Contemporary Romance

Patricia Hailey

BET/New Spirit

1-58314-300-9

June 2003

(4+) Tricia-Anne Blades

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

The bestselling author of NOBODY'S PERFECT and NO REGRETS returns with a bold and provocative story about two people who follow their hearts and souls into unexpected love.

REVIEW: 

Patricia Haley has produced a gem in her remarkable novel, BLIND FAITH.  This novel fully explores the impact of race on relationships, both within society and the family. 

Ms Haley takes her characters and weaves an intricate web of race relations in home, workplace and social activity.  In so doing she uses history to create life in her characters; brutality to mold them and pain to shape them.  The spider caught in this intricate web is the main character, Courtney. 

“Caged heat,” aptly describes what Courtney goes through.  Like the three Hebrew boys who were thrown into the fiery furnace, Courtney faces a heat so unbearable that she doesn’t know if to bow to the idol of racism or burn in the inferno which was inevitable.  But like the three Hebrew boys, she experiences the presence of God and knows that she was indeed on the path of His prefect will. 

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Sebastian carries this as his belief throughout the novel.  He believes that God has given him a gem to have and to hold, but recognizes the barriers of family and society and is willing to wait.  He believes that in waiting, “he shall be mounted up with wings of eagles,” be able to run the discriminatory race and not be weary; to walk the race-driven road and not faint. 

The fire has been ignited between these two but the furnace burns hot with Aunt Sis.  This character adds fuel to the already lit fire.  Her fuel is her past, a past that determines her present and the ideology that she holds.  The fear of God doesn’t change her belief.  There is too much pain to release the past, to see pass the white within her life.  As a result she impacts her family and in many cases, stifles the life of her children.

Jamal is one of her children.  He has always been caught between a rock and a hard place.  His position adds fuel to the fire but he does not look at his situation as one where hatred for those who are not like him is to be his focus.  Rather, he chooses to bear the heat and tries to develop himself, instead of dealing the hand society has given him.

Edwin’s heat is of a different kind.  His heat almost causes him his life; socially, financially and emotionally.  A hardworking, successful black man who feels indebted to the one who has given him life and almost because of his misguided loyalty is almost stifled by the fumes that are emitted by his mother.

All other characters add spice to the novel.  Without Sheila, Brice, Roger and Big Mama, BLIND FAITH would not have the impact that it has.  Each character represents a specific thread that makes up the intricate web of BLIND FAITH.  The contrast of rich and poor, black and white, Philadelphia to Chicago to New York; the rich dialogue between and among the characters can leave one hungering for more and the belief that with faith, nothing is impossible with God.

tricia@romanceincolor.com (8th May 2003)