Bring on the Blessings
by
Beverly Jenkins
African American contemporary fiction
I don't generally read African American contemporary fiction, but I read that this book featured a historical town in Kansas founded by African Americans. I enjoy getting my history lessons in fiction rather than nonfiction books, so I figured this would be a more palatable way to find out about African Americans during Reconstruction.
I thought that this would also be Christian fiction and it is - sort of. Most of the people are churchgoers or at least believe in God, but this is not a right-leaning book. These are more realistic Christians. Christians with real problems and who are not so holier-than-thou -ones that might sleep around a little before a church wedding, but whose hearts are in the right place. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit are all referred to in vague ways. At one point the main character says a prayer to The Sister in the Sky. I am not so sure if this is referring to God as a male and female figure or the Blessed Virgin Mary. Two characters are descendants of Black Seminole, so maybe they are talking about a Native American spirituality. I would call this more inspirational or spiritual fiction than Christian fiction.
Here is the plot - Bernadine Brown, age 52, has come into money in a divorce. When we say money, this means a LOT of money. She prays about what do with her life and with the money. She sees an advertisement to purchase an entire historic town. The residents pray that she can bring back the sense of pride and community that this town has lost along with its population and its businesses.
Bernadine has a plan. This will be a town where the citizens welcome foster children. It will be a place of hope for everyone. Bernadine uses her contacts and her experience as a social worker to make big changes. She has some opposition, but most people are cheering for her.
It was a well written book, but I can tell that I was not the target audience. I am not sure what all of the street lingo, jargon, and contemporary African American phrases meant. One teenager nicknames a boy and I have no idea what the nickname was referring to.
Even though I did not catch all of the references, I recognize that Jenkins has created a rich world of multi-dimensional characters. In the epilogue she says that there are at least two other books of hers which incorporated her fictionalized town in Kansas. I can see that she would have fans that would like to continue to read about her world.
I would recommend that public libraries with medium to large populations of African American readers add this book, and the series, to their collections.
