by
Michael Baisden
Boy, did we have a good time dissecting Michael Baisden's book, Men Cry in the Dark. The consensus seemed to be that the book lacked depth. Either that, or our expectations were set too high. We, those of us who attended the first meeting of the Still I Rise Book Club, agreed that we like Ben the most and his character seemed the most believable as well as the most likeable. Of course Derrick got what he deserved when Angela said no, because everyone knew Derrick was too self-centered. We concluded by saying all of the men were womanizers and when they did cry, it was not about anything of true substance, at least not Baisden's men.
I personally liked his chapter titles, like "PAYBACK." A few others liked the fact that the young brother wrote a book which appeals to the under thirty group, of which none of us were. Finally, we said that Michael Baisden is no Terry McMillian, but then neither is Terry. By this we meant, that Terry does not consistently tell a good tale. Some of her novels were very good, and others merely mediocre.
To sum our opinions, the first choice for our book club is a disappointment. We hope that Baisden storytelling depicts a more realistic view of men, black men, with his next novel.