As the Negro Turns

Picture this. A soap opera with an all black cast in an all black world. Are you feeling me?

If you have read Carl Weber before then you know what this is all about. Pretty much the same things happen in each book. Usually it goes like this: Girls want man, girls sleep with man, girls get man, girl loses man, girl does stupid sh@@ to get man back, girl loses man to good girl.

This is my fifth Weber book, and I believe they all revolve around this church. These Christians do a lot of sleeping around. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes it is off the chain, lots of times it is just plain silly. One of the subplots I recognized from a 80's porn movie and the movie 300. Yes, back in the 70's and 80's porn had plots. This is not bad enough to be porn, but it comes very close.

To enjoy this throw your common sense out the window and dumb yourself down. I gave this three stars, probably cause this is my fifth Weber. The earlier books, I would have given four stars. That does not mean those books were better, just that I am no longer entertained as much by the same old Weber.

Carl, try writing Science Fiction. Send those beautiful black women into space and colonize some new planets. Try a Zombie book (It's the new craze). Just leave Queens and do something else. How about black pioneers in the wild west.

Anyways if you are lily white like me, you should at least read one Weber book, I really think you will like it. Oh, No you didn't, Oh yes I did.

17 people found this helpful

INTERESTING

This book held my interest but I think there were a few parts that were ridiculous and definitely not something I'd relate to black women. I don't think a Black christian woman and dedicated First Lady would sleep with a psychotic ex in order to keep her Minister husband out of jail. Real saints don't sell their soul to the Devil for foolishness. And it was definitely a bunch of foolishness going on. However, there were some good parts throughout the book as it did hold my interest.

10 people found this helpful

Good read, but a little far fetched at times

I really liked this book but at times I felt it was a little far fetched. I don't believe that a First Lady would do the things she did no matter her intentions. With regard to the ending, someone knows. I can't say too much so's not to give away the story. As always, the narrators did a great job. I really like Carl Weber, but I must say that some of his ideas get old since they are carried over from one book to another. Overall, it's worth the chip and does not disappoint if you like pure fiction.

7 people found this helpful

Off The Chain!

I absolutely love Carl Weber, this story has so many twist and turns I was shouting and laughing. In order to enjoy this book you would need to know about First Lady and Up to No Good to really enjoy this book since it pulls characters and story lines from both books. I can't wait for the next one!

7 people found this helpful

Mega Church intrigue

This was laugh out loud ,heart breaking and serious .I was at the edge of my listening seat
Loved the narration style of several voices made this book come alive

4 people found this helpful

What's next???

This was a great read and I look forward to the next one. I was really surprised by the ending

4 people found this helpful

Great Story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I found this author's writing style to be kind of boring. I wish it was more robust and descriptive. Maybe that is just my preference.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Choir Director?

The end was an excellent ending. I don't want to give it away.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was The Choir Director worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

This was the craziest book. At first I thought I was going to hate this book but it really drew me in. The author's writing style is so laid back that at first I was done with the book but his development of the story was great. I feel so many different ways about this book. I know this review is nuts but if you have patience it is a good read.

2 people found this helpful

Church People Aren't Perfect...

...But these people are a little over the top, in my opinion. If you do not like graphic sex scenes I would not recommend this book. It contains at least 2 very vivid descriptions and lots of casual references about sexual acts throughout the story. If you can tolerate the sex, the rest of the story will contain enough drama to keep interest. This is the first audiobook I've listened to where I have actually talked back to the characters, so I guess that says something about how engaging the story was.

Please note that even though Audible does not identify this as part of the Church Series by Carl Weber, it is. I did not know this until after I purchased the audiobook, and I was so upset because I firmly believe that you have to start with book one, but I gave in and listened. I do not feel like I missed out on anything that might have happened in previous books.

Whether or not I will go back and listen to the rest of the series is undecided... we'll see.

There are characters to love, like Bishop T. K. Wilson and his wife. There are characters to HATE like Simone!!! And some that you start out hating, and then grow on you, like Aaron.

2 people found this helpful

What the H possessed me to buy this again?

Would you try another book from Carl Weber and/or the narrators?

I had to come back to read the description of this book to find out WHY I bought it and whether I was going to try to choke my way through the rest of it.

I'm not one for lots of religion in my fiction, so that was the first thing that made me uncomfortable with this choice (clearly that is my problem and not a flaw in the book). Still, the characters, to me seem like they came out of some 70s era mini-drama. Do people really act this way... talk this way? When I got to the part where Simone was bragging about withholding sex because her latest "love interest" said "I'll see what I can do" when she told him he should pay her mortgage, I had to turn this off. Seriously? She was shocked that he said "I'll see what I can do." and yet I was shocked that he didn't laugh out loud, leave her with the restaurant check, and ask if she was out of her mind. I don't know ANY woman (self-respecting or not... black, white or other) that would actually say those words.. That her friend reacted as if this was (oh... hahaha...Girl... you crazy) just Simone being her crazy self was appalling to me. This isn't just the-character-you-love-to-hate stuff for me.

I just can't relate to ANY of these people... The dude who is so hot all the women just drop their panties at the sight of him... the diva with the voice of a nightingale gone awry (I'm assuming she returns in this one since they keep bringing her up)... the church first lady who is so wrapped up in her wardrobe that she can't get out of the house without changing clothes 10 times. Seriously? So far the only character I can see as real is TK, and the story felt like a bad movie. I'm expecting the rest of this book to be more soap opera style crap. Am I wrong? Can those of you who gave it 5 stars (wow...a LOT of people, btw) tell me what I am missing here? Does something get better as the book goes on? Do the characters become real humans at some point, or am I just out of my genre? It seems (so far) more like a romance novel (Harlequin-type) or soap opera-esque. I can't bring myself to watch soap operas either, so it could be that I'm just out of my element. If it had been classified as a romance I would not have purchased it.

What was most disappointing about Carl Weber’s story?

The characters and dialog

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I suppose. I think the narrators were not bad, but I could not get through the book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Choir Director?

I only read the first 4 chapters before I wanted to poke my eyes out with a stick... so I really couldn't say.

Any additional comments?

Maybe I just dialed into a lying/cheating is all part of every day life soap opera and didn't know that is what I was getting.

1 person found this helpful

A Darned Good Yarn

If you could sum up The Choir Director in three words, what would they be?

Fast, Funny, Naughty

What did you like best about this story?

The first thing one hears when listning to this book is something about it being written for an African American audience, and I'm as white as they come. The first thing I learned as I went forward was that this book is for everyone, and it offered me a glimpse into African American life in America without resorting to over-blown stereotypes.Add to that the fact that this book is really well written, and the storyline is tight, and you have all the ingredients for a darned good yarn, be you black, white, or blue!

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The narrator did a great job of differentiating each character with a voice all their own. I've no idea how people can keep track of such things when narrating, but this guy was superb.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Life in America

1 person found this helpful