Lena Spencer is a woman who seems to have it all. A successful husband who's up for yet another promotion to become CEO, two children, and just about every material good anyone could want. The truth is, however, that Lena and Randall's marriage is at a crossroads and her two children are far from perfect. Lena can no longer pretend she's satisfied with being the wife and mother who gave up her own dreams to support those of her husband. Her husband gives her an ultimatum that sends Lena on a journey of self discovery in France to attend the concert of Tina Turner whose autobiography, I, Tina, is a catalyst for the story that unfolds.
I was hoping that Searching For Tina Turner would at least be an entertaining read but it didn't deliver. The first problem is that it reads like two Terry McMillan novels combined: Waiting to Exhale meets How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Unoriginality is just a turnoff. Another issue was the lengthy portion about the main character's time in France that read more like a travel guide than narrative or prose. Luckett was descriptive to a fault about the sites and naming every single rue to which the characters ventured. Characterization was weak. The two adult children seemed to almost serve no purpose other than to hang around whining. Meanwhile, the focus on race and class was trivial and stereotypical. At only 299 pages, this novel is too long and seems to be written for a very limited audience of which I never could identify. Searching For Tina Turner left me searching for why I read this book.
I was hoping that Searching For Tina Turner would at least be an entertaining read but it didn't deliver. The first problem is that it reads like two Terry McMillan novels combined: Waiting to Exhale meets How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Unoriginality is just a turnoff. Another issue was the lengthy portion about the main character's time in France that read more like a travel guide than narrative or prose. Luckett was descriptive to a fault about the sites and naming every single rue to which the characters ventured. Characterization was weak. The two adult children seemed to almost serve no purpose other than to hang around whining. Meanwhile, the focus on race and class was trivial and stereotypical. At only 299 pages, this novel is too long and seems to be written for a very limited audience of which I never could identify. Searching For Tina Turner left me searching for why I read this book.
