Zora and Nicky
A Novel in Black and White
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4.3 • 13 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Two Hearts, One God.? Should Anything Else Matter?
Zora Nella Hampton Johnson knows exactly where she comes from—and her daddy won't let her forget. Of course for that privilege he keeps her in Prada and Kate Spade, Coach and YSL. He chooses her boyfriend, her car, her address, and ignores her love of painting, art, and the old ways of her grandaddy's soulful AME church—where the hymns pleaded, cajoled, and raised the roof. Her daddy may be a preacher, but some-where among the thousands of church members, the on-site coffee house, and the JumboTron, Zora lost God. And she wants Him back.
Nicky Parker, a recent graduate of Berkeley and reformed playboy, also suffers the trials of being a preacher's kid, and he can't remember the last time he saw eye-to-eye with his white, racist, Southern Baptist father. What he does remember—and it will be forever burned in his brain despite myriad prayers to Jesus—is the way Zora looked the first time he saw her. Like Nefertiti. Only better. When they meet at a bible study far from their respective home churches, the first churlish, sarcastic sparks that fly sizzle with defensiveness. But God has a special way of feeding the flames and though of different flocks, these two lost sheep will find Him and much, much more.
Click here to listen to an interview with Claudia Mair Burney: http://buzzplant.com/zoranicky/ecard1/#/author-interview/
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The voice of beautiful Zora Nella Hampton Johnson\x97her name echoing the author of her favorite novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God\x97will take you up and carry you along until she utters her very last syllable. Anger, laughter and delight come from Zora's sharp, sassy tongue as if she is talking out loud. Burney's gift for voice is not limited to her heroine, though it takes her longer to get the other main character, Nicky Parker, the handsome but poor son of a racist pastor, to shine as distinctly as Zora. At this novel's heart are love and race\x97what happens when a self-described BAP (black American princess), the daughter of a famous megachurch leader, falls in love with a young white man. Zora and Nicky's dialogue about race is unflinching, with attitude, honesty and occasional humor. Burney pushes her prose to the edge of the edgiest in the \x93Christian fiction\x94 genre, and then barrels right over. She doesn't sugar-coat, especially when it comes to sex, yet she manages to create a love story that's both erotic and chaste. Faith in Jesus comes to life on the page through Zora and Nicky's intense, if imperfect, soul searching. Though parts are a bit melodramatic, Burney gives readers a page-turner for all audiences, Christian and beyond.
Customer Reviews
Compelling, Potentially Life-Changing and just plain funny
The candor in her descriptions and personal feelings describing the subtle but frequent racism all around Zora (and reverse racism coming FROM her) was EYE-OPENING for me! I was faced with some serious questions about my own attitudes and tendencies. And all of that was just ONE of the compelling things about this novel! It's hilarious, and heart-tugging, artsy and poetic and masterfully written! And did I mention, it's funny?