In "Don't Explain: A Song of Billie Holiday," author Alexis De Veaux tells the story of the great jazz singer in the form of a book-length poem. De Veaux recreates the magic of Harlem in the late 1920s, the grimness of the Great Depression, and the excitement of Billie's early gigs as a young singer. "Don't Explain" also tells about the racism Billie endured, and about her struggle with drug addiction. Especially fascinating is De Veaux's version of the story behind the great protest song, "Strange Fruit."

De Veaux writes in a smooth vernacular style. Interspersed throughout her poetic text are sections of drama-like dialogue between Billie and various individuals in her life. Photographs and sheet music are also blended, collage-like, into parts of the text.

I attended a presentation by author De Veaux during which she discussed this book. She said, "For me, Billie Holiday was the quintessential symbol of Black female creativity." (Hence the title of this review.) "Don't Explain" is a beautifully written tribute to a great artist, and is itself a noteworthy achievement in African-American literature.

I have read a few books about Billie Holiday. I have seen a few films and, of course I have many of her records. This book is great for both people who wish to learn something about Lady Day and for people who already know and love her but wish to savor the author's elequent prose. Writen as an extended poem, this accessible and readable 150 pager is the perfect way to fill just one day (or an afternoon) with a good read.

This is what Billie-Girl asks. This is a sweet story about a girl coming of age, seemingly untouched by the chaos in her family's home - her parents' divorce, her father's gambling debts. The author populates this novel with a collection of characters one will not soon forget, and takes us for a humorous joyride through the adventures of one "normal" teenager named Billie-Girl.

Elizabeth works undercover to blow the top off a sexist restaurant that forces its waitresses to dress like prostitutes.(or popstars..).Meanwhile,someone else is pregnant!!

This book is great! Billie goes through hard times, Jessica and Michael McAllery re-unite. Elizabeth proves girl power by going undercover to expose a scandal that is degrading women for their brests. This book waas great and has a surprise ending!

This book was great! Billie and Steven go through hard times, with a surprise ending. Jessica sees her ex-husband, Michael McAllery again, and is determined to prove she can handle anything. Even a new job. Elizabeth works undercover as a waitress for a sleazy night club. I loved this part of the storyline. She had to put up with a lot of perverted guys, but really told them off! The nightclub only allows women with large breasts to waitress it. Elizabeth does some padding and heads on in! It was really cool how she and the other waitresses showed those men a thing or two! This is a great book!

The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, by Billie Letts, is a great book. It is about a disabled man, Caney, who is in a wheelchair after an accident in the Vietnam War. Caney lives in the back of his restaurant, the Honk and Holler Opening Soon. Caney's restaurant is in a small town in Oklahoma and does not get a lot of buisness until Vena Takes Horse, the new carhop, comes to town. Caney's only other employee at the time Molly O, doesn't seem to like Vena very much and the book takes you through their tough and bonding times a like. Bui, is a small Vietnamese man on the run from the law. He has had an unlucky time in the United States because he doesn't speak the language very well. But, Bui has a lucky break when he stumbles into the Honk and Holler one morning. Caney decides to give the young man a try at cook and doesn't seem to be able to get rid of him. To learn more about the risky adventures and many problems of Caney, Vena, Bui, and Molly O along with all the other usuals at the Honk, read the Honk and Holler Opening Soon.

After reading Where the Heart Is I took a reallyyyy long time getting around to Honk and Holler. I thought surely there was no way to top her first effort, but I've happily been proven wrong.

Caney, a paraplegic Vietnam vet; Vena Takes Horse, a lonely drifter; MollyO, a lonesome, under-appreciated mother on the verge of love; and Bui Kahn, a dangerously misplaced Vietnamese man waiting for this family, all get wound up in each other's lives under the glow of a neon sign reading The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. The sign is a town joke and 12-year-old mistake, but nevertheless, this diverse group of people comes to call the restaurant home and each other family.

In traditional Letts style the characters of this story are vivid, engrossing, and endearing. So often a cast of peripheral characters can pale in comparison to the main characters that the book focuses on, but that's not the case with Honk. Each character feels as if they fit equally into the framework of the story.

The Honk and Holler Opening Soon is a journey through love, loss, struggle, triumph, and heartbreak but it never seems sappy or overdone....just real. If you've ever lived in a small town you'll likely identify with many of Letts' characters and situations, and even if you haven't lived the life of the story you'll recognize their individual worth and inner beauty.

The Honk and Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts What a terrific book! I loved the characters from the moment I set eyes on the first page. In all honestly, I waited to start it until I had completely finished another book.(an 800 page thing that really got tedious in parts-but I did finish, a mistake not to be repeated) The story opens in a small cafe in OK where we find Caney a Vietnam Vet,with a lot of baggage and unresolved issues. Also, we find his friend Molly O,a woman with her own set of problems. Everything is as normal as can be expected, until one-day in walks an Indian woman with a three legged dog looking for a job. The main characters in this book are great, but it is the minor characters and how they respond to the unfolding events that kept me turning pages to see what happens next. The town gossip, the three elderly guys that meet every morning for breakfast, the town villain, all add contrast to the picture beautifully painted with words by Billie Letts. I'll tell you right off I love to read, however, I am not a fast reader and for me to go through a book in a few days is a feet in itself. I very rarely do that unless I am really enjoying the story....I finished this book in 3 days. I found myself reading late into the night and crawling into bed(where I read) earlier than normal.

Simple prose that delivers a quick read reminscent of Hemingway's crafting. Every word counts and every sentence leads effortlessly to the next. This is the story of Gilberto, a real person, and his journey from depths of poverty, abuse and ignorance that middle class Americans can only understand third or fourth hand. Gilberto not only succeeded in every way (education, middle class respectability, an American citizenship) but he pulled an entire family back with him. The ending is bitter sweet. Entirely unpredictable...but satisfying. Disney did not influence this writer. The author views Gilberto's life from a 1950's post WWII perspective of American arrogance filtered again through our 1990's revisionist (and more mature) perspective. Fascinating. An almost four dimensional approach. Great story, well told and should find a building audience over time as word spreads about this remarkable book.

Here is a book the will give every American a good look at what life might have been like had he or she not had the good fortune to be born in this country and a better understanding of the people all around us who are brave enough to find their way to our shores and make the supreme effort to become an American. Billie Young tells the story well and I found it interesting from beginning to end.