Glory

The author, Sandra Hamer, quotes a multitude of Bible verses throughout this story for many appropriate circumstances but this one – 1 Corinthians 11:15 – “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering” is absolutely the one upon which the essence of her book, “Glory…the Hair” is predicated.

In every culture, a woman’s hair holds strong attractions and sometimes strange fascinations for the men of that society. Some force the fairer sex to hide their glory beneath heavy veils, while others want the world to see and revel in the beauty that shines through those long, luxurious healthy tresses.

In the 2012 Memphis community that this book is set in, messing with someone’s glory was pretty much considered a sinful act. And, the sins of jealousy and spiteful competition seemed to run pretty rampant in the hair salons of this fictional story. The main idea which seemed to be communicated in this book, for me anyway, is that – though the lady with the scissors ultimately held all the power over another woman’s glorious mane, the wrath of a woman “shorned”, pun intended, can unfortunately lead to a court case of a hairy nature.

Jennifer Williams is the plaintiff in this particularly peculiar court case. Though she is a very forgiving person, some things can’t easily be forgiven or forgotten. And though it may seem petty at first, to sue someone over such a vainglorious thing, Jennifer has higher aspirations than those motivated by vanity alone. Through her litigation, she intends to preserve the God given right of an individual (and not a hairdresser) to determine the length of one’s own hair. But her quintessential desire is for far more than that. When you read how Jennifer presents her case to a judge and to the court of public opinion you might applaud her intentions.

Miss Hamer’s writing style is more a telling of thoughts and events than one of eloquent fiction. But the story is told well enough and contains more than enough interesting details to provide a riveting view of Christian life for the faithful members of houses of worship like the “All of That Baptist Church”. Most of the main characters in this book are faithful attendees of that rousing place of praise where the preacher tells it like it is and the members shout Amen. There are more characters flitting in and out of the book than expected but they all have their own stories, each of which touches, at least briefly, on the main theme of hair and what it means to them.

I have to give this story a solid 4 stars because it provides so many glimpses into how that crowning glory – hair – figures so intimately into the personal interactions between the different sexes and even into the very foundations of their Christian beliefs. It was definitely an eye-opener for me.