Meeting of the Waters: A Novel

Overview

During the Rodney King riots in L.A., reporter Porter Stockman is nearly beaten to death by rioters. His savior: Lee Page, also a reporter, who soon lands a job at the same Philadelphia newspaper where Porter works. Thus begins a tumultuous interracial relationship, with both parties struggling to decide what race means and why.

"Biracial marriage and radical bigotry are explored with potent insight and literary skill.... McLarin pulls no punches." - Publishers Weekly

"A surprisingly complex love story laced with the kind of breezy humor we expect from writers like Bebe Moore Campbell and Terry McMillan." - Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

The issues of biracial marriage and racial bigotry are explored with potent insight and literary skill in McLarin's second novel (after Taming It Down). During the explosive aftermath of Rodney King's police assailants' trial in L.A., veteran reporter Porter Stockman was attacked and almost beaten to death by rioters. Now back home in Philadelphia, Porter is elated to reencounter Lenora "Lee" Page, a black woman who saved his life. Coincidentally, Lee, also a seasoned journalist, has just accepted a job on the Record, Porter's paper. Though they are both well aware of the cultural prejudices against biracial relationships, Porter passionately woos Lee while she struggles with a lifelong determination to fraternize solely with members of her own race. Eventually, she overcomes her misgivings, and joyously (but at Lee's insistence, secretly) they become lovers. When Lee's best friend pays her a surprise visit and meets Porter, however, Lee must try to justify her shift. And Porter, made uneasy by Lee's preoccupation with race, questions his own vaunted belief in equality. McLarin pulls no punches in her candid portrayal of the conflicts that often occur when conscientious adults examine assumptions each race makes about the other, and when they acknowledge, even against their will, the existence of solid barriers separating racial groups. Strong characterization lifts the narrative far above stereotype. Porter and Lee are a pair of personable and tortured lovers who reflect their unique pasts in psychologically nuanced portrayals. Their story may be a cautionary tale for those who would pit individuality against group identity. Primarily, though, this is a gripping novel about love and the obstacles it encounters even in so-called enlightened society.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Author Information

Bio of Kim McLarin

Kim McLarin is respected as "one of the bravest novelists in recent times" (Philadelphia Tribune). She is a former journalist for the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Associated Press, among other news organizations. The author of the critically acclaimed novels Taming It Down and Meeting of the Waters, McLarin is currently writer-in-residence at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Additional Info

Imprint

iUniverse

Filesize

1.56 MB

Number of Pages

352

eBook ISBN

9781607392583