Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes (1999, Unabridged, Audio Cassette)

Synopsis
This first novel by a 44-year-old preacher's daughter is a small-town tale set in the 1950s. The story revolves around the friendship between Even Grade (named for a road), a young orphaned black man who knows nothing about his background, and a teenage white girl named Valuable Korner (named after a real estate sign), daughter of the town prostitute, who wishes she could escape hers.

Key Details
Author:	Melinda Haynes
Language:	English
Publisher:	Dove Entertainment Inc
Format:	Audio
ISBN-10:	0787123722
ISBN-13:	9780787123727

Additional Details
Narrated by:	Nana Visitor
Edition Description:	Unabridged

Size
Thickness:	4 in
Weight:	18.2 oz

Publisher's Note
In a small Mississippi town during the late 1950s, Even Grade, a twenty-eight-year-old black man who grew up as an orphan, and Valuable Korner, the teenage white daughter of the local prostitute, search for love, family, and commitment as their lives intersect with that of Joody Two Sun, a seer who becomes Even's lover.

Industry Reviews
"Haynes gets away with...much in this book--like a plot heavy with coincidence and creaky cliffhangers--because of the sheer vitality of her prose. Like a novelist not only writing about the 1950's but writing in the 1950's, she strives to bring a whole, rambunctious world onto the page."
New York Times Book Review - Roy Hoffman (06/27/1999)

"[A] promising debut....As style, her prose is often beautiful and full of grace, but as communication it can be confusing....What lingers are moments, sayings, and the marvelous descriptions of sights and sounds..."
Kirkus Reviews (03/15/1999)