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Tuesday

In Search Of Satisfaction (Book Review)

by April D. Byrd

"God waits for His own time. Time is passing. His time is coming. He has a plan. He need not be concerned with the laughter of fools." ~In Search Of Satisfaction, J. California Cooper

This story was unlike anything I've ever read. Do you know that feeling when you're in love with a book so much that you're actually sad when you've finished reading it? At one point I was actually hugging the book.
It's weird, but that's how deeply it touched my soul. In Search tells the story of relationships. It explores how family ties with each other, the world, God , not to mention the devil make an impact in our lives. I felt Cooper threw mention of the evil one in too frequently, but just like with life, it all played out together.

The book reads like an Epic Saga. It may not get the clout of Homer's The Illiad & The Odyssey , but It's pretty up there. I felt like I was reading a mini-series the world has yet to see. In Cooper's family drama she starts with the Hero Josephus, then moves on to his Daughter Hosanna, telling the stories of many more in between. We get to see into the minds of some very colorful characters. I like it because Cooper is informal in her writing, She's conversational as she narrates the story. Even though there's incest and malice that's a bit shocking, there's a hope and control a midst the plot's storm that keeps everything calm.

Cooper illustrates the triumph of good and the perplexity of evil in the world. She glorifies God and characterizes satan...A lot in this book, but this is NOT Christian Fiction. There are some sequences that may not necessarily follow a Godly order, but triumphant none the less.

This book was full of deep wisdom put together in a theatre-like composition. The story was vivid. There were shocking moments that turned out to be glorious in the end. As theatrical as the events were, nothing was glamorized. Even though the setting of the story is in the 1800's Cooper spoke of real life drama that  people still struggle with today.

The wisdom was deep but not flashy or "quoty", like we tend to find today with internet memes or empowerment coaches. The interaction was straight up, flat out, and raw to a certain extent. Cooper wrote what we need more of Awareness, Knowledge, Compassion, Tenacity, Justice all characterized in some of the voices she introduced and some quite the opposite of  them. Overall it was a Good story, exemplifying the mistakes, victories, and lessons we all discover...in search of satisfaction.

The book was a definite win. I'm Interested in reading more from J. California Cooper. Have you ever read this book? What was your take on it? Share your thoughts in  the comments. You can also visit and share with BOLDJournal on our social media pages.

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