Single Mom

From the Publisher

Lolita Files author of the bestselling Scenes from a Sister With Single Mom, Omar Tyree shows America that he truly has his finger on the pulse of society. His ability to delve into the issue of single parenting with such keen, dynamic insight is indicative of extraordinary talent. Single Mom is a must-read for everyone. This is a book for all those who understand and, most importantly, don't understand the plight of the single mother.

Ethel Johnson Upscale In Single Mom...[Tyree] offers a provocative look at the emotional lives of three African-American men as they struggle with their roles and changing views as fathers and lovers. Tyree is keeping it real.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Endearing earnestness and a promising setup can't save Tyree's latest after A Do Right Man from a terminal case of the blahs. After 10 years of raising Walter and Little Jay, her sons fathered out of wedlock by two different men, self-made businesswoman Denise Stewart finds herself increasingly, though platonically, involved with their fathers, each of whom has suddenly taken an interest in his offspring--just as Denise is embarking on a new, serious romance with a third man, a truck-driver named Brock. A more imaginative writer would have made comedy or light drama of the improbable premise, but Tyree plows ahead, straightfaced, through soporific domestic minutiae: endless Thanksgiving dinners, sports analyses, Christmas shopping sprees and discussions of the virtues of hardwood floors. The fathers one a failed basketball player, now a laborer, the other an upwardly mobile banker who learns to value family over money buckle under the heavy sociological weight Tyree asks them to carry. Although there's never any doubt that Denise will marry the goodhearted, doltish Brock, Tyree never quite explains why she wants to cast her lot with him. In one way or another, each of the figures is a mouthpiece for responsible fatherhood or the difficulties of single motherhood. At nearly 400 pages, the novel will wear out its welcome even with Tyree's many loyal fans. Oct.

Library Journal

Black and single, Denise Stewart escaped the ghetto of her childhood for the largely white suburbs of Chicago through determination, hard work, and education. Now, after being on her own for a decade and raising two sons fathered by different men, Denise falls in love with Brock, a truck driver who seems willing to make her sons a part of the life he and Denise will share. In addition, the fathers of her sons decide that they want to take more responsibility for their children. J.D., Jimmy's ex-con father, realizes that if he wants his talented son to get a college basketball scholarship, he has to make sure Jimmy avoids the mistakes he himself made as a teenager. After attending the Million Man March in Washington, wealthy Walter believes that Walter Jr. should live with him and his wife. Perhaps because he is writing about a major issue in the black community--the responsibility black men take for the lives of their children--this second novel from Tyree (Flyy Girl, LJ 9/15/96) reads mostly like an impassioned essay or sociology textbook. His message is loud and clear, but his didactic writing and one-dimensional characters doom this novel.--Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle

Kirkus Reviews

Tyree (Flyy Girl, 1996; A Do Right Man, 1997) returns with a well-intentioned if schematic tale of black men finding love and redemption as they begin to share the parenting burdens borne for too long by single moms. The tale is told by four alternating narrators over a period that begins in July 1997 and ends about a year later. Thereþs single mom Denise; then Jimmie, father of her eldest son, teenager little Jay; Walter Perry, father of her other son, Walter; and, finally, Brock, the man who loves her. After introducing themselves, the narrators chronicle their reactions to the events that have linked them. Denise recalls her teenage romance with Jimmie, her affair with Walter, and her successful struggle to go to college and own a business. Jimmie recalls his failed basketball career and his association with a gang that landed him in jail. Walter Perry, the only son of rich but unloving parents, remembers how he avoided Denise and his son after the affair, concentrating instead on his career. And Brock, a divorced truck driver with style and a loving heart, wants a þgood womanþ in his life. As the story begins, all four are ready for a change: Jimmie wants to get to know his son; Denise is tired of trying to manage alone; Walter wants to be a better father than his own has been; and Brock, soon after meeting Denise, feels smitten. As the months pass, the fathers learn some of the rewards of fatherhood; Denise, still suspicious of their intentions, begins to appreciate the positive way in which her sons are responding to their presence; and Brock, liked by all, finally persuades Denise to marry him. There are no major events, just an accretion of hours spent inthe company of family and friends. An earnest plea for commitment with all the subtlety of a sermon from the bully pulpit.