Midnight by Sister Souljah
By Cheryl Hayes • Dec 9th, 2008 • Category: Book Review •
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Midnight by Sister Souljah is not a sequel to the long ago book, “The Coldest Winter Ever”; it is in fact a tale surrounding Midnight and how he came to be. Sister Souljah has an eye for detail and this five hundred page book is full of not only beautiful details, but pictures so that you can visualize the characters. The bulk of the story takes place in Brooklyn, New York where Midnight and his expectant mother move when there appears to be some danger approaching their home in Sudan. We are exposed to flashbacks of the Sudanese lifestyle, from prayer and worship to participating in a Sudanese wedding.
Once Midnight and his mother, Umma reach New York they have to secure a place to live and a job. Not knowing any English, Umma uses Midnight as a translator and this eventually works out and they start a side business where Umma designs one-of-a-kind pieces for the women where she works. Umma has now given birth to Naja and is trying to teach both of her children the proper way to live. Umma thought that Americans were way too lax in their behavior, and seemed to be very disrespectful of their bodies as well as each other. While being mindful of his surroundings and wanting to respect his religion; Midnight falls in love with a Chinese girl named Akemi.
Boundaries are crossed and there is no turning back; can Midnight make Akemi understand his devotion to her? Will Akemi’s family approve of this kindred love, when they not only show prejudice, but are not interested in understanding Midnights’ upbringing? Will his father ever come to collect his family since they were forced to leave their home in Sudan?
I was left with a ton of questions and was left feeling a little lost after going on this journey that was filled with culture, beliefs and values. I would have loved for this book to have been a sequel or at least have an ending instead of leaving us hanging, hopefully not for another ten years. Nevertheless, I recommend this book to fans of Sister Souljah.
Reviewed by: Cheryl H
APOOO BookClub
CLICK HERE to purchase a copy of Midnight by Sister Souljah and to vote respectively for Cheryl’s book review.
African American Literature, African American Author, African American Book
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Cheryl Hayes is a Financial Administrator or glorifed bookkeeper. I reside in NYC with my three kids and am an avid book lover. I balance my life between two jobs, my three kids, taking care of my grandmother and reviewing books for APOOO. Reading is not a job, but my passion and a way for me to escape. Being very competitive I enjoy marathons, long walks, quality time with my family and of course reading whatever I can get my hands on.
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See my Sister Souljah blog series this week. Part I is available.
Dera´s last blog post..Sister Souljah: Part I, A Commentary
I am currently reading this. I have some issues with the story, but I will save them for when I finish and we discuss.
However, it is not as bad as I thought it would be.
Moderator – please delete earlier post.
I also blogged on this at http://akaisdailyjournal.blogspot.com/2008/12/wonderful-midnight.html. I found the story to be beautiful, vivid and reflective. It was true literature, even though it wasn’t what I was expecting. And I thought it was genius and daring of Sistah Souljah to write from Midnight’s unique point of view and remain so consistent through out. The ending was like the drop of a rollercoaster ride, I will admit. I felt slightly abandoned after having invested in Midnight’s journey. But, this is still a “must read” for literature lovers.
aKai´s last blog post..A Wonderful Midnight
Well, I loved the book. I was dissapointed that it wasn’t a sequel to “The coldest winter ever” but the story of how midnight came to be was beautiful yet anti-climactic nonetheless. The dramatic irony is that we all know what happens before Midnight ever turns 15. He never made it to Japan to find his wife. He kills a man after catching him raping his little sister in the elevator of thier Brooklyn appartment. He was sent to prison at 14 and was gang raped by 6 prisoners. His mother was forced to traffic drugs to the prisoners after they threatened to rape him again if she didnt. She was caught and sentenced to 5 years and his litttle sister was adopted by a white American family. Shortly after Midnight’s release his mother passed away and he never sees his little sister again. Thats when he returned to Brooklyn and began dealing drugs. Midnight lost everything in the end. He lost his family, a family he loved so much and worked so hard to protect. He almost had it all, a wife and a new home in a safer neighborhood for his family, but he lost all of it. The ending was suppose to be obvious if you read “The coldest winter ever”.
Thanks Patricia..the details you provided were much appreciated…but hmmm many of us read TCWE when it came out 10 years ago…so what might have been obvious to some was not obvious to all…
[...] Midnight by Sister Souljah Tags: interviews, love, sister souljah [...]
I gave a commentary that was deleted. It is obvious that this website does not accept differences of opinion or healthy debate.
Hello Brandi and happy new year. I have a very open policy with APOOO, however, I will not allow anyone to visit my site and leave disparaging or flaming remarks. So as long as your remarks are not condescending or disrepectful they will not be removed. Additionally, as I move into 2009, I have two goals that continue to remain at the forefront of my life. Don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s all small stuff. And life is too short to waste. I will keep those in the forefront as I deal with life and folks in cyberspace.
Wishing you the best year ever and thanks for stopping by.
I was directing my comment towards your response to Patrica (which has been modifed, partially deleted and did not appear in this form two days ago). Your previous post was as equally offensive both to the author, Sister Souljah herself and to commentator Patricia. My point in this matter is that I respect that it is your site, but the respect that you are demanding on that fact alone should be given to others, all commentators and authors alike. As we are all human beings that can get just as personally offended as yourself.
Thank you for having me and I will not post again. Have a blessed New Year.
Hey Brandi we all have the right to speak our mind but I also have to remember that sometimes it’s okay to keep mouth shut. And just because someone says something that we don’t like doesn’t mean it gives us the right to attack the other individual…which is exactly what you did with your prior comment…the one that was removed. I didn’t take offense with you disagreeing…I took offense with you saying “Grow Up.” Because I didn’t like Midnight or how Sister Souljah wrote it…I needed to grow up. Hmmm…it’s obvious you don’t know me or what makes me tick. Additionally, ‘grow up’ is a very immature statement and that’s what kids do when they want to get the last word in; not what an adult does who wants to have a respectable debate. So maybe if your approach would have been different I wouldn’t have removed your comment. At the same time, I removed my comment, not because I found it offensive, but because I realized that I don’t always have to speak my mind in an open forum. Somethings are better left discussed with friends and thosw who can disagree while not stooping to an offensive level.
That said…I’m moving on…as I said life is too short to be wasted on small stuff…and it’s all small.
Can’t block my blessings as I go into the New Year, so If a comment I might about Sister Souljah offended you, I apologize and I ask God to forgive me.
Ok…I wasnt necessarily offended by the way black women were portrayed in this book, because it is accurate in a sense. However, it does not highlight ANY American woman in a good light. I was disappointed, because the books title is “Midnight”…so I assumed that it would make some reference to his character in “The Coldest Winter Ever”. Being a Christian woman, I felt that I did learn quite a bit about Muslims from reading this book, however I felt as if I were being brainwashed towards the end. It felt like there were subliminal messages in this book or something lol. Also, the book started to get a bit redundant. Every chapter, there was another encounter with Akemi, the hood girls, the bad boys, or Umma. The book was unrealistic for the most part. Due to the size of the book, I contnued reading, with hopes that there was more to come…but it never did.
I read the book and while i enjoyed it alot i thought that the midnight in this book shold have tied in with themidnight in coldest winter ever. I feel like the just left me hanging, i mean did he meet back up with akemi,i want to know what happened after he pawned the jewels.Overall the book was fairly good except for some parts that made wanna put the book never finis, but i just like maybe there some that it would get better, which it sort of did.
Sister Souljah must have an affinity for Muslim men – those were my first thoughts upon completing this book.
Several Comments:
- Many black women do not lead empty lives of corruptive & self-destructive behavior. Many black american women are not misguided, but embrace the freedom given to us and live independently of anyone’s judgment. The strength of black women can never be doubted, not even by this book. We are WORTHY of a good man who can care for us, support us, and love us unconditionally.
- There are dark corners of every culture and every country’s religion. Muslim history includes many dark stories and has not necessarily developed a blemish-free history, so much so that it can look down upon american culture or beliefs.
That said I found some exciting statements and meaningful truths within the principles of a young muslim boy. The strength of a true man can be discovered within the pages of this book. However, I do hope that Sister Souljah does create a book that beautifies the strength, consistency and grace of black american women, after all we are the fans who are purchasing the book. It would not hurt to create a voice for those black women who do not necessarily fit within the walls of stereotypes.
So I still want black women to read and purchase this book and take something positive from it – in terms of some of the qualities Midnight possesses that their men should also have.
I finished reading “Midnight” yesterday … if it is true that the obvious ending is based on what went on in TCWE, then I am heart-broken, as I was rooting for “Midnight.” I’ve also read that Sister Souljah had no intentions of making this book a sequel but a prequel to Midnight’s character in TCWE, which, now that I think about it, is why the book – “Midnight”- ended the way it did. It has been about 10 years since I read TCWE, so I didn’t put 1 and 2 together so quickly the way Patricia (above commentator) did.
Overall, I found the book to be very captivating. Someone made a comment of it being “redundant” and I have to agree to some degree because at times I found myself wanting to move on about Umma, Akemi, and some of the other characters; however, how much further could the auther go when [a] prequel can only entail Midnight’s life up to the age of 14 … right?
Also, did the author get lazy towards the end regarding the basketball game with the potential $25, 000 prize? I felt like the book made such a big deal about the game for it to only have a brief overview of it … or was there something more about that in TCWE?
I felt that a lot of what the author brought to our attention in the book was a bit random, yet, I appreciated the value in learning about the things that can happen when a family is unstable and broken, i.e. “Bangs” and the sexual abuse she experienced with her uncle … not to mention the grandmother’s lack of support/protection for [Tiffany].
Anyway, the book was deep … it made me think a lot about me: who I am as a woman, daughter, sister, and lover. It made me think back to the older men I allowed to enter my body with no regard to my age or spiritual/emotional well being. But then again, how can I blame those men when they don’t know any better either? I thought about my first time making love to my boyfriend at 15 … when I look back on it, I was totally raped by him. I was neither ready or wanted to have sex that young … he made me feel like it was ok and it wasn’t … not for me (my boyfriend was 18).
The book made me think about my most recent ex-boyfriend and how I allowed him to rape me, too: use my body and mind … and I allowed him to because to have sex is the American way to keep your man … even when you say no yet he insists …
Anyway, don’t get me wrong … I don’t feel like some victim … I do, however, feel somewhat cheated for the things my father and mother did not teach me … because they didn’t know this for them either … that is why this book was so powerful to me because it reminded me about why I choose and make the choices I make now … because I love myself and I know better now … I listen for the wisdom God and do not move until He tells me to … I didn’t love myself for a really, really long time … but I am learning everyday … surrendering any doubt, fear, or worry to God.
If nothing else, this book was very thought-provoking and definitely a call towards truth/consciousness. I don’t think the author protrayed American woman in a bad light. I think she portrayed what a foreign Black man might see coming to America; moreover, Sister Souljah only talked about the women raised in the environment Midnight dwelled in … I grew up in the hood, and let me tell you, I saw that everyday as a teenager … so I knew exactly where Sister Souljah was going with that …
I just read this book and I too thought it would be a sequel to ‘Winter’. It was well done and I had to remind myself this was totally from the perspective of Midnight. And to be honest I had forgotten some of the previous details of Midnight’s life so I am floored again. Makes it all the more I want to see him post ‘Winter’.
Midnight is one of the best books besides The Coldest Winter Ever! . I really do think There should Be a sequel Called Bangs’…