Mama; Mildred Peacock, proud black woman! She's broke. Lives in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in a broken down house. After a violent fight, she puts out her no good violently abusive husband!! And rightly so, because even though he didn't have a job, he kept a mistress!! Mama is 27 with 5 children. I loved this book as it was Terry McMillan' first novel!!! It was the hottest book back in the day being read by so many. Also, though this is a sad situation, Mama is portrayed as one who struggles to overcome her plight. This is an easy very good read. ( )

This was the first TM book I ever read. It is also my favorite of all her great works. I would be overjoyed if it was adapted for TV or the big screen. ( )

The very first time I heard about Terry McMillan’s debut novel, Mama, was in my African-American literature class in college. The book was not on our reading list but McMillan’s name came up in a discussion where the professor stated that Mama was some her best writing. I held that statement in the back of my mind for years. After reading Getting to Happy, McMillan’s latest novel, I decided to read Mama.

The story is being told by Mildred the matriarch of the Peacock family and the main character of the novel. The peacock family consists of four girls and one boy: Freda, Bootsey, Angel, Doll and Money (the son). Mildred’s husband name is Crook and he is nothing but a drunken womanizer who beats her. Mildred has this fierce love for her children but it never comes through as affection. She has this do as I say, but not as I do type way of raising her children. We come to realize that Mildred cannot display anything she has never received. Mildred marries two times after her and Crook’s divorce but it is always for the wrong reasons and never lasts. What makes Mildred’s quest for love so ironic is that she knew her father, Buster, loved and favored her.

Of the children we see the most promise in the oldest, Freda. Freda was always the caretaker when Mildred fell short even for Mildred herself when her drinking and mind got the best of her for a season. Money because he never really had a father figure in his life turned to a life of crime and drugs. Bootsey, Angel, and Doll all grew up married and had children and problems of their own. Freda too was plagued by drugs and alcoholism but was determined to persevere. Mildred also daily turned to the bottle to wash away her problems.

This was a novel about family. A family with their own unique problems and how they depended on and were there for each other during the hard times. Mildred did not always get it right but she always had a connection to her children. Mildred came across as your stereotypical angry black woman throughout the entire novel. McMillan never really “redeemed” her in my opinion. There was also a flow to this novel you never got stuck. The chronological order of this story was simply amazing. One quality that reins true of all of McMillan’s novels is that they are all “true” stories that we can relate to. ( )