The Middle Sister

The Middle Sister     
Bonnie J. Glover
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Pamela Johnson is the middle sister, who along with sisters Nona & Theresa have the daunting task of keeping the sanity of their family.  After their dad vacated his “Daddy” spot, the mental fabric of the family becomes tattered and it’s all the girls can do to survive in the midst of their Mother’s mental breakdown.

Bonnie J. Glover’s debut novel is not a bad effort at all.  In fact it’s quite daring and introspective on more than just one level.  The writing at times becomes a bit pretentious, but the overall effect is notable for this first-time fiction author.

The Middle Sister is set in 1970’s East New York where Pamela conjures an invisible friend into being, as if he were the Father figure that she’d missed since the days of her daddy’s departure.  In fact that is the only plausible reason for the appearance of Kwai Chang – David Carradine’s character from the old action series Kung Fu – to offer the fatherly advice that is lacking in Pamela’s life.  This fact speaks very boldly on how one survives the devastation of life.  It speaks on how the human mind places that very survival above all other situations that make up the muck of life.

And that is exactly what Glover’s expertly crafted novel represents:  surviving the muck the world sometimes offers up.  And as a side motif:  finding buried talents and establishing them as part of your own persona, your own legacy.

[pg. 56]
        
        The lock on the apartment door turned slowly and made a grinding noise when Nona pushed it open.  Theresa rolled her eyes since we had been trying to be as quiet as possible.  I thought right away that I would check my toolbox to see if I had any four-in-one.  I’d lubricated the lock and doorknob and get rid of that sound.  Funny how I knew what to do with problems like doorknobs or dripping faucets without thinking hard.  In my mind I could see exactly how I would approach a problem like that, what tools I’d use, and how long the job would take, all in a few seconds.  Maybe that was my talent, fixing things like Daddy used to do.  That made me smile a little inside.
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No doubt Pamela’s talent for solving problems and preserving the peace within is the glue that keeps this family together.  And you’d better believe Glover gives Pamela and her sisters more than their fair share of problems to resolve, conquer and move beyond.  Sometimes Glover does this with startling and chilling alacrity, but at other times the sobering effect of her writing is bittersweet with humor.

At one point in this spectacular freshman effort the sisters have taken their Mother for a doctor’s visit.  Having witnessed Alzheimer’s work its’ mystical effects, this scene is firmly etched in my memory:

[pg. 119]
        
        “That James Brown, he sure do know how to keep that head combed.  Wished I could get a perm to do like his do.”
        “Mama, you look fine.  You don’t need no perm.  You got an Afro now.  You a real soul sister.”
        ….The door opened, and a large white woman came in holding a folder in her right hand and fumbling to put on glasses with her left…
        “Mrs. Johnson?”
        “That’s me, Doctor.”
        “My name is Dr. Renee Moore….  Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
        My mother waited a couple of seconds, then looked at Nona, me, and Theresa.
        “They say I done lost my mind.”
        “And what do you say?”
        “That it’s a matter of opinion.”
        I’d never heard Mama speak like this before. I jerked my head up.
        “Why is it a matter of opinion?”
        Maybe I ain’t lose it, maybe I just misplaces it every once in a while.”
        Mama gave the doctor one of the grins she gave to us when we brought her home a candy bar or burger from McDonald’s….
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Another poignant moment is when Glover reveals to us Nona’s lesbianism.  The very fact was announced in such a way as one never saw it coming, but the way the Johnson family embraced Nona makes for a very admirable stance.

Glover’s novel has shattered stereotypes of mega proportions.  She has given a voice to the strength of iron will and determination.  She has given a voice to the mentally ill and the ill-spurned alike.  She has shown that in the face of adversity one must be there for family and she’s done so in stunning & beautiful fashion.

4 ½  Stars – Introspective, Strong-voiced & Admirable


Reviewed for Mahogany Media of Hudson & Albany NY
Mahogany Media Review