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  • This story told by each brother in alternating chapters is unique and well developed. Johnson's writing is so crisp and fresh that this 372 page novel will go by in a flash. I believe what I enjoyed most about this story is that it depicts black men in times of trouble committed to the women in thei ... Continue

    This story told by each brother in alternating chapters is unique and well developed. Johnson's writing is so crisp and fresh that this 372 page novel will go by in a flash. I believe what I enjoyed most about this story is that it depicts black men in times of trouble committed to the women in their lives and to keeping their families together at all cost. Author Freddie Lee Johnson, III tells this story with the kind of humor and thoughtfulness that makes him a welcome new voice to the genre of contemporary African American literature!

    http://www.thegritsbookclub.com/Reviews/Bitters...

    

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• ― thegrits said on Apr 13, 2008 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

Clifford. Victor. Nathan. Three brothers as different as they come. Three lives that veer unexpectedly off course. One bond that heals them all. . . .

Clifford sees his life as picture-perfect: two wonderful young sons, a fast-track career, and a solid marriage. But fresh back from a family vacation in Florida, Clifford is hit with a stunning blow when his wife Demetria declares that she is leaving him for “true love, excitement, and fun”–an announcement that throws him into an uncontrollable tailspin of denial.

With one failed marriage under his belt, and a precious daughter his ex-wife bars him from seeing, Victor is no expert in romantic love. His philosophy? The only way to keep a woman from squeezing every last drop from you is to get out before things get too deep. But lately Victor hasn’t been feeling quite like himself–especially since he’s been falling for Edie and her little girl. Seems like he spends more time looking out for her then he does staking out new booty calls.

Even in the face of tragedy and travail, Nathan, a minister, remains hopeful. His marriage is a paragon of Christian ideals, his loving wife Brenda is his soul mate and support. But it wasn’t always that way. Nathan has left some ugly wreckage in his wake before finding God. Now he and Brenda are truly blessed with a solid family and an adoring congregation. Then, a troubled divorcée tempts Nathan–and threatens the sacred vows he swore to uphold.

While Clifford, Victor, and Nathan struggle with the unexpected–faltering marriages, breaking hearts, and torn childhoods that threaten to repeat themselves in the lives of their children–each will discover the true redemptive power of a brother’s love.

By turns fierce and passionate, tender and humorous, this wise novel blasts the stereotype that black men’s ties to their families are tenuous at best. Freddie Lee Johnson III tells a refreshing story of three complex men who fight to do right by their families–both the ones they created, and the one they were born into. The result is Bittersweet.

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