Heaven

The Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 1998. Heaven. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780689822292

The Plot
Marley and her family live in Heaven... Heaven, Ohio. Their lives are basically perfect. Marley has good friends, she loves her parents and her brother, that is, until she finds out that they are not her parents and brother, but her aunt, uncle and cousin instead. Her true father is her Uncle Jack, who travels around with his dog, Boy. Uncle Jack gave Marley to his brother to raise because his wife, Marley's real mother, passed away and Jack didn't think he could take care of her on his own. Marley struggles to return to her feeling of Heaven after her life is flipped upside down.

The Analysis
Heaven is a short, quick read. I enjoyed the story and actually read it in one sitting. Reading about Marley and her perfectly beautiful friend Shoogy and her sweet, single-father friend Bobby and his little girl Feather, show what Marley's life could have been like. It could have been perfect, but Shoogy doesn't like her perfect life, so much so that she cuts herself to not be perfect. Bobby is a single-father and cares for his little one and works hard to succeed in that life. That's what could have been. But it's not what happened because life isn't always perfect.

The cultural markers in Heaven are there, but are subtle. I think there were only one or two mentions of skin color and hair. The fact that Marley was named after Bob Marley is also a sign, but I actually have two cousins that named their baby girls Marley after Bob Marley and they're white. There was a mention of taking Kool-Aid to the lake, but almost all kids drinks Kool-Aid. Shoogy and Feather are pretty peculiar names, but that doesn't mean anything either. These markers are slight, but if they were not included, the story wouldn't be quite what it is.

The Review
Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, November 1998 (Vol. 32, No. 6))
Each one of Johnson's books seems to me to be a polished gem, and Heaven is among the most brilliant. She has a unique style that is difficult to describe, but not difficult to read and react to. Heaven is a small town in Ohio, a town that seems to attract people from all over the country: "We live in Heaven 'cause about twelve years ago Momma found a postcard on a park bench postmarked HEAVEN, OH. On the front of the postcard were clouds and a group of people floating around and waving. It said, HI FROM HEAVEN. Momma said she'd been looking for Heaven her whole life -- so we moved: Momma, Pops, Butchy, and me." In some ways, they are in heaven, working and living with friendly people. In the summer of this story of revelation, Marley (named after Bob) babysits for a toddler named Feather, who is lovingly tended by her single dad, Bobby, an image of what could have been Marley's life, as we discover. She hangs out with her best friend Shoogy whose seemingly perfect family serves as a image of Marley's seemingly perfect family. Then Marley finds out that her parents have lived with a lie: that she is their adopted daughter, and her father is actually her beloved Uncle Jack who sends letters to her from all over the country where he is aimlessly traveling along with his dog. She is stunned by this news, filled with conflicting emotions that she finds difficult to express. Mostly, she is furious that she has been told a basic lie about her identity, and that her world, her heaven, has been turned upside down. Over the weeks, as she comes to terms with this new reality, she is helped by her friends and family, all of whom love her dearly. Again, Johnson writes of African American families and communities, mentioning here and there the shade of brown skin, perhaps the dreadlocks, that identify her characters' racial identity. This is a part of them, but certainly not the whole of these incredibly whole folks Johnson has created.

The Connection
Since this story is about Marley and her life after being given up for adoption from her widower father, it could be interesting to read another story by Angela Johnson that also features a single father, this time, one that takes care of his baby, The First Part Last.