Recently, I was sent a copy of Eat, Drink and Be From Mississippi by Nanci Kincaid. The title of the book definitely sets the tone for the entire story. Two kids, a brother and a sister, move from their relatively sheltered life in Mississippi and set out to to make their fortunes and establish themselves in California. Both are successful in the money arena, but their lives quickly take turns that they hadn’t expected and the find themselves in the middle of tumultuous divorces and self-introspection gone awry.
Then Arnold, a young black man trying to find his own path, enters the scene. He inserts himself into the siblings’ lives and they set out to make him into “something.” But what that something is no one can exactly pinpoint. This book is an easy read if you’re in the mood for a well-written book that is rich with imagery and great back and forth dialogue.
I did, however, have a couple of issues with this book. First of all, it was hard to get a concept of how old the main characters (Truely and Courtney) were as the book progressed. While I realized that they continued to get older, it was extremely difficult to get a clear sense of just how old they were. While it may not seem like a big deal, the scenes with Arnold in the latter half of the book did become a little difficult to perceive because of this. Secondly, and without giving too much away, the ending was a bit of a let-down. I’m not a fan of a rather lengthy and involved book trying to wrap itself up nicely in the final few pages. I definitely had a sense of “what else” when I finished the book.
All-in-all, I did like the book. Nanci Kincaid has a definite gift of words and she is a talented writer. This is a good book if you have a couple of days and just want to plow through a pretty simple novel.
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