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This is a discussion topic for Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper


What did you like least about "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper?

I least liked the graphic sex scenes. I think the book could have a wider audience if those were toned down.

The book contains too much information about US history some of which could have been avoided. It makes the book unsuitable for people not from USA. It is getting hard for me to properly understand what the book is trying to convey.
Secondly, the vocabulary also seems to be a bit advanced for me. I have to keep a dictionary by my side while reading the book.

The book was a bit limited as it mainly concentrated on the US, making it a bit difficult for people who live outside the US to relate; I also think that the sexual content hindered the number of suitable audiences the book could have had.

I agree that the sexual content makes this book unsuitable for some readers and that it was what I liked least about this book. I did not see any warning or hint that the book would contain such sexually explicit content in the book’s description and felt that this content did not contribute significantly to the story.

The detailed sexual references- it was overwhelming. I didn't like the ending. What happened to some main characters? The book ended so suddenly.

I agree, the graphic nature of the sex scenes seemed unnecessary. It wouldn't have taken away from the plot had that been toned down. Also, I hated that sister Rosalie died. I understand it made a good balance of emotions, but she was my favorite character.

I didn’t like the ending. It left too many loose ends.

I did not like that the book focused on sexual activity. The story was hard to follow

Before you read this please understand I do understand the racial statement you were trying to imply with the plot of the book, and I do appreciate the time you took to address issues outside of your own, however I felt I had to address inaccuracies that I have noted, these might also make your literature more consumable to a larger demographic of reader (should it not already be).
Firstly, I personally strongly dislike the racial component, I would hate to make it seem racial, however coming from someone who is black, the dialogue as well as the information on black people is vastly inaccurate. Black people would never continually refer to themselves as Negro's and we don't refer to our demographic as "our race" unless we are joking, or are already on the subject of race to begin with. Black people all know, that Black people are diverse, with race but naturally occurring recessive phenotypes, typically associated with white people, by white people. Though it is largely rarer in the Black demographic, We know that we come with all colors of eyes, all textures of hair (except most American Black), all rays of skin color, all sized of features, all colors of hair (except Black Americans), and all skull frames. This is the case even between two mutually exclusive Black people (even present, and in larger quantities, on the African Continent).
Also there is a contradiction with this topic of race present from the beginning to the end of the book. In the beginning of the book, a person was mentioned as a geneticist (physiologist), which would suggest that they would know that Black people come as diverse as previously stated. However toward the end, when Tod was stated to have slept with a Polynesian, she was categorized in the same demographic as Venessa (an American Mulatto) as having "Black skin," which would suggest that in this case Polynesians and Mulattos are Black people with is a contradiction with Blacks not having straight hair as mentioned in the beginning.
Lastly, light skin and semi-straight (loose curly hair) occur naturally within the American black population. Though I understand the plot line is based upon her looking white enough to pass for the wife of a son in a wealthy family. The mulatto (mixed with white) ideology is necessary in this context. Black born to two set of black parents often do look white enough to pass for white (in todays time and through-out history)
I do appreciate your time!

I disliked any scenes involving Todd. His character stressed me out.

I really do not have any scene I dislike but for the purpose of the question I think the sexual senses where my least favourite.

I think there was too much history, but it also shows how much of an impact Sister Rosalie had on her students. Reading through the history portions felt like a lot of added filler to obtain a specific word count. It made reading feel like more of a task and less enjoyable. I do understand the importance of history, I'm just not personally a fan. I think it could turn away readers.

There were many things that I loved about the book. I also learned a lot from it. However, what I least liked about the book were the erotic scenes that were contained in the book.

The graphic sexual scenes it is. I couldn't recommend for my younger sister that loves reading.