Rating: 
Summary: Blood is a powerful sign
Review: After receiving a quilt from her deceased grandmother, Lizzie begins to "travel" to past generations through dreams and visions. These visions become eerily "real" as Lizzie actually bleeds from empathetic wrist wounds (stigmata) inflicted on the slave Ayo, one of her ancestors. Others, including her own mother, suspect that she has attempted suicide and is losing her sanity. By the end of the novel, what Lizzie had learned about the lives of her ancestors puts her in a position to help bring healing to her own suffering mother.Told through a series of flashbacks to various time periods and ancestors interspersed with scenes from Lizzie's present and past, this book is at first confusing and hard to follow -- yet it is always intriguing. This narrative style reflects Lizzie's own struggle: her life becomes disjointed and confusing as her identity and memories become entangled with those of her ancestors. As observed by a Catholic priest who offers comfort to Lizzie, the "blood [of her stigmata] is a powerful sign." This blood could serve as a symbol for the interconnectedness of generations whose history shapes the present. If you enjoy a thinker's book, the kind that leads you to discover meaning without just laying it out plain as day, the kind with rich symbolism, pick up Stigmata. It'll give you lots to think about.
Rating:
Summary: Blood is a powerful sign
Review: After receiving a quilt from her deceased grandmother, Lizzie begins to "travel" to past generations through dreams and visions. These visions become eerily "real" as Lizzie actually bleeds from empathetic wrist wounds (stigmata) inflicted on the slave Ayo, one of her ancestors. Others, including her own mother, suspect that she has attempted suicide and is losing her sanity. By the end of the novel, what Lizzie had learned about the lives of her ancestors puts her in a position to help bring healing to her own suffering mother. Told through a series of flashbacks to various time periods and ancestors interspersed with scenes from Lizzie's present and past, this book is at first confusing and hard to follow -- yet it is always intriguing. This narrative style reflects Lizzie's own struggle: her life becomes disjointed and confusing as her identity and memories become entangled with those of her ancestors. As observed by a Catholic priest who offers comfort to Lizzie, the "blood [of her stigmata] is a powerful sign." This blood could serve as a symbol for the interconnectedness of generations whose history shapes the present. If you enjoy a thinker's book, the kind that leads you to discover meaning without just laying it out plain as day, the kind with rich symbolism, pick up Stigmata. It'll give you lots to think about.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story!
Review: I must admit that when I first saw this book, I was expecting it to be like the movie named Stigmata. That made me stay away from it for a long time but a friend told me that the movie Stigmata and the book Stigmata were two different things. So, I got the book, read it, and LOVED it! I really enjoyed this story because it was not only different, but it was a very enjoyable, well-written book. I loved the character Lizzie from the first page and I really enjoyed the way the book brought in the lives of Grace and Ayo/Bessie. The only thing I didn't understand was who Martin was at the end of the book! Besides that one little mystery (for me anyway), I thought this book was fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I too picked this book up by accident. The cover caught my attention. Although I have not yet completed it, I feel that it is exceptional. I would definitely recommend it to all.
Rating:
Summary: Serious, adventuresome reading
Review: It is great to read a book that is simultaneously stimulating and well-written! Perry is a very gifted writer! She holds our attention, keeping us on the edge of our chairs, but does not lose us! One of the best books I've read this year.
Rating:
Summary: Stigmata, Reincarnation and Memory
Review: Lovely to read, ponder, behold the inner thoughts of Lizzie, the primary speaker of Stigmata, and look forward, backward, forward in a delicious non-linear writing style, a style very few could maintain through the entire novel. This book moved me and held me in its grasp, the ropes tightening on my wrists, and the voices in my head making musical sounds, like few others. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in jewels, memories of the past, in particular slavery and finely chiseled writing.
Rating:
Summary: The Ties That Bind
Review: Phyllis Alexis Perry is a gifted new author with a compelling and intriguing supernatural tale about Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dubose and her female ancestors. Stigmata weaves the stories of three women blessed with a powerful vision but cursed by a shared legacy of slavery, pain and struggle. Lizzie inherits a trunk and a quilt from grandmother. She believes she can feel the history of her family in them. Lizzie becomes determined to learn the truth of her past in order to clear the path for her future. She becomes so engrossed in her quest that she begins to physically experience the painful past through episodes, dreams, memories, visions and reincarnations. All of this is distressing to her parents so they commit her to a mental hospital. However, as the novel progresses there's also a sub-story about Lizzie and her mom; by the end of the novel what Lizzie had learned about the lives of her ancestors puts her in a position to help bring healing to her mother. Told through a series of flashbacks to various time periods and interspersed with scenes from Lizzie's present and past, this book is complex and at times confusing and hard to follow. In spite of this flaw, Perry manages to pull off a powerful and imaginative debut novel which is refreshing and creatively crafted. Stigmata is an engrossing tale that will stay with you long after you've read the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Ties That Bind
Review: Phyllis Alexis Perry is a gifted new author with a compelling and intriguing supernatural tale about Elizabeth "Lizzie" Dubose and her female ancestors. Stigmata weaves the stories of three women blessed with a powerful vision but cursed by a shared legacy of slavery, pain and struggle. Lizzie inherits a trunk and a quilt from grandmother. She believes she can feel the history of her family in them. Lizzie becomes determined to learn the truth of her past in order to clear the path for her future. She becomes so engrossed in her quest that she begins to physically experience the painful past through episodes, dreams, memories, visions and reincarnations. All of this is distressing to her parents so they commit her to a mental hospital. However, as the novel progresses there's also a sub-story about Lizzie and her mom; by the end of the novel what Lizzie had learned about the lives of her ancestors puts her in a position to help bring healing to her mother. Told through a series of flashbacks to various time periods and interspersed with scenes from Lizzie's present and past, this book is complex and at times confusing and hard to follow. In spite of this flaw, Perry manages to pull off a powerful and imaginative debut novel which is refreshing and creatively crafted. Stigmata is an engrossing tale that will stay with you long after you've read the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage
Review: This book starts out so promising. The tale is intriguing. This woman receiving this blanket that pulls her back to the past to witness her ancestors hardships in order to succeed. I think the author wrote herself into a corner or was behind on a deadline because the ending is such a dissapointment. Well, it was for me anyway. This book was recommended to me and I wanted to ask the recommender did they finish the whole thing? If the story is interesting to you, you'd be better of reading J. California Cooper's "The Wake of the Wind".
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing....
Review: Told through a series of flashbacks to various time periods and ancestors interspersed with scenes from Lizzie's present and past, Stigmata is a haunting read. Lizzie, at age 14, inherits her mysterious grandmother's trunk and upon opening it she discovers a quilt that awakens the spirits of the past. Plagued by stigmata of her great-grandmother's wounds from slavery and periodic episodes of memories/time travel, Lizzie is institutionalized for 14 years. She learns to play to game with her psychiatrists and is released to go home under the watchful care of her parents. There she begins to make a quilt to interconnect the generations and provide healing for herself and her family. Stigmata was a quick and easy read for me...it kept me wanting to read it and I'm looking forward to Ms. Perry's next novel.
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