India Press Store - Passing For Black

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Manufacturer: Dafina

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780758223876
ISBN: 0758223870
Label: Dafina
Manufacturer: Dafina
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: 2008-06-01
Publisher: Dafina
Studio: Dafina

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Passing
Comment: Angela Wright's coming out story sounds so much like many of ours; painful
scary and confusing. "Passing for Black" could have easily been titled
"Passing". Several characters were not only passing for black but also
passing as an ally, passing as straight and passing as royalty.

Coming out is one tidal wave to successfully swim through without drowning, but when you add race, sex, love & identity to the mix drowning seems more like a reality than a successful swim. Ms. Villarosa carefully weaved a tale of what happens when you free yourself totally and walk into a new world.

As I read "Passing for Black" I felt proud and excited to be able to read a book which blended the reality and some stereotypes of "Same Gender Loving" relationships. Dance with Angela as Caitlyn takes her on a roller coaster ride of emotional freedom.

Missy
Readers Paradise

Customer Rating:

Summary: tstroman
Comment: I really enjoyed this book. There where so many levels to this book that brought about thought and dialog with my friends and family.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A Triple Minority
Comment: Angela Wright, the daughter of a doctor and television newscaster, is a successful journalist for Desire` magazine. She is engaged to Keith Redfield, a professor of African Studies, with whom she has been in a relationship for six years. She never felt comfortable in her skin because she was always teased about not being "black" enough. She is also uncomfortable with her feelings for other women, which she has suppressed for years. But meeting Cait, a white lesbian, invokes feelings in Angela so strong she can't ignore them. Her obsession with Cait leads her down a path she is not sure she wants to take.

PASSING FOR BLACK carries a two-fold message of being black in a racist society and being gay in a heterosexual world. It is hard to fathom what is more profound in the novel: racial intolerance or discrimination due to sexual preference. Just as there is discrimination within the race, there is also intolerance within the gay community against other gays. Angela's struggles with her sexuality is no different than the tale of others. Her character came off as rather selfish at times, which didn't allow me to empathize with her, nor agree with her decisions. It also took some time for me to get into the rhythm of the book. Although Villarosa is an established author, this is her first novel.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Customer Rating:

Summary: Whose To Say?
Comment: Passing for Black by Linda Villarosa gives us a clear view of how confusing it can be for an African-American, trying to be a `Real Black,' whatever that means, and struggling with her sexuality at the same time. Angela Wright, a journalist is not sure who she is, sometimes feels she is not the right kind of black and other times feels she does not know how she identifies. She has chosen journalism because her mother, Janet, is a very successful reporter. Angela is engaged to successful professor, Dr. Keith Redfield, because he is a good man, and the right man for her, according to everyone, but her. As much as Angela has she feels out of sorts and is lacking something in her life. Secretly, she feels her longing for female love might be the problem. However, she has tamped those feelings for years, because she knows it is the right thing to do. Or is it? When she meets one of Keith's colleagues, Professor Cait Getty, she is immediately attracted and cannot get the woman out of her mind.

Angela finds a way to talk to Cait, she goes on an undercover assignment to a lesbian convention and immediately she and Cait connect. Once Cait discovers Angela is a journalist, she is angered by her duplicity and decides not to see her. Of course, Angela pursues her and a tryst unfolds. Immediately, the reader is pulled into the complications surrounding this love affair, including Keith's discovery and how Angela's parents feel about her choices.

Ms. Villarosa wrote a provocative, sometimes funny and very human account of a woman's sexual identity unveiling. The only stumbling block for me was Keith's one dimensional, almost stereotypical, bumbling maleness. I would have loved for him to be more dynamic, thus proving Angela's desires were more due to natural desires than to his inadequacies. Having said this, I truly enjoyed Passing for Black and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a well-written novel that will make them think.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

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Editorial Reviews:

Being black, the right kind of black, was difficult. It was like being in a cult--a secret society with rules as fluid as waves...

In the six years that Angela Wright has been with her fiancé Keith Redfield, her life has settled neatly into place. Keith, a professor of African-American history, has helped her become comfortable in her own skin. And Angela's career at Désire magazine is thriving. She's got nothing to worry about--or so she thinks...

Angela's best friend Mae is always there to ground her, whether they're joking about the importance of good hair or gossiping about their rival Tatiana Braithwaite--a milk chocolate Barbie with beauty, breeding, and an irritating knack for perfection. Mae reminds Angela how lucky she is to have found a successful, single brother. But when a chance meeting leaves Angela consumed with desire for an intriguing stranger, she impulsively decides to follow wherever it may lead--from outrageous underground sex parties to intimate encounters that are both torrid and tender.

Now everything Angela has come to believe about sex, love, identity, and race is called into question as this explosive new passion blows her world wide open...

"Passing for Black is Kissing Jessica Stein meets Good Hair. The characters are outrageous and real and heartfelt. Linda Villarosa has written an important, entertaining debut. Brava!" --Benilde Little, author of Who Does She Think She Is?

"Passing for Black weaves issues of identity and sexuality into an engaging tale of love, passion and family. Finally the story we've been waiting for, delivered in page turning, finely written prose by one of my favorite writers." --E. Lynn Harris, New York Times bestselling author

"Passing for Black is a lively page turner that follows the complicated process of coming out as African-American and female and middle-class. It is a sweet, romantic, and sometimes funny tale, brushed nicely with issues of race, class and sexuality. As Angela tumbles along her journey to self discovery, I found myself rooting for her to find the way." --Staceyann Chin