From Publishers Weekly
This is McMillan's zesty first novel about an impoverished black family's struggle to overcome its problems. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Mama , a first novel, tells of a proud black woman, Mildred Peacock, and her five children. After a violent fight, Mildred throws her drunken husband out of the house. On her own in the poor town of Point Haven, Michigan, Mildred scrimps and drinks, works and goes on welfare, struggling to raise her kids and keep her sanity. Mildred's closest bond is to her oldest daughter, Freda, and their lives parallel each other's progress from despair to hope. The book's main weakness is that the author apparently could not decide what to leave out. She also has not decided who her audience is: at times she seems to be writing to blacks, at other times to be explaining things to naive white readers. Although the story has power, it lacks focus and a clear point of view. Janet Boyarin Blundell, MLS, Brookdale Community Coll. Adjunct Faculty, Lincroft, Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Focusing on the African-American woman's experience, Mama reflects on children, men, money, loneliness and alcoholism through Mildred Peacock's life and family. Hattie Winston's inflections, pace and clarity are excellent; her warm, expressive voice consistently portrays the characters. Winston's best characterizations are Mildred and her eldest daughter, Freda, who are the focus of the story. Slow, sexy blues music precedes and follows the narrative, adding flavor to the circular, repetitious pattern of life. Freda's pondering, "How can you save your family from itself?" gets at the essence of Mama. J.A.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

ANNOTATION

With her phenomenal New York Times bestseller Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan became one of the most important American novelists writing today. Here, for the first time in mass market paperback, is her extraordinary first novel. It is the exhilarating tale of feisty Mildred Peacock, whose five children are her hope and her future.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Mildred Peacock is the touch, funny, feisty heroine of Mama, a survivor who'll do anything to keep her family together. In Mildred's world, men come and go as quickly as her paychecks, but her five children are her dream, her hope and her future. Not since Alice Walker's The Color Purple has a black woman's story been portrayed with such rich power, honesty, and love.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This is McMillan's zesty first novel about an impoverished black family's struggle to overcome its problems.

Library Journal

Mama, a first novel, tells of a proud black woman, Mildred Peacock, and her five children. After a violent fight, Mildred throws her drunken husband out of the house. On her own in the poor town of Point Haven, Michigan, Mildred scrimps and drinks, works and goes on welfare, struggling to raise her kids and keep her sanity. Mildred's closest bond is to her oldest daughter, Freda, and their lives parallel each other's progress from despair to hope. The book's main weakness is that the author apparently could not decide what to leave out. She also has not decided who her audience is: at times she seems to be writing to blacks, at other times to be explaining things to naive white readers. Although the story has power, it lacks focus and a clear point of view.
-- Janet Boyarin Blundell, MLS, Brookdale Community College Adjunct Faculty, Lincroft, New Jersey

AudioFile - Julie A. Bell

Focusing on the African-American woman￯﾿ﾽs experience, Mama reflects on children, men, money, loneliness and alcoholism through Mildred Peacock￯﾿ﾽs life and family. Hattie Winston￯﾿ﾽs inflections, pace and clarity are excellent; her warm, expressive voice consistently portrays the characters. Winston￯﾿ﾽs best characterizations are Mildred and her eldest daughter, Freda, who are the focus of the story. Slow, sexy blues music precedes and follows the narrative, adding flavor to the circular, repetitious pattern of life. Freda￯﾿ﾽs pondering, How can you save your family from itself? gets at the essence of Mama. J.A.H. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile

Mildred "Mama" Peacock is passionately engaged in the struggle to raise her five kids and survive a brutal husband, poverty, bad breaks and alcohol. Marjorie Johnson's breathy, close-to-the-mike delivery quickly establishes intimacy in the first heartrending scene. Her vocal agility and range draw the listener into the story of an African-American family's desperate and heroic gamble against the odds. Johnson's performance celebrates the diversity of the novel's characters, as well as their strength. From the first sentence, Johnson grips listeners' hearts and holds on until they reach the final page. L.R.S. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

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