(Amazon.com) - Looking for love, December 23, 2006
Before opening the book SCULPTURED NAILS AND NAPPY HAIR, I tried to
visualize what the book would be about. In my mind's eye, I saw
divas--proud Black women who made sure they were always immaculately
groomed, who wore their natural hair proudly, and flaunted their pride
in being Black like a banner. I was sorely mistaken! Although there are
Black women in the four stories that compile the book, it is about
life, and survival at any cost, and all of the women were more
concerned with whether or not they could pay the month's rent than the
condition of their nails and hair!
I quickly realized that the titles of the stories had very little
to do with the stories themselves. I kept wondering if the book title
itself would ever be mentioned, and when it was, it was not a
significant moment, just a simple observation by one of the characters.
"The Mimosa Tree" is about a woman who will do anything and
everything for love. Abandoned by her father at the age of 10, she
looks for love with her neighbor, who takes her virginity at age 13.
However, the love of her life is Marcus Tygers, whom she met in high
school. Once he goes into the Air Force after graduation, she travels
to see him every weekend she can. Although Marcus tries to discourage
her constant visits, she is determined he's the love of her life, and
she refuses to let him go.
"To Cut a Diamond" is Margaret and Marine's story. Margaret, called
"Kiki" in the story, is the wife of Abdul, a "Black entrepreneur/con
man" who she marries two weeks after meeting him. He introduces her to
drugs and cheats on her with a series of women throughout the story.
Marine is one of the women who Abdul has been seeing, and her
confrontations with Kiki are some of the most unique I have ever
witnessed between a wife and a mistress.
"Yellow Jacket" is the sad saga of a woman who wants bigger, better
and more, and will do whatever it takes to have the finer things in
life. Crimsonne Redd is a woman with a mission--to have her own
marketing firm. In order to do that, she takes all types of unsavory
side jobs to finance her business, Redd Hot Enterprise, by working as a
stripper and a specialized call girl.
The final story, "Aurora Borealis," is the story of Lark, who falls
in love with an Italian named Emilio. They meet in Alaska, where she is
able to actually see the Aurora Borealis, from which the story obtains
its title.
Lincoln Park weaves her tales in such a way that all of your
emotions get involved--but each of the women in this book had me
sighing in pity, because all of them were looking for the type of love
they would never find.
Park is a gifted writer, and I enjoyed the book,
although the characters sometimes irritated me because of their extreme
stupidity!