{"title":"J. California Cooper","description":"J. California Cooper is the author of four novels and six collections of stories. She was honored as Black Playwright of the Year, and her work received the American Book Award, the James Baldwin Writing Award, and the Literary Lion Award from the American Library Association. She died in 2014.","products":[{"product_id":"in-search-of-satisfaction-paperback","title":"In Search of Satisfaction - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith \u003ci\u003eIn Search Of Satisfaction\u003c\/i\u003e, Cooper gracefully portrays men and women, some good and others wickedly twisted, caught in their individual thickets of want and need on a once-grand plantation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Yoville, \"a legal town-ship founded by the very rich for their own personal use,\" a freed slave named Josephus fathers two daughters, Ruth and Yinyang, by two different women. His desire to give Yinyang and himself money and opportunities oozes through the family like an elixir. In seeking the legacy left by their father, Ruth and Yinyang pull each other, their families, and their Yoville neighbors into a vortex of ever-powerful emotion.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe folk flavor of her storytelling has earned her constant comparison to Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, but through four collections of short stories and two novels, J. California Cooper has proven that hers is a wholly original talent --one that embraces readers in an ever-widening circle from one book to the next. With \"In Search Of Satisfaction, Cooper gracefully portrays men and women, some good and others wickedly twisted, caught in their individual thickets of want and need. On a once-grand plantation in Yoville, \"a legal town-ship founded by the very rich for their own personal use,\" a freed slave named Josephus fathers two daughters, Ruth and Yinyang, by two different women. His desire, to give Yinyang and himself money and opportunities, oozes through the family like an elixir, melding with the equally strong yearnings of Yoville's other residents, whose tastes don't complement their neighbors'. What Josephus buries in his life affects generations to come. J. California Cooper's unfettered view of sin, forgiveness, and redemption gives \"In Search Of Satisfaction a singular richness that belies its universal themes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50103739351263,"sku":"9780385467865","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/erUvK7YXB69780385467865.webp?v=1781097538"},{"product_id":"wild-stars-seeking-midnight-suns-paperback","title":"Wild Stars Seeking Midnight Suns - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eJ. California Cooper's irresistible collection of new stories explores the universal themes of romance, family, and the hopes that propel people's dreams. In \"As Time Goes By\" a young woman singlemindedly pursues material wealth, only to suffer from an empty heart. \"Catch a Falling Heart\" tells of a slyly arranged marriage, and \"The Eye of the Beholder\" portrays a plain girl's search for love and her own brand of freedom. Wise, earthy and intimate, these stories are moving parables of the human need to seek some sort of satisfaction, just as a wild star seeks a midnight sun.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104414961887,"sku":"9781400075683","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/jYapgqtJD49781400075683.webp?v=1781108258"},{"product_id":"some-soul-to-keep-a-short-story-collection-paperback","title":"Some Soul to Keep: A Short Story Collection - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eFeaturing five incredible short stories exploring love and how its presence or absence impacts family relations, friendships and romantic relationships, \u003ci\u003eSome Soul to Keep\u003c\/i\u003e draws a vivid picture of Black characters that leap off the page with their spirit and voice in the literary folk tradition associated most often with Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. With her warm narration and understanding of the human condition, J. California Cooper brings stories of Black family life in rural and small town America that are deeply moving and unforgettable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104416960735,"sku":"9781250857606","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/iIGCM1KcnS9781250857606.webp?v=1781108263"},{"product_id":"homemade-love-a-short-story-collection-paperback","title":"Homemade Love: A Short Story Collection - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this \u003ci\u003eAmerican Book Award\u003c\/i\u003e winning short story collection, J. California Cooper brings to life thirteen moving short stories that explore the threads and nuances of all kinds of love--whether romantic, familial or friendship. Written in the literary folk tradition associated most often with Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, \u003ci\u003eHomemade Love\u003c\/i\u003e draws a vivid picture of Black characters finding love in the most unlikely of places.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104509006047,"sku":"9781250857736","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/y0bADx1K259781250857736.webp?v=1781108475"},{"product_id":"life-is-short-but-wide-paperback","title":"Life Is Short But Wide - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn irresistible story of faith and perseverance, \u003ci\u003eLife Is Short But Wide \u003c\/i\u003efollows two families as they prove that no matter who you are or what you do, you are never too old to chase your dreams.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLike the small towns J. California Cooper has so vividly portrayed in her previous novels, Wideland, Oklahoma, is home to ordinary Americans with big hearts. Among them are newlyweds Irene and Val, who graciously allow their neighbors, Bertha and Joseph, to build a house on their land. Together the couples have three daughters, all who struggle to find love and success in the changing world. But although the years may bring hardship and heartache, they also teach the importance of living one's life boldly and squeezing out every possible moment of joy.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50104901566687,"sku":"9781400075690","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/Gp5ynsmnxg9781400075690.webp?v=1781112132"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/j-california-cooper.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}