Glory Bishop lives her life in pieces. At work and with her friends, she reads novels, speaks her mind, and enjoys slow dances and stolen kisses with her boyfriend, JT. But at home, Glory follows strict rules and second-guesses every step. Though she dreams of going to college and living like a normal teenage girl, her abusive mother has other ideas.When JT leaves to join the navy, Glory is left … Glory is left alone and heartsick. The preacher’s son, Malcolm Porter, begins to shower her with lavish gifts, and her mother pushes Glory to accept his advances. Glory is torn between waiting for true love with JT or giving in to the overzealous Malcolm.
When a stranger attacks Glory on the street, Malcolm steps in to rescue her, and her interest in him deepens. But the closer she gets to him, the more controlling he becomes. Glory must eventually decide whether to rely on others or to be her own savior.
more
It is impossible not to fall in love with Glory Bishop as she navigates growing up in Chicago, circa 1983. Glory is pulled in a dozen different directions, struggling to discern between those who love her and those who do her harm, while claiming they only want what’s best (or even worse, do so in the name of the Lord). Deborah L. King skillfully spins that rare energy all writers strive to convey, and each character leaps off the page, fully realized, completely human. The story’s energy and life, heart ache and laughter, make Glory Bishop both funny and irrepressible, even as she breaks your heart. Tyler Perry needs to read this book and give Glory her own show. It’s that good. Five stars.
Deborah King does not shy away from incredibly tough subject matters with her debut novel. Glory Bishop is a well written, heartbreaking, beautiful, novel about trying to rise above abuse as a teenager in the 80s with very few options. The struggles Glory goes through, the pain (physical and mental) that she must over come, is a testament to the struggles that occur behind a well mannered, properly dressed facade.
“Glory Bishop,” the debut novel of Deborah L. King, is a beautifully written, but disturbing story of domestic turmoil and abuse. King’s ability to get inside the characters’ heads makes this an especially riveting story.
Glory is a black teenager in the downtown Chicago area who is caught between her own longings, her love of boyfriend TJ, a mother whose fears and religiosity lead to abuse, and an inappropriate suitor—Malcom, a preacher a decade older than her. It’s a tribute to Glory’s own strength that the competing interest and the resulting emotional and physical tug-of-war don’t destroy her will to live and prosper. The religious-fanatic mother and Malcolm are equally demanding and controlling, and both are rather frightening people—yet author Deborah King is both talented and sensitive enough to see beyond their abusive behavior in creating her vivid characters. While not justifying their actions toward Glory, King certainly makes the readers understand some of the torment the mother and Malcolm also suffer.
Offsetting the negative influences, Glory has a true friend and father-figure in Herschel, a flamboyant hairdresser. King could have let Herschel slip into cliché, but she is too wily a writer for that, and presents him as a richly drawn, loving and complex character—and Glory’s champion.
With vivid and evocative details, King puts her readers right smack into the story. Her descriptions of downtown Chicago, Hershel’s beauty salon, the church, and the myriad characters are spot-on. Despite the serious nature of the story, there are plenty of moments of joy and even humor in this book.
Well worth the read. You will cheer for Glory Bishop all the way, even if flinching at some of what happens to her.
With this, her debut, Deborah L. King establishes herself as a gifted writer and compelling story teller, and an author to watch.
GLORY BISHOP is a well-written, compelling novel about a 17-year-old girl who is growing up into a smart and good-natured young woman despite a vicious upbringing by her nutty, pathologically religious mother. But can she escape the overwhelming interest of a powerful older man? After Glory captures the interest of the suave son and apparent heir of her church’s powerful head minister, she faces some truly intriguing choices, especially given that this older guy has money, charm, looks, and status, and knows how to wield it, so much so that almost no one else around her seems willing to look past that and see his need to dominate and control this girl, sometimes violently. (A wonderful friend who’s a cross-dressing hairdresser and an uncle back at the family home are the heartening exceptions.) The tension keeps ratcheting up. My only complaint is that we don’t see Glory reach any real resolution before the book ends.
I was surprised at Glory Bishop. I went into the book, thinking that it was going to be a heavy drama full of violence. Instead, what I read blew me away.
Glory Bishop does start slowly. While I was aggravated by it at first, I came to appreciate it. The author uses those slow first chapters to build up the main characters and the world they resided. That world and character building continued throughout the book. By the end, each of the main characters were multi-layered characters.
I liked that the author showed how easy it was for someone to get into an abusive relationship. I liked that the author also showed the many facets of abuse. She explained how the abuser could integrate themselves with family and friends. I felt bad for Glory. I was mentally shouting at her, “Listen to Herschel, stay away from him!!” But, once she got the bracelets, I knew that she was done for. It would be impossible for her to get away.
I loved Glory’s character. Seeing what she overcame brought me to tears at points in the book. I wished that she could act like the 17-year-old she was. Instead, she had to act in different ways for different people. It got exhausting after a while.
I was “eh” with Malcolm during the book. I couldn’t understand why a grown man wanted a 17-year-old girl. Then it came to me. He wanted someone he could control.
I loved Herschel. He tried to help Glory as much as he could. He gave her the unconditional love that her mother couldn’t or wouldn’t. His last talk with her sent shivers up my spine. Talk about foreshadowing!!
Religion was an integral part of Glory Bishop. It wasn’t shoved down my throat. Instead, it was interwoven with the plotline, and I loved it!!
I liked how Glory Bishop ended, but at the same time, I was a little disappointed. I will always associate the words “I’ll give you back to God” with this book. Chilling. I was disappointed because I think I know what Glory was going to do at the end of the book. I wish there were some sort of epilogue that either proved me wrong or validated me. But then again, I understood why the author ended the book the way she did.
I have a feeling that I just read one of the finest books I’ll read all year. I finished an hour ago and I’m still shaking. Glory Bishop’s mother has placed coverings on all the apartment windows to keep evil out. Author Deborah King peels back the corner of one of those coverings to allow the reader a glimpse into Glory Bishop’s life. From the outside, one sees Glory’s mother, Mary Bishop, as an abuser, a Christian fanatic who has warped the meaning of Bible verse far beyond the literal. Look closer, and one sees a fearful woman desperately trying to shelter her daughter from the world. Seventeen-year old Glory Bishop walks a tightrope every day. On one side, her mother, ready to “send her back to God” before allowing her daughter to be less than a Godly woman. On the other side, Malcolm, a twenty-seven-year old preacher who has targeted her for his future wife, a girl he can control in every way from determining what she will eat to where she will go to college, and his constant threat of violence should she disappoint him. King brings us so far inside Glory’s world that, like one caught in a cycle of abuse and religious zeal, the actions of the abusers begin to seem genuine, normal, benevolent. Don’t be afraid of this book. Read it. There is plenty of love and hope and even joy. I am cheering for Glory Bishop. I received an advanced reader’s copy and I have also pre-ordered my own. I want to keep this one.
King’s tale of a teenager from a dysfunctional and spiritually damaged family falling in with an equally damaged husband shakes one’s soul.
Downtown Chicago, present day. Demons are alive and well—no, not spec fiction demons, the biblical demons that only Glory’s mother can experience. Glory Bishop’s mother is determined to raise a godly daughter according to standards that only mother can exact. The godliness comes about by regular beatings and a Spartan existence inside the home, and regular attendance at the opulent Baptist Church run by the “first couple,” who live an envious, glamorous life.
Glory is allowed to attend public high school where she enjoys her classes and friends, and is exposed to the evils of the world, which must regularly be expunged. One of Glory’s escapes is visiting the beauty salon where her mother goes for weekly appointments. Glory accidently meets Herschel, the flamboyant and exemplar of parental kindness who for the coming years makes Glory’s life bearable. Glory has a secret—a wedding at age five with the love of her life, JT; a relationship Herschel helps hide. When Glory learns no relationship is sacred and her heart is broken, she feels adrift. Although creeped out by the attention of their pastor’s son Malcolm, a man a decade older who has hidden personality traits we suspect, Glory’s mother pushes them together. When the ominous music starts in the reader’s mind, we want to scream at Glory not to run into the dark woods where monsters hide, just like in the movies. We’re helpless as we watch events unfold and Glory is slowly sucked toward a cesspool covered with illusionary beauty.
Glory Bishop is a cautionary tale of societal prejudice toward outward appearances. Don’t let them fool you. Recommended for readers of contemporary family issue-laden stories with lots of colorful drama.
Amazing debut!
This is an emotional rollercoaster with several twist that will have you in awe. Glory is a young woman that comes from a dysfunctional home with a mother that not only controls her life, she is abusive and a religious extremist as well. When her mother pushes her in the direction of Malcolm who is a young minister, Glory sees this as another controlling situation. I found that the ending didn’t quite give me closure. I would have loved to know exactly where Glory saw herself going after confronting her mother with her decision. I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.