 February 2006
Love Don't Live Here
by Therone Shellman
The African-American writing communities can applaud itself for harboring young writers who attempt to tell a story and write it for mass appeal, especially when the subject matter is equally plausible. First time author, Therone Shellman is young, but don’t let that sway you from reading his debut novel, LOVE DON’T LIVE HERE. I read it and was impressed with the concept of single parent dilemmas, and how he adequately gave compelling voices to the female characters. The subject matter is mature and happens to be prevalent in our society of misguided intent and the ills of bad discernable options.
The author tells the story of Barbara, Trini, Beverly, Malik, and the lives of children, Derek and Tinesha. Lets’ set the stage: This is a story of how two women deal with raising children on their own, and the psychological woes associated with commitment and infidelity for single parenthood. Barbara and Beverly are reminiscent of any young women struggling to make ends meet after the loves of their lives are no longer in the picture. Barbara experiences abandonment by her boyfriend, Trini who is irresponsible and gets cold feet after finding out she is pregnant. Beverly is hard-pressed to cope with the realization that she will have to raise her son and daughter without a father, who commits to the Black Panthers, which causes him his life.
Though kudos are given to the author’s depiction of an idea meshed into a workable storyline, I felt at times tedium would further mire the book stuck on surface matters without depth. As such, inexperience allowed Mr. Shellman to miss salient points in the book by spending too much time on incidental happenings that didn't really add much to the book, or make them a vital part of giving intrigue to the plot. I would have liked more of a back-story to add balance. Moreover, I was looking for extra-curricular renderings of interest in how the women fared, how they could have risen above mediocrity while still raising the children, and how new relationship could have enhanced the wherewithal of success. I was equally disappointed by the fact that the women became friends too fast without developmental stages to breed familiarity. Could this story have been told better? Perhaps. But let’s give credit to the author’s foresight and good intent to show the difficulty single women face in raising male children in a world that is often weighted against the black male.
Despite the middle passage being tumultuous and shaky, I applaud the author for producing a debut that will undoubtedly appeal to readers that can relate accordingly. This was a good first effort by Mr. Shellman. With room for improvement, I am looking forward to more from him in the future, and truly feel that we haven’t heard the last of this promising author. I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
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