Rating: 
Summary: STILL loving Mary Monroe!!
Review: After previously reading God Dont' Like Ugly and the sequel God Still dont' like Ugly I was already aware that Mrs. Monroe has some major literary skills. After the Upper room she shows me that she is still as good as ever. Meet the characters:Mamy Ruby: The meanest big woman you ever want to see and the craziest. She has healing hands and is also the devil. She is known for saying things like "Ain't nobody but the devil done teched me and made me big as a cadillac. Ruby stole her best friend's stillborn baby and ran off. She is also wanted for a lot of murders. Maureen: Ruby's daughter that she stole from her best friend. She has to stay in the upper room or else.......
Virgil: Ruby's son and accomplice in a lot of murders committed. After moving to Florida, we meet Fast Black, No Talk, Loomis, Yellow Jack, Snowball the albino and a host of other characters that will have you laughing and crying thoughout this whole book. Did Maureen ever find out she was kidnapped? You have to get this book to find out!! You will not be disappointed, I promise.
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Summary: Pam's Opinion on The Upper Room
Review: I just got finished reading The Upper Room by Mary Monroe and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I was looking throughout the bookstore one day and stumbled upon it. It really wasn't my 1st pick but I decided to give it a shot after reading God Don't Like Ugly and God Still Don't Like Ugly. I must say that the book really surprised me. When I first started reading the book I really wasn't that into it and would only pick it up when I was bored but by the end of the book I didn't want to put it down. I really like her style of writing and the book was really superb to me. I would recommend it to a friend.
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Summary: Beer, murder and false teeth, oh my.
Review: I loved the "Upper Room" by Mary Monroe just as much as "God don't like Ugly" but I couldn't stop making comparisons because both stories parrallel in some ways. Both are very tell it like it is and politically incorrect. The way they talk to and about people, we wouldn't do today. People getting roughed up, raped, killed like it's nothing, how times have change. I was expecting Rhoda Nelson (or her husband) to pop up any second. Half of the book focuses on 'Mama' Ruby's character who steels her friend baby that she believed to be dead and raises it as her own. Moves to Goons, FL along with Maureen and Virgil to live a life there, slaying people left and right,and drinking beer. Then we're focused on Maureen as she grows up, trying to get away from overbearing Ruby, who is way overprotective because she is 'special'. The "Upper Room" is a very haunting, hilarious novel. Kind of reminds me of Alice Walker and Stephen King's work with M. Monroe's special touch.
Rating:
Summary: Really enjoyed
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I have a hard time getting into a book but once I picked it up I read it in 4 days. Mama Ruby was a person not to be messed with. I looking forward to reading the rest of Mary Monroe books in the future. Keep up the good work.
Rating:
Summary: This be an excellent read
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading THIS book. I've read 'God doesn't like ugly' and while it was a good read, this was a much better read, sho' nuff.
Rating:
Summary: A Suspenseful, Comical Read....
Review: In Mary Monroe's novel, The Upper Room, Mama Ruby dominates as the central character that is so religious, malicious, and comical. She and her supporting cast are so drama-filled that their dysfunctional lives provide the reader with a page-turning/must-keep-reading tale. Mama Ruby is an obese, misguided crazed, crucifix wearing, switchblade carrying, self-professed "Christian" woman with healing hands that manipulates and controls everyone around her. She betrays her closest friend in the world, Othella, by taking Othella's once-thought stillborn daughter, Maureen, and raises her as her own. She sequesters the child in a sanctified "Upper Room" that has restrictions on who can enter it and vows that Maureen will never leave her. The story includes a colorful cast of characters and takes us through Maureen's life with the townsfolk of Goons, FL and her desires and eventual escape into the sanity of the "real world". Along the way, there are many 'episodes' that keep the plot flowing till the end. This review does not give the novel enough praise. The author provided vivid imagery, dialogue, and solid pacing to make this an enjoyable, suspenseful read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I imagined!!
Review: Let me first start off by sayng that I have read previous books by Mrs. Monroe and have thoroughly enjoyed them - - - - UNTIL NOW!!! I read one of the other reports that warned of the writing style, but it still did not prepare me for it. It took me over 3 weeks to read this book when a good book normally takes me a day or two -->TOPS!!! I have read the dialect in both God Don't like Ugly and God Still Don't like Ugly, but this dialect was really out there. I had to re-read certain parts of it just so that I'd understand what was being said.
I really did not like this particular book for several reasons but the main one was because of the way it ended. Maureen never had the opportunity to find out the true story of her parentage. The writer never allowed Othello to tell her, nor did Mama Ruby or Virgil tell her and I think in order to break that spell over her or that bad luck streak that she assumed she had, someone should have told her. Not even after Mama Ruby died did Virgil tell her. And the way she treated the girl like a possession as a mother turned me off. I am hesitant about reading Red Light Wives after reading this one. I am just glad that someone loaned this one to me because had I paid for it I would have been crazy mad. This criticque is not to disparage Mrs. Monroe, only to offer my version of the book itself.
Rating:
Summary: You Can't Judge A Title By Its Cover
Review: Oh my! I figured with a title like "The Upper Room," that it would be another Christian fiction novel. NOT! The first page had beautifully outlined metaphors and the prose was serene. Then you get into the story and what a story it is! God, the devil and murders! This is what you'll get in The Upper Room. The protagonist thinks she is part Holy, part demonic and a full fledged murderer. Because of the terrible deeds that she's done, she relocates to another city and dedicates the upper portion of her home to her foster daughter and name the room "The Upper Room" because of its purity. The protagonist was adamant about keeping her child pure and clean. She was derangely protective over her daughter.
Many readers may be turned off by the dialect (Zora Neale Hurston-type), but it depicts its true vintage and location. The protagonist was a mentally ill woman who was torn between two worlds. She was truly in what we would call a "spiritual warfare."
When I started reading about how absurb this woman was, I figured it was just another mainstream novel with no underlying message and I thought about putting it down, but I decided to finish it and was glad that I did. The characters in this book were comical and crazy. I didn't know that this book had been out for 10 years. I never heard of it until recently. Apparently it must be a good book because it is still selling copies after all of these years.
If you like reading fiction novels about mass murders (not mystery), that offers a comedic-style writing, then you'll enjoy this one. This was a good read and I give it a 4 star rating.
Rating:
Summary: A Prison Called the Upper Room
Review: Originally published in 1985, the Upper Room won critical acclaim as a remarkable work of art. The story unfolds in a fictitious small town located in the everglades of southern Florida. One evening Ruby delivers the daughter of her best friend Orthella. Both women believe the child to be still born. Ruby later learns that the beautiful baby girl is alive and decides that the infant should be hers. Ruby stills away in the middle of the night with the child, which by now is the namesake for an aging madam from Ruby's past, and Virgil, her preteen son. They settle in Goons, which is another small swampy community and is located just outside of Miami. Perhaps Ruby's love for small out of the way places has a great deal to do with access to places where the bodies that are mounting up will never be discovered. Ruby comes across a house with a single bedroom on the second floor, she dubs it "The Upper Room." Unless Maureen finds the courage to break free of Ruby's hold, she is destined to spend her life confined to this most holiest of places. Ruby also gains the respect and admiration of the residence of Goons. Like everyone else they fear her, but at the same time are in awe of her. The Upper Room is an intriguing read. The characters have been colorfully created and there is never a dull moment. I commend Mary Monroe on her creativity and the ability to bring a story such as this to life. Each time I opened the book I felt as if I was nosey neighbor, spying for the purpose of gossip. This was her debut novel and due to high demand has been brought back. I invite you to take a look and find out for yourself what all the hype is about.
Rating:
Summary: A Prison Called the Upper Room
Review: Originally published in 1985, the Upper Room won critical acclaim as a remarkable work of art. The story unfolds in a fictitious small town located in the everglades of southern Florida. One evening Ruby delivers the daughter of her best friend Orthella. Both women believe the child to be still born. Ruby later learns that the beautiful baby girl is alive and decides that the infant should be hers. Ruby stills away in the middle of the night with the child, which by now is the namesake for an aging madam from Ruby's past, and Virgil, her preteen son. They settle in Goons, which is another small swampy community and is located just outside of Miami. Perhaps Ruby's love for small out of the way places has a great deal to do with access to places where the bodies that are mounting up will never be discovered. Ruby comes across a house with a single bedroom on the second floor, she dubs it "The Upper Room." Unless Maureen finds the courage to break free of Ruby's hold, she is destined to spend her life confined to this most holiest of places. Ruby also gains the respect and admiration of the residence of Goons. Like everyone else they fear her, but at the same time are in awe of her. The Upper Room is an intriguing read. The characters have been colorfully created and there is never a dull moment. I commend Mary Monroe on her creativity and the ability to bring a story such as this to life. Each time I opened the book I felt as if I was nosey neighbor, spying for the purpose of gossip. This was her debut novel and due to high demand has been brought back. I invite you to take a look and find out for yourself what all the hype is about.
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