Finding Makeba

by Alexs D. Pate

Book Overview

While at a bookstore signing copies of his first novel, an African-American author recognizes the teenaged daughter whom he had abandoned years earlier, and the two struggle to bridge the gap between them.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399142002
• ISBN13: 9780399142000
• Release Date: December 1996
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Bleeding scabs and fading scars

Ben met Helen when he was in what he perceived to be an unbearable solitude. When they began dating, he felt as though he had banished this lonesome existence for good. But Ben was a writer, he was an artist, and weren't artists meant to suffer in lonely conditions? How else can an artist feel the brunt of life and transform it into art unless he is living in it?FINDING MAKEBA opens with a nineteen-year-old Makeba embarking on a trip into Philadelphia. Her father is holding a book signing for his new novel, and she has come to see him after ten years of not hearing from him. The remainder of the book is presented in what seems like a rebuttal. As Makeba reads the story of her father's life, and how she came to the point where she is, she journals her thoughts and feelings on each chapter.I cannot say that I am surprised that Pate's novel is so affecting, or that the characters are so finely crafted. I have read his work before, and this work personifies the strong emotional content of his other works like Losing Absalom and The Multicultiboho Sideshow. This is a novel that described things familiar to all who are living - healing the wounds inflicted upon us by ourselves, others, and the world. This is a fine piece of literature and a fine slice of life.Reviewed by CandaceKThe RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Engaging, Lyrical, Fluid and Superbly Written!

Based on a friend's recommendation, I decided to give Finding Mabeka by Alex Pate a chance. What an impressive and remarkable novel. Can you imagine a situation where you haven't seen your father since your childhood, but yet he's written a story about his life with you and your mother for the entire world to see?Childhood is supposed to be filled with everything nice, sugar and spice, two parents and a secure, loving environment. Even though Makeba's parents argued often, Makeba never imagined that she would be the product of a broken home. Ben Crestfield wanted to write; writing was his first love. His wife, Helen, wanted him to have a job which offered security, benefits and a steady paycheck. When Helen's love starts to become overbearing, Ben decides that he must escape so in the middle of the night he kisses Makeba and says good-bye. While Ben said he was leaving his wife, he promised Makeba that he wasn't leaving her and that he would always be there for her. A promise that he would find impossible to keep.Crestfield vowed that he wouldn't be another AA male statistic...you know father who leaves home never to return to check up on his children or see that they're surviving physically, emotionally or financially...you know those deadbeat dads that leave mothers to become single parents and children in broken homes. So what happen to make everything go so wrong?Fast-forward a decade later, Makeba is a young lady and Ben is a published writer. Imagine Ben's surprise when he's at a booksigning promoting his book and he looks up to see a young lady asking him to "sign it for Makeba Crestfield". Suddenly and without warning, Ben is forced to confront his past when he comes face-to-face with the daughter he abandoned so many years before.Finding Makeba is a remarkable novel about father-daughter relationships, fatherhood, forgiveness and redemption. Pate expertly weaves the story of Ben and Makeba as he alternates chapters with Ben's story and excerpts from Makeba's journal. Finding Makeba is a creatively crafted story about a familiar topic told in a refreshing and engrossing manner. I like that Finding Makeba was told with emotional honestly and that the father was presented in a positive light. Ben Crestfield really wanted to do right by his daughter because even though he no longer wanted to be married to his wife he still cared deeply for his daughter and due to circumstances beyond his control he was forced to abandon her. I really enjoyed Pate's writing style, tone and point of view and I look forward to reading other novels from this talented author.APOOO Bookclub

Masterfully crafted story of restoration and redemption

"Finding Makeba" is the story of Ben, a writer from North Philadelphia, whose life's circumstances turn him into an absentee father. It's not that Ben doesn't love his wife, Helen, and his daughter, Makeba. It's just that he feels such a struggle to be everything his wife expects him to be, and is torn between her expectations and those of his own. Ben yearns to write; writing is in his soul, his heart, but Helen doesn't seem to understand and ridicules Ben about his dreams. With mounting bills and pressures from his odd-acting mother-in-law, Ben feels inadequate, restless, and needs space from his family. Years later, after Ben's dreams of becoming a writer materialize, he is confronted by the daughter he abandoned at one of his book signings and is forced to come to terms with his manhood. The story weaves you through a lyrical wonderment; a fascinating tale of a daughter's quest to make sense of her father's questionable decisions, and a story of a father's desire to reconnect with his child. The writing here is pure, emotional, deeply affecting, and may stimulate the readers' mind, soul and heart. Pates is a superb writer, a "writer's writer", and his impressive skills are highlighted throughout this book. An absolute joy to read, "Finding Makeba" is satisfying to the full, a winning story in every aspect, and is highly recommended.Cydney Rax

good read

This was a good read, I liked the style Pate wrote in. I could understand what Ben was going through. I think Helen should have been more supported of his writing, instead of putting him down. It was different how Makeba's throughts were brought out in a journal form.

Innovative, Honest, and Thought-Provoking

Finally. There is finally a book by a black man that radiates love instead of rage. A novel that is honest AND beautiful instead of being brutally honest. Alexs Pate is the most prolific and innovative black writer of our time. And Finding Makeba is proof. This novel breaks the societal stereotypes that portray black men as bitter, cold, violent, and insensitive by presenting to us a protagonist who is gentle, soft-spirited, sweet, and passionate for things such as love, family, and work. Oh, by the way, the protagonist is BLACK. This novel is for anyone who struggles with finding and then maintaining the love you've found in your life; it is for anyone who wants to see black men portrayed for who they really are-intelligent, strong, and loving; for anyone who wants to beautify their lives with a novel that speaks in both prose and poetry at the same time; and for anyone who has been separated from a parent or a child. For those of you who have read his other works, Losing Absalom and Amistad, you know exactly what I'm talking about.