June 1, 1992
The compelling opening chapters of this novel that limns the troubled coming of age of a black woman from the Mississippi Delta excite expectations that the rest of the narrative does not fulfill. Initially, readers will find much to admire in Golden's ( Long Distance Life ) depiction of Jessie Foster's flight from her sexually abusive father and her meeting with civil rights worker Lincoln Sturgis, who sweeps her into the movement during the turbulent Freedom Summer--and into a new world where she forms relationships with black and white activists from all strata of society. Golden's portrait of the idealism and exhilaration of people coming together in a conflicted time is authentic and engrossing, but when her protagonist leaves the South and moves to Manhattan, the tale loses dramatic momentum. As Lincoln struggles to make his name as a playwright, Jessie discovers her vocation as an actress, but her transformation is too swift and never becomes convincing. Moreover, when she changes her name to Pearl Moon, the reader's identification with her character is broken. Jessie/Pearl's inability to return Lincoln's love, due to her haunted memories of being raped by her father, makes her emotionally distant and her behavior predictable. Although Golden's command of language in the early part of the book is impressive, the later sections are dry and mechanical, as though she is fleshing out a story in which she has lost interest. The facile denouement involving Jessie/Pearl's psychological breakthrough leaves the novel limping to a close.