- Paperback: 256 pages
- Published: 2/3/15
- IBSN: 9781617753183
- e-IBSN: 9781617753282
- Genre: Fiction
Catalog » Browse by Title: L » Loving Donovan
Loving Donovan
A long-awaited reissue of this deeply thoughtful novel about hope, forgiveness, and the cost of loving Donovan, a complex man with a shattered history.
Available as an e-book for:
What people are saying…
“Bernice L. McFadden is one of the best contemporary literary writers out there today . . . Her brilliance, her talent as a novelist, is the very life she breathes into all of her characters.”
—Terry McMillan, from the Introduction
“Bernice L. McFadden was one of the best writers to emerge in the post–Waiting to Exhale explosion that introduced at least a dozen Black female novelists. Loving Donovan has generated near-cult status among readers. After more than a decade since it appeared, Donovan is being reissued. How fitting that Terry McMillan has written a new introduction. If you’ve read Donovan before, you will fall in love all over again. And if this is your first time, prepare yourself for an intense romance between an enigmatic antihero and a heroine who will feel like your homegirl.”
—Essence Magazine
“Loving Donovan is brilliant. By exploring the depth of her characters, the novel transforms what, on the surface, may appear to be the run-of-the-mill, paperback sentimental, tear-jerking coupling, into an understanding, unflinching, expertly told tale of human nature.”
—AALBC
One of Library Journal‘s 25 Key Indie Fiction Titles for Fall 2014–Winter 2015!
“A two-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist also twice honored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, McFadden presents a love story starring Campbell and Donovan—both from shattered homes, both still hopeful, and both shaped more by history than they can imagine. Don’t miss.”
—Library Journal Prepub Alert, “25 Key Indie Fiction Titles, Fall 2014–Winter 2015”
“Loving Donovan firmly establishes McFadden among the ranks of those few writers of whom you constantly beg for more.”
—Black Issues Book Review
“McFadden is clearly adept in keeping the reader entertained, captivated, and on our toes to try to figure out what’s going to happen next. The rich characters, life situations, and language all wrapped up in such a small book and saying so much is a feat.”
—Brown Girl Reading
Praise for Bernice L. McFadden:
“McFadden works a kind of miracle—not only do her characters retain their appealing humanity; their story eclipses the bonds of history to offer continuous surprises.”
—New York Times, on Gathering of Waters
“Searing and expertly imagined.”
—Toni Morrison, on The Warmest December
Description
With a new introduction by Terry McMillan.
The first section of McFadden’s unconventional love story belongs to Campbell. Despite being born to a brokenhearted mother and a faithless father, Campbell still believes in the power of love . . . if she can ever find it. Living in the same neighborhood, but unknown to Campbell until a chance meeting brings them together, is Donovan, the “little man” of a shattered home—a family torn apart by anger and bitterness.
In the face of daunting obstacles, Donovan dreams of someday marrying, raising a family, and playing in the NBA. But deep inside, Campbell and Donovan live with the histories that have shaped their lives. What they discover—together and apart—forms the basis of this compelling, sensual, and surprising novel.
Bernice L. McFadden spoke with Salon about motherhood, writing, and race in relation to the publishing industry. Read the interview here.
Read “Coming to America,” an original piece by Bernice L. McFadden, at Time Out New York.
Check out this interview with Bernice L. McFadden as part of Author Chat with Nikki Woods.
Click here to watch a video segment of Bernice L. McFadden’s event at the Tubman African American Museum in Macon, GA.
- Subjects: Black Interest, Literary Fiction, Women’s Studies
- Tags: Bernice L. McFadden, Loving Donovan, NBA, novel, Terry McMillan
Book Details
Author
BERNICE L. McFADDEN is the author of ten critically acclaimed novels including Sugar, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, The Warmest December, Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors’ Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), Glorious, and The Book of Harlan (winner of a 2017 American Book Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction). She is a four-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of four awards from the BCALA. Praise Song for the Butterflies is her latest novel.