, I found myself reliving experiences that did not belong to me. A baby crying in a cemetery, a destructive ice storm, neither experience lived by me, but both associated with the woman. After taking in a little more sun and music, we moved onward to partake of the exhibits and other activities of Unity Day; from that moment on, I racked my brain and shook my memory in an effort to remember where I could have met this woman. The epiphany manifested itself as tingles that traversed the entirety of my body. Air seemed to pass through me as if neither flesh nor bones existed to serve as barriers, and the day seemed to get brighter. At that moment I turned to my friend, excited with the revelation of knowing my acquaintance with the woman and said, " I know who she reminds me of!" My friend, now displaying the same look of knowingness replied, " the character from that book . . . the graveyard keeper!" A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds is the novel that provided that shared experience with my best friend and the connection to the woman. The main character of the novel, Finch, is written as a woman with disfigurements similar to those of the woman at Unity Day. Finch is a graveyard keeper who is able to talk to the dead. Because of her physical appearance, she is isolated from the community and finds that her greatest usefulness is in tending to the needs of the cemetery and the spirits that live within it. Reynolds writes with such fluidity, compassion, and grace that Finch's physical other-ness neither detracts from nor adds to (in any significant way) the story line. And isn't that the way it should be? Shouldn't our differences find their place among all our other uniqueness to form the entirety of our human existence and experience? Shouldn't our reaction to and acceptance of others be based on more than the external surface that draws our immediate attention? I've loved all three books by Reynolds. Her writing has the ability to uncover differences among us and present them in a way that enlightens and enriches the reader. It was because my life had been enriched by Finch, that I did not flinch, at the appearance of the woman in the park. Reynolds connected me, through Finch, to an experience that I may not have come to know in any other way. It was because of that connection that my stare at the woman contained a smile of familiarity instead of a frown of disgust or disapproval. And this, my fellow readers and writers is why I love books! It is this type of literary epiphany that validates and strengthens our experiences. Through literature, we are able to connect to and familiarize ourselves with realities that may not be our own. May you continue to grow and learn through the written word.
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Summary: A great Autumnal read to warm the heart.
Review: I enjoyed Sheri Reynolds book. Her story about Finch Nobles raises many questions for the reader. For instance, in a culture that honors beauty and elegance, how do we deal with what we find repugnant? Can we deal with the ugly within us? Can we welcome all that is human, despite its appearance? The characters of "A Gracious Plenty" deal with these questions. Reba Baker comes away a better Christian as she scrubs away the vicious words painted on the tombstone of William Blott. Lois Armour comes to grips with the possibility that her "beauty queen" daughter committed suicide. Even the hardened Finch Nobles finds tenderness in developing a relationship with Officer Leonard. Reynolds takes death, a repulsive topic, and forms a tale for our times, a tale that causes us all to welcome all that is human. For me, as a Christian, it is a tale that deals with the cross, embracing the Paschal Mystery of Christ. It is a tale that shows there may be some redemptive value to suffering, especially when one has a group or community to offer one's story, and hear those of others. Maybe from Reynolds' piece we can begin a discussion on the community of the saints. This book is a great work to pass on to a friend. I recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: I bought this book on impulse, and fell in love with it!
Review: A wonderful book! Imediatly (sp? =o)) You fall in love with all of the characters for thier weakness' as well as thier strengths. A beautiful story told with rich detail, full of laughs, tears and warm smiles.
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