The Color of Water - James McBride

The Color of Water

By James McBride

  • Release Date: 1997-02-01
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
4 Score: 4 (From 838 Ratings)

Book Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling story from the author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction.

Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.
The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades, and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion—and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain.

In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned.

At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all- black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college—and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University.

Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.

 

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Latest Impressions

  • Must read

    5
    By Oyantica
    Must read book ! Beautiful , thought provoking !
  • Nice Dennis

    5
    By Shoegamer
    Nice
  • The Color of Water

    5
    By profannie
    I read this book in grad school, and it was like fresh air traveling through my nostrils! Uniquely presented, well written lifelines of transparent truth! I read it more than once, each time a wonderful experience. One of my favorites indeed!
  • Good Book

    4
    By Lilwaynesgirl
    I don’t typically like this genre, but I had to read this book in college and it was really good. I was really interested and remember saying to myself I could read more books like this if they were like this one. I thought it was interesting and I had a hard time putting it down.
  • good

    5
    By aidsupurbutt
    It was good
  • The Color of Water

    5
    By aib14
    Terrific book and interesting the way it is told
  • This is the best book

    5
    By michealmelendez
    Like wow I read this book in high school and it was amazing
  • A bucket list book!

    4
    By Rachetwell
    This is one book I wish was a required reading book in school. It's a compelling memoir written as a beautiful ode to his dear eccentric mother. I loved it and still re-read every so often. It is especially relevant with today's trying racial issues in America. I would highly recommend this book!
  • One of my favorite books

    5
    By chrrrypie
    It's fascinating to see the authors experience with racism. Showing the color of your skin really doesn't matter, bc humans through time are always pushing away the people that are different
  • Sometimes sad, sometimes funny but 100%honest

    4
    By Long legion
    James mcbride is a wonderful writer who I think could take any subject and make it fascinating. I've read fiction from him but this is the only non fiction I've read. It was very well written and I enjoyed it