I Wish I Had a Red Dress : Pearl Cleage

Image Credit: HarperCollins

I seem to be reading very average books of late. I think the last book I gave a 5 rating was months back. Pearl Cleage’s “I Wish I had a Red Dress” too failed to impress me that much. Thankfully, I had not approached it with high expectations since it was meant to be a “light read.” And I picked it up for just about $2 at a book sale.

The novel is narrated by Joyce who hasn’t escaped the worst that life has to offer. With four deaths in her behind her, she has definitely had a tough life. She runs a centre, named as the Sewing Circus, which is a place for battered and abused black women to congregate and gain support from the “sisters.” While being a friend, teacher and guide for these young women, Miz J as Joyce is known, meets Nate Anderson through her close friend. It’s not long before the proverbial sparks fly but it’s not such an easy ride either.

Yes, the story sounds interesting and just the kind of book to read curled up with coffee on a cold day. And in many parts it is. It's more than a mere romance as there are many strong moments, like where Joyce raises her voice against Junior, one of the troublemaking boyfriends. She stands strongly, backing a scared Tee and manages to send him packing. Cleage has also brought out the lives of these black women very well, addressing some really relevant issues like shootouts, which haunt the black neighborhoods of America even today.

What weakens the book is some of the trite characterization that carves out a Manichean world where the men are bad and the women have to endure. Of course Cleage has made it better than the other book I read recently, Women’s Room, where there were no exceptions to this rule. Here the exceptions are Nate and Bill who are the opposite – extremely virtuous gentlemen. Now you might say, oh she has struck a balance somewhere so what’s wrong? I don’t know. All I can say is, to borrow Thoughts’ phrase, it lacked soul.

I Wish I had a Red Dress has got good as well as bad reviews. For me, it is what I expected it to be. Just a light read despite some of the heavy issues raised. A good flip through.

Verdict: Time pass

Rating: 2.8/5