"The principles of the dark fantastic are so ingrained in our collective consciousness that when the expected pattern is subverted, most audiences cannot suspend disbelief. Readers and viewers complain that dark heroic protagonists are not likable. Critics observe...
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by MHill | Feb 11, 2021 | Black History Month, Marion's Favorites
In 1839, an alien spaceship approaches Earth. A pod from that spaceship is ejected and heads toward the planet. It lands in a field and creates an explosion. A slave woman notices the pod and finds a little black boy inside. The little boy is Augustus Freeman...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 72: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
by MHill | Feb 6, 2021 | 2021 Book Reviews, Black History Month, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
If your spouse was wrongly accused of rape and went to prison for five years but gets released, would you remain married? That was the question An American Marriage by Tayari Jones attempted to answer in her popular novel. An American Marriage was selected for...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 71: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
by MHill | Jan 24, 2021 | 2021 Book Reviews, Magical Realism, Toni Morrison, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have a question. Has there been a well-regarded or lauded author you keep trying out as a reader but have never connected with their books? Toni Morrison is my answer to that question. I have attempted several of her books (Jazz, Paradise, and Love) over the years...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 52: White Pages by Ran Walker
by MHill | Jul 24, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column, Wisdom From Kammbia Novella Review
In a reading life, you will come across a novel that speaks directly to what you are going through. It is interesting that the power of a story can connect with a book that you read at the proper time. This is the case with White Pages by Ran Walker. Kamal Jackson is...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 50: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
by MHill | Jul 19, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Black History Month, Marion's All-Time Favorite Novels, Marion's Favorite Books, Octavia Butler, Rereading Series, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I want to update a review from 2012 for one of my all-time favorite novels, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Parable of the Sower is the story of Lauren Olamina, a teenager growing up in a grim LA suburb where their gated community provided a semblance of a...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 47: Devil In A Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
by MHill | Jun 21, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I will admit that I came late to the party on the work of Walter Mosley. I read White Butterfly back in 2012 and liked it. However, I had not read other Walter Mosley novels until now. As a reader and reviewer, you get sidetracked or distracted by other books you...
Marion’s Black Author Reading List
by MHill | Jun 8, 2020 | Black History Month, Marion's Favorite Books, Marion's Favorites, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
I have been deeply affected (and many Americans) by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th. Seeing a human being die like that should never happen in a civilized society. As a black man, I saw my worst fears come to light once again. Also, I’m a book...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 39: Black Fortunes by Shomari Wills
by MHill | Mar 5, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Black History Month has passed, and I had a plan to read three non-fiction books about black history during the month of February. I finished Maurice White's wonderful biography, My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire quickly and then I read Before The Mayflower...
Wisdom From Kammbia Book Review 34: Black Women in Science by Kimberly Brown Pellum
by MHill | Jan 10, 2020 | 2020 Book Reviews, Wisdom From Kammbia Column
Daddy, I'm ready to read another book with you at bedtime. I loved hearing that sentence from my 10-year-old daughter, Norah. We have read many books together over her young life. This time she wanted about women in science. I did a Google search a few weeks ago and...