Book Description
"I have no pride. I tell anything," Jill Conner Browne is fond of saying. As Her Royal Highness, Boss Queen of the Sweet Potato Queens®, she has told legions of fans, known as "SPQ Wannabes," her delectable secrets to living, loving -- and eating -- like a queen. In her words, "More is more."
How much more? The #1 New York Times bestselling author of five works of nonfiction now serves up The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn't Actually Do, but Could Have, and May Yet. The humor in this uproarious coming-of-queen novel is more delicious than a favorite dessert (the Queens favor Chocolate Stuff™, of course).
In Jackson, Mississippi, Mary Bennett, Patsy, Gerald, and Jill are high school classmates whose daily routine is paced like a shuffle through the local red dirt -- until the arrival of a redheaded newcomer banishes monotony forever. With her luxurious mane and voluptuous figure, Tammy Myers aspires to join the silver-spooners, who make things happen in their lives. When Jill convinces Tammy and the others that money might buy a certain kind of good time and that true friendship has no price tag, the "Sweet Potato Queens" are born. "If it ain't fun, we ain't doin' it," runs their official club motto, and the Queens are true to their word.
Together, the Queens laugh out loud as they step down the long -- and not altogether pretty -- road toward making their very own queen dust, the sparkle that comes from livin' and lovin' their own lives. The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel: Stuff We Didn't Actually Do, but Could Have, and May Yet reveals that the journey isn't always easy, but in the company of the Queens, you can sparkle, too.
Customer Reviews:
A Light Summer Read.......2007-06-24
Although I didn't have any laugh-out-loud moments reading this book, I did experience a few chuckles and learned a new term for a bad boss - bosshole. Thankfully I don't currently have use for the term. It doesn't require following complicated story lines so it's a good summer book. The story of high school friendships weathering all the complications of life is close to my heart. It's a reminder that true friendships endure marriages, divorces, bad choices, distance, and in the end true friends are by your side.
Ladies - I recommend this book for all your girlfriends as a reminder of how important they are in your life.
Perfect Summer Read!.......2007-06-01
I absolutly adore this book! A fantastic summer read!!! I passed this book along to 2 other girlfriends and they also loved it!
Jill did not write this book!!.......2007-05-23
I live in Jackson, MS and I am a HUGE fan Of all Of JCB's books - laugh out loud funny - but I am convinced that Jill did not write this book. She has more talent and better taste than to have put out this drivel. It reads like a bad book report on the combination of all of her other books. I'm thinking that the author credit "by Jill Connor Browne with Karin Gillespie" means that Gillespie read all of Jill's previous books and did a very poor compilation of them. The flow is stilted, the story is juvenile and inconsistent and there is nothing new in it, just silly, warped regurgitations of Jill's original stuff. The foreword and the recipe sections were obviously written by Jill and delightful as usual but the rest was a waste of time and money. I'm extremely disappointed and frankly surprised that Jill would allow it to be published. Poor Willie Morris is probably rolling over..........
Great ride with the Sweet Potato Queens.......2007-05-16
Misfits Jill, Mary Bennett, Patsy, Tammy, and Gerald band together to fend off the rejection of the popular crowd in high school. Eventually they evolve into the Sweet Potato Queens and they forge a group friendship which does not diminish through the years, even though they all go off in different directions. They suffer through broken promises, broken dreams, and broken relationships but are still there for each other. Their irreverant humor and undying loyalty to one another keep them sane during hard times. This book is full of southern-fried humor and charm and is bound to keep the reader smiling.
Sweeter than sweet.......2007-05-16
This book will get you from the first page. It is funny and emotional. You won't want to stop listening once you start. The friendship the queens have is one that everone wishes to have with their friends. The receipes
shared at the end are a culinary delight. I tried a few of them and they were deliscious. I'm looking forward to
getting another book about their adventures.
Book Description
To know the Sweet Potato Queens is to love them, and if you haven't heard about them yet, you will. Since the early 1980s, this group of belles gone bad has been the toast of Jackson, Mississippi, with their glorious annual appearance in the St. Patrick's Day parade. In
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love, their royal ringleader, Jill Conner Browne, introduces the Queens to the world with this sly, hilarious manifesto about love, life, men, and the importance of being prepared. Chapters include:
The True Magic Words Guaranteed to Get Any Man to Do Your Bidding
The Five Men You Must Have in Your Life at All Times
Men Who May Need Killing, Quite Frankly
What to Eat When Tragedy Strikes, or Just for Entertainment
And, of course:
The Best Advice Ever Given in the Entire History of the World
From tales of the infamous Sweet Potato Queens' Promise to the joys of Chocolate Stuff and Fat Mama's Knock You Naked Margaritas, this irreverent, shamelessly funny book is the gen-u-wine article.
Visit the Sweet potato Queens Web site at www.sweetpotatoqueens.com
Download Description
To know the Sweet Potato Queens is to love them, and if you haven't heard about them yet, you will. Since the early 1980s, this group of belles gone bad has been the toast of Jackson, Mississippi, with their glorious annual appearance in the St. Patrick's Day parade. In
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love, their royal ringleader, Jill Conner Browne, introduces the Queens to the world with this sly, hilarious manifesto about love, life, men, and the importance of being prepared. Chapters include:
The True Magic Words Guaranteed to Get Any Man to Do Your Bidding
The Five Men You Must Have in Your Life at All Times
Men Who May Need Killing, Quite Frankly
What to Eat When Tragedy Strikes, or Just for Entertainment
And, of course:
The Best Advice Ever Given in the Entire History of the World
From tales of the infamous Sweet Potato Queens' Promise to the joys of Chocolate Stuff and Fat Mama's Knock You Naked Margaritas, this irreverent, shamelessly funny book is the gen-u-wine article.
Visit the Sweet potato Queens Web site at www.sweetpotatoqueens.com
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Seriously Fun Advice!.......2007-09-12
Jill Conner Browne has a REAL voice that speaks volumes about love, friendship and living life "out loud". Buy one for yourself and one to lend to friends, better yet, it makes a great birthday gift!
Not just For Women Only!.......2007-09-11
Since this is the 289th review posted here, I can't see much point in writing an actual review. So , here are some of my favorite bits:
The recipes! This was totally unexpected, and I only read them because she's such a good writer. And the names! "Fat Mama's Knock You Naked Margaritas"! " Come Back Sauce"! "Danger Pudding"! -- the latter prepared by boiling an unopened can of condensed milk.... "You shouldn't do any of this yourself, because you could be killed. Come by my house, and I'll make it for us. I'm very brave."
"What to Eat Before and After an Assignation
Well, "before" is a no-brainer; you can't eat a damn thing. If you do, your stomach will pooch out like you're twelve month's pregnant, and it will ruin the lines of your trashy lingerie...."
"Chapter 10, Men Who Signal Danger.
Run away! Run Away!"
Chapter 11, Men Who May Need Killing. Which is where you'll find detailed instructions on what to do if you find a possum sleeping under your bed. At 2:30 AM.
"What would daddy do? He would know, without the slightest hesitation... Daddy picked a fine time to be dead for fifteen years..."
And I won't even try to describe the Houseguest's Dilemma: "...all the lights blazed on, and there stood her hosts, staring in bewildered disbelief at this grown woman squatting over and urinating into their very large mixing bowl."
This certainly isn't a "For Women Only" book -- indeed, it's as funny a book as I've read in quite awhile. You never know with humor, but if you like Florence King ("Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady"), definitely try Browne. And, if you've missed King, you're in for a treat there, too.
Not to be missed, if you're a fan of raunchy slapstick.
Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman
Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love.......2007-08-10
Love this book! Jill Conner Brown is wonderful. I have purchased all books by her
Great food, really!!.......2007-06-27
This book is funny, but the recipes are wonderful. I laughed outloud as I read, but I couldn't wait to make some of this food. When I did make the food it was easy, reliable, and GOOD!! I have shared so many of these recipes already, and I get tons of compliments!
The Joys of Womanhood.......2007-05-09
You'll laugh out loud as you enjoy this non-fiction book about being a woman and making the most out of life.
Book Description
They’re wild, beloved, and all-around fabulous, but with the Sweet Potato Queens, there’re just never enough good times—or enough good eats. Well, now all fabulous women everywhere can have their own mountains of royal fun and food, because bestselling author and Boss Queen Jill Conner Browne is revealing her big-ass top secret recipes—and the events that inspired them—in The Sweet Potato Queens’ Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner). And, of course, she’s dishing up plenty of hilarious stories, including:
• Queenly adventures in mothering
•The tiniest bit of plastic surgery
• The all-true story of the Cutest Boy in the World
And, oh yes, as promised:
• Sound financial planning. Tip number one: Hope that Daddy lives forever.
Download Description
praise for Jill Conner Browne, the sweet potato Queen
¿You don¿t have to be from the South . . . you just have to like laughing out loud, a lot.¿
¿Chicago Tribune
¿This is not reading for the faint of heart. You could die laughing.¿¿St. Petersburg Times
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
LOOOORD have MEERRRCY !!!!! A MOST YUMMISH BOOK!!!.......2007-04-18
Hey this skinny melinky kid from the Bronx (me) laughed myself silly through 3 or 4 commutes to and from work-- loving this book!
You can BET I'm gonna make (and eat and G-d help whoever tries to take a portion of it from me!) all of those recipes -- especially that Hostess Twinky Pie!
A great book with irreverent wit, humor, great cuss words, sensitivity in the right places and a Boe-Day-Shuss (hey I'm from the Bronx -- we can't spell Southern words) outlook on life and..... foodies!!
This is not your normal cookbook, great gift.......2006-11-25
I bought this book after I seen the title and browsed at it and had to buy it, I love the ladies who wrote this, just like being with a friend, hillarious (if I spelled that right!) The recipes are fantastic, like "Pig Candy" its really good!!!!! You cooks know what you are doing when you make a recipe, including licking the spoon, eating half the batter etc. "NO PLAIN, PLENTY GAIN COFFEE CAKE!!, my favorite expression in the recipes is "One running over teaspoon of vanilla" and a recipe for "Actual Apple Cake" plus all their little stories and funny stuff, this is a great gift for the person who cooks and has a sense of humor, and surely will make some of the recipes, No Fat Free recipes are included I believe, or they would never had wrote the book. If you know a person who cooks, and is funny, this is a great funny recipe book
different.......2006-02-18
The book is funny at points. I expected more recipes. I listened to the audio version, read by the author herself. She employs liberal use of the callback, so much so that she latches on to a few key phrases and repeats them to the point of browbeating. The recipes are sickening. I could barely stand to listen. If those women actually eat that way, it's no wonder they are all saving for lipsuction. If I heard her say "one runningoverteaspoon of vanilla" one more time, I was gonna find her and punch her in the face. Just say a teaspoon and a half of vanilla! The part about her mother having a stroke makes her seem incredibly selfish and coldhearted. Maybe being dispassionate is just her way of coping.
The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner).......2005-09-12
Jill Conner Browne has done it again. She and the "Tammy's" will take you to laughter city with this one. She couldn't be any funnier!Of course, I love any book about queens, or being the the Queen!
Like new and quick to get here.......2005-09-07
Great product, like new, can't tell if it was used and got here QUICK! Thanks
Amazon.com
Fans of Jill Conner Browne's hilarious advice and queenly assurance should mix up a margarita and prepare to enjoy themselves with her book God Save the Sweet Potato Queens. Whether you're still a Cute Girl or have made it to the glorified ranks of Fabulous Woman, the allure of big hair, utter confidence, and a sparkly tiara is easily understandable. Forget "less is more"--as Jill and all the Tammys can tell you, "more is more, and also better." As a follow-up to The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love, this gem touches on many of the same topics--marriage, motherhood, fiancés, the Promise, and all-important attitude and style. Added are a ton of side-splitting stories from fans around the country, who are apparently busy starting up their own royal families with names like the "Menopause Mafia" and "Brazen Strumpets"; one startling tale of a mom at the end of her rope who bursts into "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" in public as a last-ditch effort to get her kids to behave wins Conner Browne's award for mother of the year. The chapter titled "How to Be a Girl" is one of the greatest instruction manuals ever for turning men into putty--the big secret, it seems, is a large bow in your hair. Who knew? One big surprise at the end of this book is hiding under the title "Matters of the Heart." Here you'll read a touching homage to a much-beloved friend of the author, and it will have you running for the nearest hanky. If you find yourself in need of a little pick-me-up after this sad tale, turn to the recipe section, where Twinkie Pie, Dinksey's Gooey Bars, and Death Chicken are guaranteed to cheer you right up. --Jill Lightner
Book Description
Hallelujah! The Sweet Potato Queens are back!
In 1999, Jill Conner Browne, royal boss of Jackson, Mississippi's own glorious Sweet Potato Queens, introduced them to the world in the hilarious bestseller
The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love (which contained everything you ever need to know about Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and the importance of Being Prepared). But, fortunately for us, that was not the final chapter in the Queens' splendid saga. The Sweet Potato Queens still have plenty of stuff to say and valuable wisdom to impart about how they went from being Cute Girls to Fabulous Women, including:
Dating for the Advanced, or Advancing
The Joys of Marriage -- if you must
More Delicious, Death-Defying Recipes
The Promise for Men -- six little words that will make any woman Lolling About -- the official activity of the Sweet Potato Queens
And, of course,
The All-True Story of the Two Most Wonderful Men in the World
Not to mention:
Reader Mail -- honoring the adventures of brand-new Wannabes and Honorary Queens from around the world
If you haven't met the Sweet Potato Queens yet, this is the introduction you've been waiting for. If you already know the joys of Queendom, this is your official welcome-back party.
Download Description
Jill Conner Browne is the author of the bestselling The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi, with her daughter, Bailey.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Love love LOVE the Queens.......2007-06-04
Short and sweet review: Love the book! It is hysterical. You know these Southern women are doing some living! If you understand life in the south at all, you must read this (and the others) book.
Capuchin.......2007-05-02
This book changed my life. I picked it up in an airport as I was leaving the country to work on my dissertation fieldwork. I couldn't put it down. Jill has such a wonderful sense of humor and outlook on life, I laughed out loud while reading it.
I embraced Queendom and, more importantly, my friends. I got myself a tiara; there's just no way to stay frustrated, angry or depressed when you're wearing a tiara.
More Queens.......2007-02-16
I found this one to be a little slow to get started, compared to the Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love, but it definitely got there! Lots of fun, a GREAT way to get past a tough day at the office or a day where things just don't seem to go right - just relax with this book and be prepared to enjoy yourself!
outrageous!.......2007-01-03
This was my introduction to the Sweet Potato Queens. I found them at the library and enjoyed them so much that I gave a copies to every outrageous woman I know. We all love them! You may not agree with everything Jill Connor Browne says, but you have to love the way she says it. Not having read the "Book of Love," didn't spoil this one for me. It encouraged me to find her other books and laugh till I cried. I gave a copy to a friend of mine to listen to while she was driving,and she nearly drove off the road, she was laughing so hard!
Absolutely funny.......2006-02-06
This book is just funny. I have laughed so hard I was crying. It is hard to read a book when tears are streaming out of your eyes. wonderful.
It is hard to describe what this book is about. I think I can say itis about living large and living well with what you have and being all you can be.
Enjoy. Worth EVery Penny.
Book Description
If the Nobel committee offered awards in Gender Relations, the Sweet Potato Queens would have the prize all locked up. These fine ladies have devoted an absolutely inordinate amount of time to the pursuit of love, marriage, and great sex, and they’re just bursting to share their stories. Now their royal ringleader, bestselling author Jill Conner Browne, brings you
The Sweet Potato Queens’ Field Guide to Men, a hilarious (and highly instructive) handbook about the men we love to hate, and the ones we love to love, with special revelations about:
Why he didn’t call
The sweetest revenge ever
The downright crazy things we will do for romance
Plus, memorable tales of Queenly dating adventures, the shameless lowdown on looking as young as you feel, and more royal recipes that are guaranteed to bring him home each and every night.
Download Description
If the Nobel committee offered awards in Gender Relations, the Sweet Potato Queens would have the prize all locked up. These fine ladies have devoted an absolutely inordinate amount of time to the pursuit of love, marriage, and great sex, and they’re just bursting to share their stories. Now their royal ringleader, bestselling author Jill Conner Browne, brings you The Sweet Potato Queens’ Field Guide to Men, a hilarious (and highly instructive) handbook about the men we love to hate, and the ones we love to love, with special revelations about:
Why he didn’t call
The sweetest revenge ever
The downright crazy things we will do for romance
Plus, memorable tales of Queenly dating adventures, the shameless lowdown on looking as young as you feel, and more royal recipes that are guaranteed to bring him home each and every night.
Customer Reviews:
Essential Information for the Aspiring Queen.......2007-02-16
Chock full of valuable and knowledgeable advice about male and female foibles. The story about the "lip extender" had me laughing so hard there were tears pouring down my face. Shorter than the others, lamentably, what were you THINKING, Jill???
Another boring rehash.......2006-08-30
Yet another forum for the author to rehash the "good old days" give her wannabes their 15 minutes of fame. I don't understand why someone who is an inspirational speaker and talented writer would travel this path.
FEEL BETTER LADIES! This is just fun...in book form........2005-12-30
There is really nothing At ALL WRONG IN HAVING A GOOD TIME,and this gal is doing her best to have a genu-wine helluva good time of life. If you have never celebrated just being a woman, do read her work. And if you have been born in the southern states, you will rather relate, even if you were born on the GREEN side of town, you freaks like myself will feel some (sanctimonius) maybe? relating, and you will laugh! I would rather like to be her friend, so that I could get a little dose of her fun, and she might get a bit more, my compassion for the human delimma.
(I have a hard time using people, whether they are aware of it, or not) ~but still understand!
Men! You guys can really be a big ol' CAN-O-WORMS...and you know it!
And this gal Jill is just putting that knowledge out there, in the form of one rowdy southern belle's opinion, and it is great fun to read about it! This girl could cheer up Eyore!
And yes I know that it is wrong to call a full grown woman a girl but some of us, we'll just never lose that spirit, and that is when you can do so correctly...politically or just socially, I for one, will never be too old to be a "girl" nor will Miss Jill Browne. This is a fun romp through the thoughts of a true (American as apple pie) sister!
Actual recipes are included in this book as well.
"Lighthearted romp" of a book.
Just didn't have the old magic.......2005-11-26
My wife and I have loved the Sweet Potato Queen books from the beginning. Reading them together became something of a ritual for us. This book, however, left us both rather disappointed.
Jill Conner Browne is a very talented writer, no question about that, and her latest book did offer several laugh-out-loud moments. Her descriptions of the various types of men (and the women who are involved with them) was very funny. She devoted one brief chapter to explaining why "he" didn't call, which combined humor and down-home good sense as only the SPQ can do.
However, Conner-Browne's distinctive literary voice has changed over the years, and not for the better. In one chapter she goes on endlessly about her plastic surgery experience, from which she recuperates with a shopping spree. In another section, she describes her experience with acuptuncture, blissfully glossing over the expense of it. Previously, the SPQ came across as folksy and full of love-for-life. In discussing her high-priced indulgences, however, she comes across as spoiled and decadent. This kind of self-worshipping prattle distances her from those of us who don't have endless piles of money, and frankly makes her book less enjoyable to read.
Mind you, this doesn't mean that the latest SPQ book isn't worth reading. My wife and I agreed that we were both glad we read it. However, we also agreed that compared to the previous books in the series, it just wasn't as good.
Very Funny.......2005-10-10
Another hit in the series. The wife just loved it. Highly recommended!
Book Description
You are cordially invited to attend...
The Sweet Potato Queens are bona fide experts at planning a marvelous marriage (and ending one—flip this book right on over if you're looking for advice on dumping a deadweight hubby!), so who better to provide this handy wedding planner? And even if you're not planning your own nuptials, surely you have dreamt about your perfect day, regardless of whether you've met Mr. Right yet! In this essential manual, you'll learn:
• How to plan a truly regal wedding
• What to wear (and what not to wear) to your own wedding, or to anyone else's
• How to organize the sassiest games and sauciest entertainment for the occasion
• How to plan and prepare the greasiest, tastiest wedding vittles for your big-ass guests
You are hereby summoned to appear . . .
The Sweet Potato Queens know a thing or two about ending a marriage (and beginning one—flip this book on over if you’re planning on attaching yourself to the ol' ball and chain!), so who better to provide this crucial divorce guide? Besides, whether you’re getting your own personal divorce or not, chances are you’ll be calling Mr. Right Mr. I-Don’t-Think-So sometime in the future! In this practical handbook, you'll learn:
• How to survive even the nastiest divorce while maintaining your queenly composure
• Why it’s appropriate—and necessary!—to throw divorce showers and send out divorce announcements
• Why love is even better the second, third, or fourth time around
Download Description
Jill Conner Browne is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Sweet Potato Queens’ Field Guide to Men: Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay, or Dead and The Sweet Potato Queens’ Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner), as well as the national bestsellers The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love and God Save the Sweet Potato Queens. She is Boss Queen of the Sweet Potato Queens of Jackson, Mississippi.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Just What the Doctor Ordered.......2007-03-09
I bought this book and read it to a friend going through a nasty divorce. Not only did she laugh, she said absolutely every word rang true. The wedding planner half is silly fun with a few good ideas thrown in, but any woman who's had to kick out a Man Who Needs Killing will relish the divorce guide and all its wicked humor.
Hilarious.......2007-01-12
Jill Conner Browne is just hilarious! I always enjoy her books and this one was NOT a dissappointment. I'm sure people think I'm crazy driving down the road while listening to her books and laughing hysterically. She is a true southern comedian....
SPQ's are the best!.......2007-01-04
As in all of her books, Jill Conner Browne is hilarious. I listended to this cd while commuting, and was laughing out loud while driving. There are some very touching moments, but most of this book will keep you laughing. The SPQ's make me think of the Red Hatters - just younger, with alcohol and an attitude. Loved it. Check her other books as well.
The funniest thing I've read in a Long time!.......2006-11-10
Whether you are going through a divorce or planning your wedding this book is full of true, practical, funny advice! This book could and should be read over and over again.
Good writer gone stale.......2006-08-30
I found her first book fresh, new and laugh-out-loud funny perspective on the human condition. Her "sequel" books rehash the success of the original book with a few new tales contributed by her wannabes thrown in; dull, flat, uninteresting.
I'll keep the original - I'll pass on the rest
Product Description
Two bestsellers in one! This book includes both the Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love and God Save the Sweet Potato Queens'. Two wonderfully funny books in one edition.
Customer Reviews:
Couldn't stop laughing!.......2004-09-22
Jill Conner Browne has got to be the smartest, funniest, most charming woman on the planet. I've bought all of her books at least twice and can't keep any of them. Everytime I loan one to one of my friends they end up keeping it. Not only will you laugh yourself sick reading any of her wonderful books, they're full of good, sensible advice. Take a look at her financial planner's rule #1 Hope Daddy lives forever. That's good advice if ever there was some. Check out the chapter in The Book of Love entitled, "Men who just need killing." Also good advice.
So here's my advice, buy the book. Buy all the books. Buy several because you won't be able to keep them either. I'm thinking of handing them out as Christmas presents. Oh, yeah, and if Jill ever runs for President every woman I know will vote for her!
Book Description
Potato Queen starts off in Manila, Philippines, where a young Juancho Chu is living vicariously through reruns of US television sitcoms and dreaming of a life in the less oppressive land of America.
As a young man, Juancho makes his way to San Francisco to establish a life for himself in the United States. While working at a travel agency ironically selling tours to "exotic" locales like the Philippines, Juancho works toward his US citizenship.
It's not long before he begins making friends and discovering the gay nightlife that San Francisco has to offer. Along comes Gerald, a white man who is attracted to Asian men - a "rice queen." Juancho finds that he is usually attracted to white men, thus dubbed a "potato queen."
Juancho and Gerald seem to be perfect for each other, but complications along the way include a variety of very willing Asian men and a surprisingly down-to-earth white porn star.
Will Juancho and Gerald remain "just friends?" Will Juancho secure the US citizenship he has always dreamed of? Will he actually meet the porn star he used to watch on the big screen in dark movie houses?
Customer Reviews:
Thoughtful yet captivating coming-of-age narrative.......2005-11-12
The focus of this narrative novel is Juancho Chu, a young gay Filipino man who moves to San Francisco, finds a job at a travel service that specializes in Asian travel, and commences looking for a boyfriend. Juancho is a self-admitted "Potato Queen" ... a gay Asian who is attracted mostly to mature white men. (It's just a coincidence I read this shortly thereafter finishing and reviewing another called "Rice Queen", which is about mature white men attracted to young-looking Asian men, which are also common in this book. In a sense, this book puts the other better in perspective.) Juancho quickly meets another "PQ" in the person of his coworker Rowell, and Rowell's "RQ" ex-lover/best friend Gerald, and they form the core of a group of friends that explores San Francisco's gay nightlife together.
This is a coming-of-age story, in the sense that Juancho's search for love and acceptance is really starting within himself, as he strives to be more self-assured, open to others, and be more certain of what he wants out of life, same as his American friends are finding out for themselves. The book gives interesting cultural and class insights regarding Juancho's native country, which help the reader to understand Juancho's emotional journey toward acceptance. Although the author is also Filipino, there is no way to tell how much of this is autobiographical. But the story Mr. Sy tells is relatively captivating and emotional, suggesting more than a detached involvement in Juancho's progress and revelations. His progress is summarized poignantly in Juancho's final line, which reads: "I would rather be alone in America, than a freak in my country."
Not exactly light reading, but thoughtful and interesting nevertheless.
Potato Queen is an Inspiring Triumph.......2005-09-05
Rafaelito Sy masterfully captures the heart of a man in search of love and his own identity. From his beginnings in the Phillipines to his adopted home in San Francisco, the main character, Juancho Chu, is vividly portrayed by the author. The insight into Juancho's soul and those of the people that come and go in his life is inspiring, moving and entertaining. Sy skillfully bridges cultural gaps, giving insight into Filipino-American culture and Asian-Americans in the gay community. He reels us into these worlds, usually plagued by stereotypes and assumptions, and shatters preconception, revealing the truth as we accompany Juancho in his search.
This entertaining first novel looks to be the initial triumph for this inspiring writer. A must read!
You say Potato!.......2005-08-22
A totally captivating story. I could not resist turning page after page to follow the lead and his band of soul-searching comrades. Once every few years, you hear a unique gay immigrant voice. A few years ago, it was Realuyo's Umbrella Country; in 2005, Sy's work resonates with a story that touches the heart and warms the soul. Love, pain, happiness, risk, abandon, friendship, acceptance and alienation served in a bite-size but scrumptious lumpia -- just to extend the food metaphor.
Potato Queen is like getting to know familiar places all over again: (bars in the Castro and Polk), sights (in San Francisco), and queens (of all colors partying away in the City). Sooooo retro cool. Nice job!
Great read with humor and heart!.......2005-08-18
Potato Queen manages to combine romance, humor, and a serious look at racism/ racial views within the gay community all with style! Bravo to Mr. Sy!
A Great Book.......2005-08-18
I'm not much of a book reader, but when I picked up Potato Queen, I couldn't put it down. Sy writes with such vivid imagery and creates such compelling characters that I was instantly sucked into the world he creates. The book has humor, too. It brought back a lot of memories.
Mark Greenbaum
FIVE STARS
Product Description
Big-ass top secret recipes
Books:
- The Tale of Genji: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
- The Twelve Caesars (Penguin Classics)
- The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded]: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
- These Three Remain: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman
- Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
- Tired of Trying to Measure Up
- Tropical Houses: Living in Nature in Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Java, Bali, and the Coasts of Mexico and Belize
- True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership (J-B Warren Bennis Series)
- Waterborne: Poems
- Weather Flying
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- History: Fiction or Science
- German Paratroops, Uniforms, Insignia & Equipment of the Fallschirmjager in Wwii: Uniforms, Insi
- 25 Stupid Mistakes You Don't Want to Make in the Stock Market
- Accounts Payable Best Practices
- Confronting Consumption
- Dirty Little Secrets About Black History : Its Heroes & Other Troublemakers
- Corporate Bonds: Structure and Analysis
- DD IBM 5"-Cmprt Recordkeeping & Bookkeep
- Adam Smith and the Founding of Market Economics
- Sheltering Rain
Comic
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
The Sweet Potato Queens' Wedding Planner/Divorce Guide
The Sweet Potato Queens' Field Guide to Men: Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay, or Dead
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love
God Save the Sweet Potato Queens
The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner)
