Rochelle Alers

American Visions, June-July, 1996 by Rochelle Alers

Compiling a summer reading list has become an indulgence for me; however, this summer I will have the opportunity to luxuriate in this intellectual repast for the first time in years, reading and rereading books that have collected dust on my bedside table for months - some for more than a year. The list is eclectic, covering many genres, and with romance predominating.

Patricia Vaughn's Murmur Rain (Pocket, 1996) tops the list. This lush, lyrically written historical romance of 1980' Haiti, an island riven with distinct class differences and cultural nuances, offers the reader a glimpse into the privileged world of the elite. An all-black town in 1880s Kansas is the setting for Beverly Jenkins' Night Song (Avon, 1994), a historical romance that keeps the reader up nights, savoring both the passion between a schoolteacher and a buffalo soldier and the portrayal of African-American history that is too often skewed or ignored in many other historical romances. Both of these books include extensive bibliographies. My romance list concludes with Francis Ray's Forever Yours (Pinnacle, 1994), a classic contemporary romance that is as light and refreshing as a summer shower.

Books of Octavia Butler's, a favorite of mine since I read her Patternmaster series, are a definite reread. Bloodchild and Other Stories (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1995), Parable of the Sower (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993), Kindred (Beacon Press, 1988), Patternmaster (Warner, 1995) and Clay's Ark (St. Martin's, 1984) show the genius of this brilliant science fiction writer.

Bebe Moore Campbell's Your Blues Ain't Like Mine (Ballantine, 1993) sits on the to-be-read stack, along with her Brothers and Sisters (Putnam, 1994 - a reread. The jackets to Brenda Lane Richardson's Chesapeake Song (Amistad, 1994) and the dowagers Sarah L. and A. Elizabeth Delany's Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (Dell, 1994) will be dusted off for a sentimental journey into beauty and elegance; so, too, will be Dorothy West's The Wedding (Doubleday, 1995).

Last, but definitely not least, I must include a superior brother among the sister writer - Walter Mosley. I have all of Mosley's published work - in hard cover and autographed by the gentleman, thank you! Easy Rawlins comes to life in Devil in a Blue Dress (Putnam, 1995), continues his escapades in A Red Death (Putnam, 1992), jumps off the page in White Butterfly (Putnam, 1993) and sizzles in Black Betty (Norton, 1994). Mosley's RL's Dream (Norton, 1995), a departure from his mystery novels, shows the versatility of this very talented wordsmith.

The book of the summer is sure to be Terry McMillan's Holt, Stella Got Her Groove Back (Viking, 1996). This is one book that I am certain will not collect dust on many bedside tables this summer, fall or winter.

Rochelle Alers is the author of seven romance novels, most recently, Home Sweet Home (Pinnacle, 1996).