This book seems to be highly underrated. I had never heard of the author before I read this book, and now I would love to read more of her work. This book was a great wholesome read. The characters were realistic and well developed, along with the plot of the story was easy to follow and understand. After the first 30 pages, the story thickens, and it is a page turner from there. This book dealt with a number of issues that came out of the 60's and 70's era. Issues such as racism, blaxploitation, film, Hollywood, pursuit of happiness, failure, and secret loves. This book spanned the life of 3 women through 3 generations, and how the love of movies connected them all together as a family. Third girl from the left told of how a young woman set out on her own from the country in search of a better life, trying to become famous, but always facing the sad reality that she was never going to be the star. Playing 3rd rate roles in many blaxploitation movies, Angela soon grew to let her life play out without forcing things to happen. Her most successful event happened to be the the third girl from the left in the classic film Coffey, but she still never caught a break, ended up pregnant, and having to learn love the hard way, while trying to escape the family she never wanted people to know about. Three generations came together when Angela came to her mother's sick bed with a daughter no one ever seen. In the end, all 3 women learned alot about each other, their family, and the history of where they came from. I could relate to many of the emotions laid out in this book. I was deeply engrossed in the plot, and thoroughly enjoyed the ups and downs of each character. I would recommend this book to everyone, and would rate this book a 4.
This is the third Martha Southgate book I've read...and I can honestly say she is a fresh voice in Contemporary Black American literature. She has a way of telling the story that *on the surface* seems like it would be a familiar tale of class and race---but changing it to be from a totally different perspective. For that we are richer, because she adds a freshness to the dialog."Fall of Rome" had a different take on academic diversity and who does/doesn't support it, while "The Taste of Salt" showed a different perspective on cultural isolation in the professional world, and intellectual isolation from family.Throw out the dust jacket, I have no idea what book the publisher was describing...because "Third Girl from the Left" is as much about Blaxploitation films as "Taste of Salt" was about Marine Biology. The film industry was just a supporting character to illustrate the role of women in cinema (and it's effects) over the years.The jewel of this book lies in the complexities of the relationships formed by the women in this book. The love, the devotion, the dreams, the heartbreak, the desire to go far...even when you have no idea how far "far" is.My favorite of the three so far...simply because this book I could feel. I could see all these women. They were incredibly life like.
What do You think about Third Girl From The Left (2005)?
I read this for a book club -- it's probably not something that I would have picked up on my own, to be honest, but I'm glad it was a book club selection.It had mixed reviews in book club -- not enough difference in voice, not enough connection between reader and narrator -- but I loved the character arc that spanned not one character, but three. Mildred has dreams but no real hope of realising them; to achieve her dreams, Angela must turn her back on everything she knows; Tamara, although she still has the odds stacked against her, has hopes of realising her dreams and taking her career further than her mother or her grandmother.The writing runs the gamut from forced to evocative, but overall the book felt like a slice out of a life, or rather a set of lives, that I'll never be able to fully understand.Lastly -- I can only thank the author for this gem:Angela frowned. "What's a dyke?"Sheila stretched. "A dyke is a big, mannish woman who hates men and only sleeps with other big, mannish women. Not like us. We just do it for fun." She looked at Angela intently. "Wanna do it again?"-page 44
—Liralen
Third Girl From the Left follows three generations of African-American women; Angie, her mother Mildred, and Angie's daughter Tamara. The protagonist, Angie, feels suffocated in her small Tulsa town and runs away to Los Angeles to become an actress. She struggles to find her way in a new and exotic town that doesn't live up to her child-hood fantasies of fame and fortune. Mildred grew up in a more conservative era, which provides for an often tumultuous relationship with her daughter. And Tamara desperately searches for the secrets of her family's past.This family saga takes you on a historical journey from the 1921 Tulsa race riots to the blaxploitation of the 1970's film industry. It masterfully weaves the reader through the coming of age, of sorts, of an entire family. There is an underlying lesbian sub-plot regarding Angie's relationship with Sheila, but it doesn't overshadow the main story line. Brilliantly crafted novel of a family searching for themselves and for each other.
—Holly
My only complaint about this book is that I didn't have enough time to really focus on it. Martha Southgate managed to weave together a very political book - topics included blaxploitation films, race riots, and closeted lesbians, among others - in a way that felt very naturally like the lives of the 3 women at the center of the book. I found myself completely attached to each of the major characters, who were very different but all relatable and real. What really stands out is Southgate's descriptions of the relationships between mothers and daughters and the developing relationship between grandmother and granddaughter. When I was done I found myself wondering what happened to each of them next and rooting for them.
—Marisa
