A Long Way from Home

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing!
Review: There was so much that could have been done with this novel! I was on the last few pages still hoping for a glimpse of a good story. Ms. Briscoe chose to jump around way too much in this story. I felt there was no focus at all. Whole books could have been written for each time period the chararcters experience; however, the author made a big mistake by trying to condense all of these stories into one. And the conclusion! I felt as if she were trying to write a half-hour after school television program instead of a full-length book.

Rating:
Summary: excellent story
Review: This is a wonderfully written book and it gives you the feeling that you are on the Madison Estate living with the people and being a part of their lives.

Rating:
Summary: Bring out the Tissues
Review: This was my first Connie Briscoe novel and as it was worth every minute I spent turning those pages -- I'll definitely be in the market for another Briscoe story, and I thank the members of my book club (the Final Word Literary Guild of Fort Washington, MD) for recommending it to the group. Only if you have a penchant for stories of history, particularly African American history and moreso, the slave era, can you have an appreciation for this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the lives of a generation of slave women, getting to know intimately their day-to-day lives and the experiences of growing up a slave. The ultimate reward, of course, was witnessing their slow walk to blessed freedom. The reunion between the long separated sisters is touching. My absolute favorite and memorable characters were the sisters Susan and Ellen, the handsome Mr. Oliver Armistead, and Daddy Walker the hero. I promise you the reader that you won't be disappointed in this book or the author's ability to bring the story to life.