Loved it! The movie is among my favorites...among the first movies I ever owned (Dirty Dancing was the first...my all time favorite movie...it was a gift). I have it on VHS and whenever I'm in the mood, AND one of my VCRs is wired correctly, I watch it. It's out on DVD now, so I'll need to hook that up. This film was the beginning of my love of Sanaa Lathan (Zora), and with the name "Zora". I already knew and loved Zora Neale Hurston, but never considered naming my potential future daughter that until I saw this movie and heard it spoken so many times. And I've always thought very highly of Wesley Snipes' general appearance, so this movie was easily one of my favs. Now about the book...This is a love story about some grown-up love...that make-it-through-the-fire love. It's the kind of love you want, but without all the pain. You know, like you want to love somebody so much that you love them and forgive them unconditionally...not becasue you're a punk, but because you need them like breath...like air. You want to love like that, but to not have that joint tested...does that make sense? The moral of the story (in my opinion)is that it's important to maintain your own identity...your sense of self...once you're in a relationship. Ever seen a couple who are so alike...love the same things, have the same freinds, the same hobbies, the same style? It's easy for people to "disappear" in relationships...either by compromising to the point of conforming so much that they end up morphing into who they think partner wants them to be, or simply morphing into their partner becasue they don't have a strong sense of identity themselves...when it's best (for everybody's sanity) to just stay the person they are, and roll with that...be a constantl reminder of why they fell in love with you in the first place. Of course growth is natural, but to grow together... and maintain personal identity...there's the rub. Now back to the book...Anyway...great characters. Very enjoyable read. I'm actually glad I saw the movie first...and that the book was so different from the film. I got to experience these characters again, but the story for the first time, which was cool. I'm not surprised the book was so much better. To squeez this story into 2 hours a lot of characters were cut out and some things were rearranged. I guess to tell the whole story, they'd have had to make a mini series, like they did with Alex Haley's Roots or Queen. This story is actually good enough to have a series inspired by it...like Soul Food...which how cool would that be? The characters in this story are like that...you just want more of them. I didn't want it to end. That's the same way I felt after I read The Interruption of Everything. As much as you want to, you don't know what will happen next, but you know everything will work out alright. Terri McMillan is really good at those kinds of endings. This is only the second novel of her's that I've read. I bought Waiting to Exhale after I saw the movie too...still haven't read it. I'm sure I'll play catch up with her other movie inspiring novel How Stella Got Her Groove Back. 'Specially since this was based on her personal love story...and her groove giver has recently turned up gay. I'll save them (and I'm sure her other stuff eventually) for when I need some detox from heavier reading.
The "Disappearing Act" is basically an Urban love story,novel provides a realistic portrayal of a relationship between a black man and woman struggling to find their place in life separately and together. The disappearing act is written in the first person, its Zora and Franklin's point of view, And different events in their relationship over the course of two and a half years. Franklin is a construction worker, and a carpenter who never graduated from high school. The subjects of this novel is African Americans, United States, love or romance, sex or sexuality, abused persons,gender roles, pregnancy, rape, violence, adultery, divorce, and even abortion. I am young with an mature mind I read this book because I looked like it was entertaining, but all I can say about this book is it's INTERESTING. What has our world come to? anyone.....
What do You think about Disappearing Acts (2004)?
1.5 STARS"Franklin's tired of women, tired of trouble. He's young, he's six-feet-four and he likes to pump iron. But his ex-wife's riding him for money to keep their two children, and there's no security in construction work. Not in New York anyway, and especially not if you're black. All Franklin really wants is to stay together, stay in work and, most of all, stay out of love.And Zora. She's a music teacher, fresh from Ohio, looking for that one big break as a singer-songwriter. She's going to get an apartment, get fit, and get her first songs down on a demo tape. The last thing she wants is to disappear into another relationship, and wind up with another broken heart.But when Franklin sees Zora and Zora sees Franklin, none of it means a damn. Everything - their pasts, their independence, their plans - evaporates in the electric charge of one of the most passionate, turbulent and memorable affairs in contemporary fiction..." (From Amazon) It was well-written but I did not like the storyline or Franklin.
—Kris - My Novelesque Life
Shortie review here, since I am all kinds of late finally reading this book but OH EM GEE IT WAS GOOD! I don't know why, but I haven't made a big habit out of reading Terry McMillan. My mother enjoyed Waiting to Exhale (the movie too) but I never read it. I read Getting to Happy and didn't think it was all that bad .... but I hadn't read Waiting, so I didn't have the same complaints that everyone else had. I also read Who Asked You and while I didn't truly enjoy it, it also primed my interest in
—D.L.
Despite Waiting to Exhale being her breakout hit, Disappearing Acts is actually my favorite novel by Terry McMillan. I loved the raw intensity of the relationship between the main character and her construction worker take-no-prisoners boyfriend.The best thing about this book: it was swimming in uncharted waters for black female authors at the time. But she did something even more profound--she introduced black women to chick lit!http://www.saltygurl.com
—A.T. Hicks
