Indigo Rose

by Susan Miller and Susan Beth Miller

From author Susan Beth Miller comes a luminous debut novel in the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid. Emotionally gripping and exquisitely written, Indigo Rose tells the story of one woman's extraordinary... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553803964
• ISBN13: 9780553803969
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Compelling, insightful, and uplifting

This beautifully written novel tells the story of Indigo Rosemartin, a Jamaican woman struggling to adjust simultaneously to life in urban America and to the devastating loss of her young daughter. Miller's compelling and culturally sensitive narrative creates a memorable and powerful character, and the author's training as a psychologist reveals itself in the subtlety and profundity of her insight into the human condition. Although this book deals with dark topics, it carries a hopeful message that readers will find ultimately uplifting.

mesmerizing prose

Indigo Rose is written in mesmerizing prose. The lyricism of the writing pulls the reader into the narrative and I was swept away to a variety of locations-- Jamaica, the Chicago suburbs, a gambling den. The diverse elements reach a conclusion which renews our faith in healing and the power of forgiveness.

Indigo Rose

Indigo Rose is a beautiful story, seamlessly written by Ms Miller. It is a tale of the mingling of two very different worlds; of despair, that which comes from the loss of hope, and of the possibility of healing. The characters are vivid, so much so that it's impossible to detect which world, if either, is Ms Miller's. The book is written in dialect, which only adds to the veracity of the story. The subtleties of the characters are carefully drawn out, their motives are gently revealed. The narrative moves forward at a quickening pace, by the end it is certain that something must give, and it does. Ms Miller has blended these two worlds, the suburbs and the inner-city, such that the interplay between them makes a compelling, believable story. It rings true. How Ms Miller managed to do this given the diverse nature of the characters is the question. Without even hinting at the ending--the reader comes away with the knowledge that they have experienced something real, even heroic. This book is written by someone who loves to write.

Read it and enjoy!

This is an absorbing, honest, and very compelling novel. The story is told from the point of view, and in the colorful language, of a young Jamaican woman who works as a domestic employee for an affluent family in suburban Chicago. This scenario could easily devolve into a cast of stereotypes, but the author never falls into this trap. From south side ghetto inhabitant to presumably privileged suburbanite, the characters who populate this novel --- as well as their tragedies and triumphs --- are all believable, fully-realized, and very human. No one is reduced to simply black or white, either in the racial/cultural sense or the good vs. bad continuum. You'll care about everyone in this book. Read it and enjoy!

GRIPPING READ

I feel like I knew Indigo personally after reading this book. The only thing I could ask for is more of her story. What happened to her over the years?