African Americans - Fiction & Literature, Family & Friendship - Fiction

Rhythms

Name: Rhythms
Author: Donna Hill
ISBN: 9780312300692

by Donna Hill

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Overview

It all began in 1927, in the small town of Rudell, Mississippi, after the sudden and tragic death of Cora Harvey's parents. She has nothing left except her burning desire to become a singer. But her dream will never come true in Rudell, especially if she marries the man she adores, Dr. David Mackey. So when she sets out for Chicago, everyone in the close knit community, including David believes that the next time they see Cora, her name will be in lights. However, it's not long before Cora finds herself back in Rudell and back in David's arms harboring a secret she dare not reveal. . .A secret that will cause her daughter, Emma to flee Rudell with no intention of ever looking back. And even when Emma finds the perfect man and happiness at last, she is determined to do whatever it takes to keep her family's shameful past at bay. Then the dream that began with Cora comes full circle with her beloved granddaughter Parris whose melodic voice fills the dimly lit nightclubs of New York City. Yet, when tragedy strikes, opening a door to the past, Parris discovers the hidden truths that have ripped the family apart—-but which may ultimately bind them together at last.

From the dusty roads of the Delta to the pulsing metropolis of New York City, Rhythms is a rich, unforgettable tale about loss and healing, redemption and love.

Synopsis

From the dusty roads of the Delta to the pulsing metropolis of New York City, Rhythms is a rich, unforgettable tale about loss and healing, redemption and love.

Emma J. Wisdom

Readers are in for [an]. . .emotional rollercoaster ride. . .Hill. . .has stretched her wings and cast her net wide to satsify her many fans with a smoothly written and entertaining read. . .Donna Hill's Rhythms will garner broad audience appeal with this engrossing, captivating, and compelling read. —Times Courier

About the Author, Donna Hill

Donna Hill has fifteen published novels to her credit and has been featured in Essence, The Daily News, USA Today, Today's Black Woman, and Black Enterprise among many others. She has appeared on numerous radio and television station across the country and her work has appeared on several bestseller lists. She works full time as a Public Relations Associate for the Queens Borough Public Library system, and organizes author-centered events and workshops through her promotions and management company ImageNOIR.org. Donna lives with her family in Brooklyn, NY.

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Editorials

Black Issues Book Review

Rhythms holds you spellbound with its emotion-packed plot and vivid settings. The characters are bold, refreshing, human; you'll love them, hate them, but will never forget them. This winning combination makes Hill's latest novel an irresistible, one-sitting read.

Romantic Times Magazine

Racism, rape, and crossing the color line are only a handful of topics dealt with in Hill's glorious new novel. The characters are well developed and their inner turmoil plays beautifully, keeping in rhythm with the spellbinding story.

Robert Fleming

Donna Hill has created a glorious historical saga exploring the complex theme of love, race, identity and choice with intelligence, insight and imagination. . . grand in scope. . .[an] impassioned book to be savored, considered and read, again and again.

Margaret Johnson-Hodge

. . .leaves you breathless. . .a story that snatches you up in it's midst, Rythms is an incredible journey well worth the taking, an extraordinary tale woven with skill and to-the-bone authenticity.

Emma J. Wisdom

Francis Ray

Richly imagined and skillfully written, RHYTHMS is a powerful novel of three women linked by blood, heartache, and ultimately triumph as they struggle to live with the hard choices they've had to make to survive.

Timm McCann

The words are lyrical and sweet and the story so succinctly written it dares you to look away. . .[RHYTHMS] applauds the human sprit and the essence that is the best of us. . .I advise you to call in late tomorrow because your night will be filled with RHYTHMS.

Sandra Kitt

Donna Hill has crafted a warm hearted and inspiring family saga about strength, pride and forgiveness. . .proof of the indomitable spirit of black men and women.

Essence magazine

Hill...offers a moving saga of three generations of Black women...a richly detailed saga.

Romantic Times

An Outstanding Read! are the only words to describe Donna hill's foray into mainstream fiction with Rhythms. . .The characters are well developed and their inner turmoil plays beautifully, keeping in rhythms with this spellbinding story.

Essence

Hill. . .offers a moving saga of three generations of Black women. . .a richly detailed saga.

Publishers Weekly

Veteran romance writer Hill's first book for a major house (after If I Could, etc.) is a rambling, uneven saga of three generations of African-American women burdened by secrets and lies. One-dimensional characters, a leaden writing style and shopworn plot devices trivialize the tale. Opening in the late 1920s and set in rural Mississippi in "the colored section of Rudell," the story features pretty 17-year-old Cora Harvey, a preacher's daughter and talented member of the church choir. When Cora heads for Chicago with singing aspirations she leaves behind her suitor, David Mackey, the only African-American doctor in town. A devastating encounter with a white employer spoils Cora's dream. She returns to Mississippi and marries David, without revealing the appalling truth about her flight from Chicago. Predictably, the couple's happiness is all too brief: the birth of Emma, a daughter with unquestionably white features, leaves David feeling betrayed and destroys the marriage. Hill sacrifices what might have been a fascinating exploration of Cora's struggles to bring up a mixed-race daughter in a tightly knit black community in favor of fast-forwarding 18 years. That's when a willful Emma plots her escape to New York City, where she passes for white and soon meets her wealthy young husband-to-be. Years race by again and Emma's estranged daughter, Parris, is seeking romance, a musical career in New York and the truth about her heritage. Careful editing would have improved much of the flabby prose ("The September sun hung like a blazing orange umbrella"), but it's the thinly drawn characters that sap the novel's vitality, and only Hill's fans will have stamina for the long haul. (Aug.)Forecast: This title should attract plenty of attention, since Hill has built a considerable grassroots following and three of her novels have been adapted for television. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A Mississippi preacher's daughter heads north-and comes home humbled. In 1927, Cora Harvey dreams of becoming a singer. The gospel hymns she belts out in her father's congregation have given her voice a soul-stirring fervor-at a time when plenty of coloreds are making names for themselves away from Jim Crow laws. But Cora's sweetheart, David Mackey, a handsome doctor, wants her to marry him and stay in Rudell. Meanwhile, there are signs of change: a NAACP representative is coming to town, and Cora's parents are his official hosts. But when they die in a suspicious fire, Cora is devastated. Reluctantly, David lets her go to Chicago to fulfill the dream she set aside when he began to court her. Cora's overwhelmed by the big city, but she's soon befriended by good-time girl Margaret, who gets her work bussing tables and, later, cleaning houses. Then, raped by a white employer, William Rutherford, Cora heads home to David's welcoming arms, never telling him what happened. When her child is born-a girl-it's only too clear that the father is white. David hightails it two days later. Emma grows up ashamed of her mother for being nothing but cleaning woman, and eventually learns about her real father and goes north to find him. Her pale complexion and brilliant green eyes allow her to pass for white-and she soon has a handsome admirer, Michael Travanti, an Italian-American soldier. They marry shortly after she confronts Rutherford and Michael heads off to war. Not telling him, she gives birth to a daughter, then gives the infant to her mother to raise because the baby's skin is so dark. Named Parris, the girl grows up knowing none of this, though she's the one who at long last will reuniteand heal the family. Heartfelt vividness breathes life into a soap-ish plot from Hill (Shipwreck Season, 1998, etc.).