Take the Long Way Home

By: Rochelle Alers

Narrated by: Jasmin Walker

From a cloistered 1950s Mississippi town founded by freed slaves to the striking diversity of Paris and Rome, through Wall Street’s glittering Roaring 80s to the present day, this sweeping, unforgettably moving novel chronicles one Southern Black girl’s remarkable journey through turbulent decades—and the four men who challenge her to fight for happiness.

Freedom fighter, brilliant businessperson, devoted wife, master of languages, and ultimately, savior of a European dynasty. Claudia Patterson would become all of these—spurred on by the fiercely powerful loves and losses along the way …

Denny Clark. An abused thirteen-year-old White boy whose life twelve-year-old Claudia saves—complicating her own life for years to come.

Robert Moore. A young Black lawyer who becomes Claudia’s beloved husband and partner on the explosive front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. Amid the violence of the Ku Klux Klan, Claudia has a shocking personal encounter—with unimaginable consequences.

Ashley Booth. A Wall Street executive who brings the glamour of New York alive for the now-widowed Claudia, introducing her to an elite circle of Black peers. But their long yet uncommitted romance leads Claudia to move on—to an overseas assignment at an Italian bank.

Giancarlo Pasquale Fortenza. An Italian automobile industrialist, once enamored of a young Claudia—handsome, worldly, and twelve years her senior. A man with whom Claudia reconnects, bringing her life full circle in the boldest, bravest, and most unexpected ways …

Rich with history and timeless emotion, here is an epic tale of rising through poverty, racism, and heartbreak—and the awesome role of our most significant relationships throughout our lives.

©2023 Rochelle Alers (P)2023 Recorded Books

Typical

The book was fine but it definitely didn’t draw me in. Everything turned out just as expected

Enjoyable

The characters and the history intertwined into the story makes this story quite delightful and that’s why I gave it 5 stars.

Awesome Love Story!!!

Best love story I have heard/read in a while. Makes me want to live abroad!!!

Like it wrote itself

Seriously needed an editor. There were some good elements to this story, which kept me interested and listening to the end. The narrator was excellent. But there was so much to cringe about, so many clichés (a fine figure of a woman? Please) laborious descriptions of food and fashion and sex that did not enhance the story. Much of the dialogue consisted of the characters explaining the obvious to each other. This should have been a better book.

Strong female lead historical fiction

This was a good storyline. I fell in love with Claudia and the story of her life. While the story was about a beautiful strong female, there were a lot of swearing and sexual content that just turned me off while reading. I received an arc copy of this book and really felt that I needed to give a fair and honest review of the material. In my honest opinion, the writer could have gotten the point across without the foul language and graphic sexual content. When I find a lot of swearing in a book, I usually just DNF it. Swearing in my opinion shows a person’s lack of intellectual ability to communicate effectively. I felt that I owed the author a fair and balanced review so I kept going. While I am glad that I did because the story was a nice story, I would have cringed and hit fast forward on a lot less pages of the book if the written material wasn’t so bad in areas. I do feel it was easy to follow the reader and I did get a little bit aggravated with the racism and sexism that was in the book but I also know that this book was being told from a black woman’s point of view in a time of hatred for the African American and segregation, therefore, I pushed through and accepted the criticism. Being that I didn’t live in such an era, it makes it difficult for me to personally understand why people are so skewed in their beliefs of a particular race. I did take into account that the raw feelings were most likely felt by the writer so it made it most likely quite difficult at times to write some of this book. I hope to read more of this author’s work and hope that she doesn’t use a lot of foul language and sexual content in her other writings because that will certainly make me feel that this author isn’t the one for me. But hey, to each their own. Overall I give a 4/5 on the book. Some of the characters and experiences also seemed a little rushed and unfinished at times too.

This book!!!!

Amazing story and narration. The story was perfect. The weaving of history with the story line was everything.

Italy, France and African American women

Excellent story!! Smart Black strong women will to take chances and think outside the box. No judgment!! Bravo on the transcontinental story line.

Historical story from a modern perspective

I found the overall story enjoyable enough to listen to the end (it’s a long one). However, the perspectives and language at times seemed more aligned with current day rather than the times the book was based off. I also liked the weaving of historical events and figures but wished it was alluded to instead of fully explained each time one was introduced.

A Good Read

This is a take your time book. I like that Rochelle took her time to tell the story, would've liked a little more about Claudia's life in Italy.

Great character intertwined with historical figures

I loved this book. The strong female characters and their loving male partners made this a very touching listen.