This book is charming. It takes place in the South, and is about a preacher, his wife, and their community. The language is rich, the characters easy to relate to. ( )

This novel is about a preacher, a young, handsome African Amercan Preacher in the south who is just starting out. He meets a young woman who is a cook in a "jook joint", a place where they serve wonderful spicy food and feature spicy entertainment such as blues singing. Church Folk spans a few years beginning in 1960 (that's the year I was born), Theophilus (handsome young preacher) and Essie (down to earth, fiery-tempered woman) are the two main characters. One of the strongest secondary characters is the church itself. Not just the building, but everything there is about church-going: the congregation, the singing, the music, the church politics, the sermons, the "amens" etc. Sprinkled throughout the book, are mentions and references to the Civil Rights Movement, which was going on during the time period this book is set in, although the main focus in the story is the love story and the machinations of some of the greedy preachers and the workings of the more upstanding "church folk".

One of the subplots is the ill-use of funds and the way that some deacons, preachers and bishops seemed to use the church as a way to enrich themselves materialistically rather than enriching their souls and parishioners souls. Church Folk is also a love story and one of the other subplots was the testing of Essie and Theophilis' marriage and love for each other, as well as the growth of their marriage.

While there certainly were no graphic sex scenes, it did feel as if most of the passages involving Theo and Essie were one long session of foreplay. Boy, were those two hot for each other. Another thing that really struck me, was the way that almost all the descriptions of skin color were food related. "Caramel colored", "Dark Chocolate", "light Chocolate", even "Dark Coffee without Cream". Kind of a nice way to compare skin colors. (I would probably be Dulce de Leche, or milky caramel. Yum, Yum. What I enjoyed about this, was the sense of happiness, the non-shame of loving and appreciating their bodies while loving and appreciating the bible and bible teachings.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I loved the narration style. I loved the dialogue between all the characters, both mean and sweet. I loved reading about the singing and music and dancing in the aisles. If I were brought up with a church like that, I might still be going! Ms Bowen tells a great story here of the triumph of a preacher and his young wife, their flaws and good points and the persevere against the "devils work" in the church. This is one impulse buy that I'm glad I bought. I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you want a good book with a little bit of history for the POC Reading Challenge. Even though most of the events in this novel took place when I was around two or three years old, I still felt a sense of nostalgia when reading about the environment, the music, the cars and clothes. Those early 60's are a very dim memory in my mind. The late 60's and early 70's kind of exploded in my memories, that was a time of extreme change for a lot of people - I'm talking about changes in general - clothes, music, tv shows, etc. ( )

GREAT BOOK ( )

Bowen, M. A. (2001). Church Folk. West Bloomfield, Mich: Walk WorthyPress.

978-0446615389

In 1961, Memphis Reverend Theophilus Henry Simmons finds himself emotionally drained after preaching a revival in Mississippi. Wanting a break from the demands of church, Theophilus heads for Pompey’s Rib Joint, “which had the best rib tip sandwiches around – not to mention being known for hosting some of the best blues artists in the region” (Bowen 2001). Not only does Theophilus discover the truth about the goodness of the food and music but he sees the cook, Miss Essie Lee Lane. Immediately, he is attracted to lovely, no nonsense, Christian, diamond in the rough. Essie is drawn to Theophilus as well even though she wants no part of being a preacher’s wife. After a long distance “courting,” Theophilus and Essie marry and Essie becomes the First Lady of Theophilus’s Memphis church, Greater Hope. Human flaws as well as church politics and civil rights are seen as they play into the relationship of the Reverend and Mrs. Simmons.

Church Folk is a publication of the Walk Worthy Press, part of Warner, whose target audience is Christian African-American (May 2007). Most, if not all, characters are African American. Since it is set in the early 1960s South, Civil Rights play a big role in the book. Protagonists seek direction from prayer and Bible study in how to move in gaining equal rights. For the most part, main characters determine early in the novel that African Americans must love each other before they can move forward in Civil Rights. This means cleaning up the acts of ill-behaving preachers and “walking the talk.”

The protagonists in this novel are definitely prayerful Christians. When the protagonists commit sins, they do confess to God and fellow Christians, and ask for forgiveness. Bowen has created a morality play in this novel and she holds her characters accountable for their foibles. God and The Bible drive the action of Theophilus and Essie among many other “good guys.”

However, Bowen does break the cardinal rules of Christian Fiction. Bowen mentions sex on the very first page of the Prologue. “Sex below the neck” does take place in Church Folk (May 2007). In numerous cases, characters having sex outside of marriage is mentioned but not described in full detail. While a forgiving tone exists, having unmarried sex is definitely not condoned by the author. Usually, characters suffer bad consequences for these actions. Also, some characters do use “bad language” but this is a device the author uses to help readers identify hypocrites among badly behaved clergymen.

My mom picked up Church Folk at the library and found the novel refreshingly honest and realistic. Immediately, she encouraged me to read it as an example of Christian Fiction because the people acted like people and not sanctimonious goody-goodies. We both were chagrined to see the “African American” sticker which the library put on the spine of Church Folk. Although neither Mom nor I are African American, we are Christians who enjoyed reading the book. Bowen illustrates Christian characters so well that anyone should be able to enjoy Church Folk. I really liked the down to earth Theophilus and strong, smart cracking Essie as well as Essie’s family and Theophilus’s mentor, the Reverend Murchison James. Additionally, the good characters all possess a good sense of humor and they say the funniest things. This humor makes events memorable and enjoyable for readers. Characters such as the uppity Saphronia McComb, crazy Glodean Benson, and the crooked Reverends Marcel Brown and Sonny Washington are despicable as well as recognizable.

I would most assuredly recommend Church Folk to readers who want realistic Christian Fiction. As previously mentioned, readers can tell from the first page about the sexual content of Church Folk. If a reader finds this offensive, then he/she can move on to another book. I believe audiences of Historical Fiction or those interested in Civil Rights Movement would appreciate this book, too. Also, readers who like to read funny stuff would enjoy Church Folk. Last but not least, this book would attract readers of Romance. ( )

Funny African American novel. Fun and easy to read. Great book club choice.