Items related to What You Owe Me
“A multigenerational saga . . . about forgiveness and redemption. Lavish and funny and perfect.”—The Los Angeles Times
Sweeping across fifty years of family, friendship, betrayal and reconciliation, What You Owe Me is Bebe Moore Campbell’s most ambitious achievement in storytelling. When Hosanna Clark—a hotel maid in post-World War II Los Angeles—first meets her new co-worker, Holocaust survivor Gilda Rosenstein, she is shocked to see a white woman in a situation so like her own. They quickly become friends, then business partners. But when their cosmetics company meets with unprecedented success, Gilda disappears with the profits—and leaves behind an emotional debt that grows with time, in the hearts and souls of generations to come. . . .
“Entertaining . . . engaging . . . heartwarming.” —Boston Herald
Sweeping across fifty years of family, friendship, betrayal and reconciliation, What You Owe Me is Bebe Moore Campbell’s most ambitious achievement in storytelling. When Hosanna Clark—a hotel maid in post-World War II Los Angeles—first meets her new co-worker, Holocaust survivor Gilda Rosenstein, she is shocked to see a white woman in a situation so like her own. They quickly become friends, then business partners. But when their cosmetics company meets with unprecedented success, Gilda disappears with the profits—and leaves behind an emotional debt that grows with time, in the hearts and souls of generations to come. . . .
“Entertaining . . . engaging . . . heartwarming.” —Boston Herald
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Bebe Moore Campbell was a bestselling author and a journalist. Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Ms., Essence, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Working Mother, USA Weekend, and Adweek, among other publications. She was a regular contributor to National Public Radio.
From Publishers Weekly:
Bebe Moore Campbell was the author of such national, critically acclaimed bestsellers as Brothers and Sisters, Singing in the Comeback Choir, Your Blues Ain't Like Mine, and What You Owe Me as well as the award-winning children’s book, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry and the recently published Stompin’ at the Savoy.
Campbell was born and grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education. She taught elementary and middle school for five years. She is survived by her husband, Ellis Gordon, Jr., her daughter, the actress Maia Campbell, and a son, Ellis Gordon III.
The friendship between a black woman and a new immigrant in 1940s California sets in motion events that span two generations in Campbell's (Singing in the Comeback Choir) densely plotted new novel. Hosanna Clark, a maid at an elegant Los Angeles hotel, befriends her new white co-worker Gilda Rosenstein, a Holocaust survivor whose family had owned a cosmetics factory. When Hosanna tries a special lotion Gilda has made, she persuades Gilda to produce it for Hosanna to sell to local black women. They are very successful, and at Gilda's suggestion they open a joint bank account. Not long after, Gilda and her new husband disappear with all their profits. Daughter Matriece, a witness to Hosanna's struggle to survive on her own, resolves to achieve the success her mother never had; she eventually becomes a division president in Gilda's cosmetics empire. Ignorant of Matriece's identity, Gilda mentors the young woman, with whom she feels an unexplained bond. Gilda's reaction, when she finally learns the truth, is unexpected, and she startles everyone with a surprising proposal that brings the story to a neat conclusion. Numerous subplots crowd the novel, covering issues from reparations and education to romance and betrayal. Campbell's detailed treatment of each accounts for the book's length, but all are credibly tied to the central tale. Character portraits are sometimes shallow, and the story's length tests the reader's stamina, but those with the patience to follow its intricate, entwined relationships will find the novel rewarding. (Aug. 6)Forecast: This wide-ranging effort is most reminiscent of Campbell's 1994 Brothers and Sisters and is positioned to perform just as strongly. First serial went to Essence magazine, and the book has been chosen as a main selection of the Black Expression Book Club and as an alternate selection of BOMC, the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club and QPB. A major ad/promo campaign and a 27-city author tour will cover all conceivable bases.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherThorndike Pr
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0786238755
- ISBN 13 9780786238750
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages880
- Rating
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
What You Owe Me
Published by
Thorndike Press
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0786238755
ISBN 13: 9780786238750
Used
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G0786238755I3N11
Buy Used
US$ 13.89
Convert currency
Stock Image
What You Owe Me
Published by
Thorndike Press
(2002)
ISBN 10: 0786238755
ISBN 13: 9780786238750
Used
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G0786238755I3N00
Buy Used
US$ 13.89
Convert currency