Tempest Rising - Softcover

McKinney-Whetstone, Diane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0688166407 ISBN 13: 9780688166403

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 1999

Synopsis

Class, race, and sexuality converge in this page-turning story of desire, jealousy, and survival.

Set in west Philadelphia in the early sixties, Tempest Rising tells the story of three sisters, Bliss, Victoria, and Shern, budding adolescents raised in a world of financial privilege among the upper-black-class. But their lives quickly unravel as their father's lucrative catering business collapses. When their father disappears suddenly, he is presumed dead, sending their mother spiraling into an apparent breakdown. The girls are wrenched from their mother and dumped into foster care in a working-class neighborhood in the home of Mae, a politically connected card shark.

Though Mae lavishes affection onto her foster children, she is abusive to her own child, Ramona, a twenty-something stunning beauty. As Ramona struggles with Mae's abuse and her own hatred for the foster children, she also tries to keep at bay a powerful attraction she has for her boyfriend's father.

In Tempest Rising, McKinney-Whetstone richly evokes the early 1960s in west Philadelphia in this story of loss and healing, redemption, and love.

About this title

About the Author

Diane McKinney-Whetstone is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Our Gen, Tumbling, Lazaretto, Tempest Rising, Blues Dancing, Leaving Cecil Street, Trading Dreams at Midnight, and Family Spirit. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Literary Award for Fiction, which she won twice. A past lecturer a the University of Pennsylvania, her work has appeared in The Atlantic, Essence, Philadelphia magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Greg.

From the Back Cover

Set in west Philadelphia in the early sixties, Tempest Rising tells the story of three sisters, Bliss, Victoria, and Shern, budding adolescents raised in a world of financial privilege among the upper-black-class. But their lives quickly unravel as their father's lucrative catering business collapses. He disappears and is presumed dead, and their mother suffers an apparent breakdown. The girls are wrenched from their mother, and as the novel opens they are living in foster care in a working-class neighborhood in the home of Mae, a politically connected card shark. Though Mae is filled with syrupy names like "pudding" and "doll face" for the foster girls, she is abusive to her own child, Ramona, a twenty-something stunning beauty. As Ramona struggles with Mae's abuse and her own hatred for the foster children, she also tries to keep at bay a powerful attraction she has for her boyfriend's father.

Diane McKinney-Whetstone richly evokes the early 1960s in west Philadelphia in this spicy story of loss and healing, redemption and love.

From the Inside Flap

It is 1965 in Philadelphia. Clarise, Finch, and their three adolescent daughters are living the dream life of the black financially privileged when suddenly Finch's lucrative catering business falls on hard times and Clarise suffers an apparent nervous collapse. The daughters are discharged into the foster care of Mae, a politically connected card shark, and her stunningly beautiful, yet mean-spirited, daughter, Ramona. The girls are not only faced with the status change of being catapulted into a working-class neighborhood; they must also deal with the spirit of malignity and jealousy that seems to hover over Mae's house. The girls' presence in and subsequent disappearance from Mae's house force Mae and Ramona to move beyond the abuse that has characterized their relationship and confront the brutal secret that caused their hearts to lock against one another.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688166407
• ISBN 13: 9780688166403
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288