Open House : Of Family, Friends, Food, Piano Lessons and the Search for a Room of My Own

Rating:
Summary: Amusing Prologue; Poignant Middle; Rather Sad Epilogue
Review: 1/22/05 This library borrow had a few gaps(pages that I skimmed and decided that I was satisfied with learning of general content(especially those chapters dealing with the topic of whysome blacks are very pale complexion...I'm sure many of those who are very light compexion don't appreciate the topic either,since it serves no purpose whatsoever and especially since persons the complexion of Cuba Goodins Jr or Oprah Winfrey aren't having to explain why they arn't the maximum African Complexion of darkest blue black....However author Patricia J Williams has a very fine vocabulary which ribbets from every page I ead or skimmed, she has had great opportunity as well as many challenges to confront as a well educated black and it was very sorrowing on the last pages (Pgs 244-245) to see her listing of so many of her peers who've died prematurely(Jerome Culp,Dwight Greene,Mary Jo Frug,Teresa Brennan,Haywood Burns,Shanara Gilbert,Denise Carty-Benia,Andrew Haynes.Her Page 242 mentions author Erma Bombeck and the article re Ms Bombeck helped her to decide to hold "an open house" to celebrate the fact that her son had returned to good health .Ms Bombeck(author of "I hate housework, and also written during a trying period of illness that she wished she'd given more house parties without worry whether peple would approve of how the house looked" The book jacket is beautifully designed by aDebbie Glasserman to represent 5 keys of different sizes and shapes and going in differen directions for Open House of family,friends,food,piano lessons and the search for a "Room of My Own" with two keys on the back jacket perhaps reflecting the words "Current Affairs/Memoir which are written below the critics by authors : Henry Louis Gates Jr, Gloria Steinem, Derrick Bell, Letty Cottin Poprebin, Veronica Chambers, Maurice Berger. 1/22/05 abj

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful writing - insightful, poignant and prickly
Review: I loved reading this book - I read it on a plane flight cross country and I felt as if I had spent the time with a good friend. Williams' view of the world is not a sticky sweet rememberance of things past but rather a pragmatic and straight on view of the obstacles she's encountered and of observations she's made of her varied and very interesting life without being strident - not exactly a great big bear hug of a tale but a hearty conversation over a cup of tea. She covers a wide variety of topics, ancestry, raising children, education, friendship...she's someone you'd want to know if you had the good fortune to meet her. I particularly loved the story about her 'Favorite White Friend' - made me envious!