A Day Late And A Dollar Short (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
This story is about the Price family. We get to meet them, warts and all, chapter by chapter. The first chapter introduces us to Viola, the matriarch of the family. Viola, in the hospital suffering from a massive asthma attack, is wearied and worried by her spouse and her offspring. In her first-person narrative voice that instantly evokes reminiscences of listening to my own grandmother's southern-black-English argot, we get to hear from Viola's perspective the strengths and weaknesses of her family. Because she sounds so real her impressions leap right off the page and into your own consciousness until you find yourself agreeing with Viola. Yes! Her husband is an ungrateful wretch who moved out with no warning. Yes! Her constantly-in-jail son is book smart but street stupid for allowing himself to fall into the trap that has snared so many other black men. Yes! Her oldest daughter is a control freak who spends too much time looking out for others and not enough time looking out for herself. Yes! Her second daughter is too blinded by jealousy to really see how much her family loves her and Yes! Her youngest daughter has been too dependent on others and can't stand up on her own two feet.But wait a minute. Before you get too comfortable with these characterizations, Ms. McMillan switches gears and allows the others to speak for themselves. In Cecil's chapters we see a man who has a wife who is astonishingly self sufficient, grown children who don't really need him anymore and a life that has seemingly passed him by. We see someone who still has an enormous amount of respect for his spouse but who feels useless in her world. In Lewis' chapters we meet a man who is incredibly intelligent but who has never had anyone pushing him to succeed. Instead his family pigeonholes him into the slot of a drunken failure, never seeing the man underneath the surface who has dreams and aspirations like everyone else. In Charlotte's chapters we hear from a woman who has always felt like the outsider in her family. Doing desperate, sometimes unkind things simply to get them to notice her. She longs for the approval of her family and constantly seeks ways to get it only to be defeated by bitterness when she feels she's come up short in some way. In Janelle's chapters we visit a woman who having been the petted baby of the family is trying to re create what she feels is the perfect family and is desperately trying to create an identity. She marries unwisely and realizes too late the price she has to pay for her naivete. And finally, Paris' chapters reveal the oft told story of the oldest sibling given too much responsibility too early. Having been put on a pedestal, Paris strives mightily to live up to the image of perfection she believes her family has of her. But at what cost?I usually get all bent out of shape when a story is told with shifting P.O.V.s but in this case, the voice of each of these characters is central to this story. Ms. McMillan has no trouble moving from the clipped, "proper" tones of the uber-educated Janelle and Paris to the more blue-collar street slangy tones of Lewis and Charlotte. Each sibling and each parent is fully in charge of the space he or she inhabits. The care taken in crafting each character in this book is so subtle that it is easy to miss how sophisticated the storytelling in this book really is. There is a reason that Terry McMillan was the vanguard for the renaissance and current popularity of African-American popular fiction and this book is represents that reason. Ms. Macmillan is an engaging writer who writes absorbing stories. I recommend.
OK -- I'll admit I didn't like the vast majority of the book. However, once I got to the end, I was much happier :) Every chapter is written in the first person by the Mom, the Dad, or one of their 4 children. Obviously this makes it a little difficult to figure out who is talking, especially at the beginning when you're trying to sort them all out. It's an interesting study on families, and how they get along or don't get along, but all love each other. I love how the mother is truly the traditional, wise matriarch that all families need. One of her classic lines is a description of her husband's new girlfriend: ". . .that mushroom-looking wench he was sitting next to, who look young enough to be his grand-daughter, and who need to make up her mind which hairstyle she really interested in and settle on one instead of the three or four I saw." For some reason, this just really tickled me.Brief, unprofessional synopsis: Written by the author of "Waiting to Exhale" and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back", this book covers a short period of time in the life of a a black family that began in Chicago (Viola and Cecil) and moved to Las Vegas. The 4 grown kids are Paris, Charlotte, Janelle and Lewis. The book covers a variety of societal, familial, educational and financial issues. From substance abuse to incest to divorce to abortion to rheumatoid arthritis and lottery tickets, this family experiences what all families experience in that whether they like each other or not, they can choose whether or not they still love each other and want to support each other. Contains lots of f words. . .
What do You think about A Day Late And A Dollar Short (2004)?
I really got into this book in the beginning. I loved all the characters, and I appreciated the alternating narrators. The technique gave the reader a much more rounded perspective on the characters and their life situations. In general, this is a well written, engaging novel with a great deal of interesting things to say about the ties that bind families together. It's definitely worth reading. The some of the characters are terrific. I thought Vy was a riot, and I loved her relationship with her granddaughter Shanice. I didn't care for any of the male characters, but that was as much due to the fact that they didn't get as much space as it was anything to do with how they were written. As the book got to about the 200 page mark, however, it started to drag. Once the key event happens to Vy that brings the family together (even though I think another reviewer mentioned it, I won't say just in case) I got really interested again. IIf the story had been about how all the family members cope after that event, and come back together to deal with their complex sibling relationships, I'd have enjoyed the book more. I thought that the problems Janelle and Paris had were complex enough that they could've had a book of there own. We didn't really get to know Lewis or Charlotte as well as the other two siblings, so I was less invested in them. In the case of Charlotte that was particularly disappointed, because I was really intrigued by the conflict between her and Paris. If McMillan weren't such a gifted writer, with such a good ear for dialogue and character, I might not have been so frustrated by these things. But the last 150 pages or so were so engrossing to me that I know she could've made the book even better than it was - and it was still better than alot of fiction on the market today. Overall, despite my few problems with the novel, this story was a very enjoyable reading experience. It makes for a great summer read. I've never read anything by Terry McMillan prior to this book. I'm definitely a fan now.
—Tania
I listened to it on CD. It took me a little while to get the characters into my head and heart, but then it happened. I think listening to the book being read made them real to me. They are all flawed, have made mistakes and regret them, but they are family. I enjoyed this book with its its twists and turns as the family tries again and again to piece itself back together. Each crisis exposes strengths and weaknesses. Each resolution moves the family closer in some way. Good book. Universal lessons about family.
—Laura
Terry McMillan's novels feature chatty, catty narrators who have a story they're just busting to tell you. The dominant voice in A Day Late and a Dollar Short is Viola Price, whose asthma just sent her to the ICU. And who came to visit? The Jheri Curl-wearing Cecil, "a bad habit I've had for thirty-eight years, which would make him my husband." Viola doesn't think Cecil's such a catch: "His midlife crisis done lasted about 20 years now," and "to set the record straight, Cecil look like he about
—Ice
