"As a boy, I never knew where my mother was from,where she was born, who her parents were. It took me 14 years to unearth herremarkable story - the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who married a blackman and ... raised 12 children ... She revealed it more as a favor to me than outof any desire to revisit her past ... and between the pages of her life you willfind mine as well."

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to HisWhite Mother by James McBride is the story of a young black man searching touncover his mother's past and his own identity. Combining his own memories withfacts his mother shared over the years, James recreates his mother's life. As hedoes he comes face to face with racism and social segregation.

The bookis easy to read, I didn't even realize that I had read more than 200 pages.Language is used appropriately and efficiently, making the book interesting. Ialso like its structure; McBride tells one chapter, and his mother tells thenext. This makes the book quite interesting, and catches your eye. Once youbegin, you can't stop reading until the very end.

The Color of Water is agreat work of literature and addresses the most difficult problems ofsociety.