FRIENDS AND FOES by ReShonda Tate Billingsley & Victoria Christopher Murray
I knew this was going to be a fun novel when at the very beginning who should show up on the pages but Oprah. I had to keep reminding myself this is not really Oprah, silly. It's just a novel, but it all seemed so real except for the fact I have seriously doubts whether Oprah would find herself outside of Harpo in the parking lot with two angry women throwing words as hot as fire. President Obama and The First Lady are mentioned in the novel also. "Tell Barack and Michelle I said hi and I promise I won't come to DC again without calling....I think this is name dropping with a lost of etiquette. First names??? Hmmmm. Not unless you are Oprah Winfrey.
What seemed over the top was the competitive spirit between Rachel and Jasmine. After all, would a Baptist church lady member lock another member in a small room just so she could have an interview all to herself? I suppose competition and jealousy or envy are strong emotions. So I did learn not to think religious people are above playing down and dirty with one another outside of church. Jasmine and Rachel throw such painful, shameful words at one another that I felt ashamed for them. Believe me I know now it's no fun hearing two role models of your community fighting like cats and dogs with cruel words. Really, I disliked the times when they went at each other like they were trying to win a contest for who could give the best insult. I also thought it was more than awful for Rachel to lock Jasmine in that small room. I thought Rachel was playing a borderline criminal. Really, I think the dislike between these two women plays into the hands of those people who choose to believe women can't work together without hating on one another, and it also played into the race factor. Some people believe black women are only capable of scratching and tearing each others hair out never able to work together as a good business team.
However, the novel is very well written. I made my opinions, threw the novel, laughed at the novel, but I definitely kept reading until the end. I enjoyed Mae Frances. Did feel pain for the way they treated this elder lady. Jasmine and Rachel treat her the same way they treat one another with harsh descriptions, etc. "I have no idea. You know she's old. She's probably in the early stages of dementia and likely thought it was a doorbell."
While I didn't care for the dialogue between the characters and thought the two husbands Lester and Hosea were very weak I thought the mystery surrounding Pastor Griffith a very good one in this time when so many Mega church preachers seem to find it hard not to go astray. I think Yvette needed a bigger role too. I also applaud the two authors for their use of humor. I've read somewhere it's very difficult to write humor. At least they gave it a shot and almost didn't miss the basket.
I also wondered why the dress worn by Rachel never came up again. Rachel had wiped Pastor's blood all over the dress. I thought that would have been important evidence to keep her in trouble for a while. However, I enjoyed The Magnificent Mile,themagnificentmile and The Virgin Island, visitusvi. I hope to meet Mae Frances in a different book where she acts a bit more mature. Thanks for a great few days of fun. Plus, I learned a new word"No they wouldn't be friends, but they wouldn't be enemies, either. They'd be frenemies."
It's kind of difficult to call this Christian Fiction. There aren't moments of prayer, meditation, choir sweet singing hymns or feelings of repentance or change. The one lesson I will hold on to is "But I've learned that worrying ain't gonna add a single hour to my life. At least, that's what it says in Matthew." Jasmine grinned.victoriachristophermurray, reshondatatebillingsley
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