Sugar: A Novel

Bernice McFadden's first novel, Sugar, encapsulates the elements that exemplify the making of a classic. This is not to say that it was perfect, for that would be pretentious on my part, but it was arguably a guaranteed page turner that you hoped would last just a little while longer. As a debut, Sugar did not lack any of the many elements we have come to know and love about McFadden's storytelling style or her imaginative, colorful, and captivating characters. But the tale, even with its twists, was simple - direct with less density than, let's say, The Book of Harlan (one of my favorite novels). Stylistically, it was as vivid, engaging, and captivating -- unmistakably McFadden.Set in Bigelow, Arkansas, Sugar takes the reader on a heartfelt journey through poetic pain and the lives of Sugar Lacey and Pearl Taylor (primarily), and a host of others (secondarily). Sugar's deleterious childhood, overwhelmed by scars and filled with a level of isolation that steals her youth and ultimately her identity, contributes to the creating of the wayward woman she becomes. Pearl, we learn early in the novel, struggles with her own isolation, but unlike Sugar's, hers is involuntarily self-imposed, developed after the tragic and brutal murder of her daughter, Jude. This isolation is not so much about staying out of the company of others (she finds both companionship and solace in church), or even being an effective mother to her other children (Seth, her son, speaks on this point in a single but precise statement later in the book), as it is about withdrawing into herself. Pearl's actions and personality scream depression but McFadden is careful not to label her, allowing the emotional wave we ride with Pearl to reveal, by layer, her quiet but obvious struggle. This internal conflict catapults Pearl into a place from which she cannot easily escape until Sugar crosses her path forming and firming an unusual friendship and, progressively, the voids they've carried are seemingly filled.This isolation is not so much about staying out of the company of others (she finds both companionship and solace in church), or even being an effective mother to her other children (Seth, her son, speaks on this point in a single but precise statement later in the book), as it is about withdrawing into herself. Pearl's actions and personality scream depression but McFadden is careful not to label her, allowing the emotional wave we ride with Pearl to reveal, by layer, her quiet but obvious struggle. This internal conflict catapults Pearl into a place from which she cannot easily escape until Sugar crosses her path forming an unusual friendship and progressively the voids they've carried are seemingly filled.Sugar Lacey is bold, worldly, mysterious and irresistible. She is a woman equally desired and hated, caught, it seems, in a complex network of interconnected (and interlocking) elements, surviving the only way she knows how, by giving pleasure, yet seems to have relegated herself undeserving of joy. She is a vassal to the highest bidder, a beast of burden, a mannequin sans emotions, and as such she receives nothing but a womb filled with frustration. But despite her transgressions and unsavory nonchalance, she has a heart longing, from the child she never was, for unconditional love.Sugar reinvents Pearl, rebuilding the confidence she sorely lacked and the sexiness she secretly, seemingly, yearned for. She takes Pearl from mundane to magnificent, while Joe, Pearl's husband who would object to this rebirth (and perhaps revelation) or so we are made to believe, is out of town (his reaction shortly after his return dismisses all assumptions, including Pearl's). The elements of resurrection (the church is an important "character") develop almost seamlessly throughout the book, and the conflicts are broad but not alarming or distasteful; they are real and familiar.Sugar reinvents Pearl, rebuilding the confidence she sorely lacked and the sexiness she secretly, seemingly, yearned for. She takes Pearl from mundane to magnificent, while Joe, Pearl's husband who would object to this rebirth (and perhaps revelation) or so we are made to believe, is out of town (his reaction shortly after his return dismisses all assumptions, including Pearl's). The elements of resurrection (the church is an important "character") develop almost seamlessly throughout the book, and the conflicts are broad but not alarming or distasteful; they are real and familiar.Sugar, as a novel, is multitudinous -- an impassioned vision, seething with hope and finishing with unexpected confessions, familiar brutality and wow factor discoveries. It would make for an amazing movie, an incredible television series or Broadway-worthy stage play (think The Color Purple). I was enveloped by Bernice McFadden's voice, slowly consuming each chapter and resting a day before beginning the next. I am that kid waiting for her upcoming creations with bated breath and wondrous anticipation. Read Sugar, and you'll understand. I promise.

One of My Favorites!! Excellent Book - I loved this book the first time I read it in 2000 and when it was my book club’s choice this year I was again hooked from the very first page. Beginning with a graphic murder that is so startling that you can’t put the book down, the worlds of two women from totally different walks of life collide: a young prostitute who is hated from the moment she steps foot in town and a churchgoing mother who is loved by all yet cloaked in a 15 year grief for her brutally murdered young daughter. Sugar and Pearl’s friendship is frowned upon by narrow-minded, judgmental townsfolk, yet their pettiness does not stop them from striking up a unique bond that helps them redeem the joy that was lost by their haunting pasts. The characters are real and human, and the author’s vivid imagery gives you the feeling of being in the midst of this small town in the Deep South. With Ms. McFadden’s descriptions you actually become enveloped in the warm friendship, see the graphic sexuality, smell and taste the lingering scent of the sweet potato pie, and feel the beat of the juke joints. As their lives unfold, Sugar and Pearl’s bond forges through betrayal, prying eyes, town gossip, and backwards superstitions in a search for redemption and a will to live and love again.

Sugar is the debut novel of a beloved African American female author. Despite its title, this story is anything but sweet. This is the heartbreaking tale about the intertwined lives of Sugar Lacey and Pearl Taylor. The lives of women wrecked by circumstances beyond their control.Set in the South in the 1950s, the effects of racism are clearly demonstrated. But for women, it seems as if joy is fleeting and capricious. Sugar is abandoned by her mother and yearns her life to find her identity. Pearl lost her youngest and only daughter in a brutal murder. One day Sugar comes to Bigelow and upends life in that small town.If this is one quote that resonated throughout this book isIt seems that for Sugar, life consists of one step forward and two steps backwards. It seems like she could never get ahead.This is another great debut novel and stamps Bernice McFadden as one of my must read authors.

A story of such sadness and love at the same time. I cried many times reading this book. It was a story of how life can beat people up but you always have to get back up.

From the beginning of the book, the author drew me in to an amazing yet heartbreaking story. An unlikely friendship formed between two women in the book who were both acquainted with tragedy and grief. Sugar was a storm that blew into Bigelow and shook up the whole town. Pearl, a faithful Christian woman who was numb by her tragic loss took a huge risk in welcoming Sugar. The results of their pairing was revelation after revelation as well as the uncovering of secrets and truth. I hated to see the last page of the book but at the same time I was grateful to come across a story well told. This is a classic that needs to be read by every avid readers of Black literary expressions. Well done!

A tragic tale told beautifully with heart and soul.Pearl and Sugar are polar opposites, separated by age and life experiences. Yet they form a bond which brings Pearl back to life, and offers glimpses of true humanity and a future to Sugar.With spare prose that effortlessly evokes a time and a culture, a deftly drawn cast of characters, and an ever present hint of threat to the fragile foundations of Pearl and Sugar’s deepening friendship, the book pulls you in and holds you captive through to the heart-breaking end.I loved this book.

OMG! I don't know what to say! Other than I am in my early sixties and have read anything, constantly from the age of five and this book touched me like no other! It is absolutely wonderful. From the first line, I was hooked. Amazing story-telling, great prose and utterly compelling / interesting characters. Oh my gosh - I want more. What a brilliant film this would make!!! Thank you Bernice McFadden!!!

I picked this book up because I had read The Book Of Harlan, which I absolutely loved, and was not disappointed. Great story from beginning to end. Hard to put down. I'm going to look for my next Bernice L. McFadden book right now. She is clearly an extremely gifted writer! In fact, I think I'm going to have to read her entire canon.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.⁣"⁣With a prologue of an extremely, horrifying, depiction of the murder of a young black girl and how devastated it left the mother, this torn me to pieces.⁣⁣To top it all, no one cared enough for justice to be done thoroughly, as it was the era of segregation. ⁣⁣A story of abandonment, old family secrets, heartache, disappointment, pain, and forgiveness. Centered on Sugar Lacey (a prostitute) abandoned at birth and raised in a brothel, used and abused and full of pain and long-grieving Pearl Taylor whose daughter was the one murdered in the prologue.⁣⁣As the unlikely friendship of these women started in the small town full of gossips and upstanding Christian do-gooders, you know its about to go down.⁣⁣This book was everything and i can't wait to get my hands on book 2.

This book was gripping from the beginning right up to the end.

Good read