THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
SOURCE: BY DEBRA ADAMS
LENGTH: 69 lines
THE DIVINE MIST blowing on Lena McPherson's neck is destined to save her from herself.
The 45-year-old high-achieving community steward is so busy taking care of the folks in Mulberry, that she neglects to take care of herself. ``Shoot, Lena McPherson the hand I fan with,'' the townspeople would say.
But Lena, Mulberry's selfless guardian angel - born with a special gift - has conjured up a real guardian angel of her own: Herman, a vapor of a man, so to speak. He transforms her world by helping her tap into and enjoy an unexplored part of herself.
Tina McElroy Ansa's ``The Hand I Fan With'' is truly magical. The folklore, the tales, the language and the emotion all combine to create a gripping, yet humorous love story. For many of Lena's episodes, you'll need a fan of your own.
Introduced in Ansa's ``Baby in the Family,'' Lena was born with a caul - a thin membrane - over her face, foretelling the supernatural powers she would have. The ``burden of her birth'' created nightmares for her as a child, though, because her mother did not properly preserve the veil as old-time traditions required.
Lena became a successful, but lonely owner of an all-female real estate agency. She wore the finest designer clothes, drove a special-made, copper-colored Mercedes Benz, lived in a lavish custom-designed house on 100 acres of well-manicured landscape - and was drop-dead gorgeous.
She became Mulberry, a small Georgia town. She never missed a birthday, holiday or college graduation. She helped pay tuition, buy houses and bury the dead when their families couldn't afford it. She was serving a ``healing and miracle ministry,'' as her best friend called it.
But she also lived an intense life of too many responsibilities, meetings, appointments, errands. Overbooked. The townspeople had come not only to expect Lena's generosity, but to demand it.
``Hell, Lena McPherson okay. She got everything,'' people would say.
That was all before Herman. After Lena and her best girlfriend, Sister, perform a ritual seeking a man for the lovelorn Lena, things begin to change. It starts with that cool, intoxicating breeze, which nearly forces Lena into the path of a tractor-trailer, and evolves into a seductive, orgasmic swirl around her body during a late-night dip.
Herman, the 100-year-old ghost whom Lena has called, captures her heart. Because of her supernatural powers, she can communicate with him, and see him when no one else can.
``Lena,'' Herman tells her, ``you he'p a whole heap a' folks out all the time. Don' all kinds a' thangs. You ain't got to sacrifice yo'se'f too.''
Heeding him, and their sensual passion, Lena begins to change. She learns to care more for her own needs and desires. And to understand her origins, connecting her past with her present and her future.
Ansa takes you to the heart of a small, Southern town in ``The Hand I Fan With.'' In the tradition of Zora Neale Hurston, she uses raw language that depicts black Southern life with clarity, humor and grace. At times the descriptions drag on - especially those depicting the intricate landscaping of Lena's 100 acres. And others make you squirm - like the one detailing Lena's decision to give up deodorant. But the emotion, the candor, the link between the secular and the spiritual worlds, make Ansa's third novel a rare treat.
Indulge yourself. And don't forget your fan. MEMO: Debra Adams is education team leader for The Virginian-Pilot. ILLUSTRATION: BOOK REVIEW
"The Hand I Fan With''
Author: Tina McElroy Ansa
Publisher: Doubleday. 462 pp.
Price: $23.95