A Review of Marcia McNair’s E-Males
Posted by LMReviewsMar 19
Welcome back!
In Marcia L. McNair’s book, E-Males, the title isn’t just a play on the terms males and e-mail. In a novel where the reader gets to play the role as big brother or big sistah spying on the virtual conversation of two best friends, the author allows you to witness Ebony’s deepest thoughts and the exchanges between her, her best friend Wanita and one of Wanita’s eligible suitors, Chazz. Treading water in the sea of singlehood, the thirty-something women share life, love and intellectual opinions across virtual communication channels. Wanita juggles men, her career and single-parenthood while Ebony learns the galaxies of cyberspace in preparation for her master’s studies and the impending Y2K transition. Will the ability to hide behind a computer screen give Ebony the courage to air a secret that could call into question the depths of her friendship with Wanita?
The author has a sparkling sense of humor and searing quick wit, although the surface explorations of female genital mutilation and social welfare reform seemed geared toward making the story seem less like a “professional-sistahs-trying-to-find-a-decent-brotha” kind of novel.
The two friends, being the main characters were very likeable. The men in the story, mainly Chazz–a co-worker and love interest of Wanita’s, were hardly anyone’s dreamboat. But Chazz with his intellect and arrogant flirtation did add to the culture of the novel since he was African with a different perspective than most African American men. Marcia McNair’s E-Males earns 3 Sable Seals.
Publisher: Aya Press
Format: Print
Price: 14.95
