By Robin D. Stone
Essence
Novemer 2004
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J. California Cooper always gives her fans just what they expect: rich, homespun, heartbreaking stories that explore universal themes--good versus evil, greed versus charity, hope versus despair.

Some People. Some Other Place (Doubleday, $24.95), her latest novel, centers on the knotty relationship between Eula, who is poor and Black, and Elizabeth, who is wealthy and White. The story is set in the fictitious town named Place, a small, midwestern burg, where the fates of Eula and Elizabeth are joined during the Depression.

After Elizabeth saves Eula's life, Eula returns the favor by managing the affairs for "Madame" Elizabeth's business--a gentleman's club--and the two become friends. But 19 years later, Eula realizes that much of life has passed her by, and she straggles to find her own happiness. Steeped in biblical wisdom. Cooper's newest novel is a graceful tale of people's surviving because of, and in spite of, one another.

The famously reclusive storyteller who has sold more than half a million novels and snort stories. is as cagey as she is witty. She answers a question about her age by responding, "A woman who tells her age will tell anything." Born and raised in Berkeley, California, she recently dropped her guard a bit to talk with our frequent contributor Robin D. Stone about using her work to help readers find peace of mind:

"In my books I want to explore characters who bring me problems. I want to solve them. Through my stories I'm trying to say something that may help. I write about families because everybody has one--either the one you were born into or one you find on your own. In writing about families, I realize there's occasionally a combination of love and hate. Sometimes we lay challenges on other people, but sometimes people don't want to be bothered with all that. So, through my work, I want to show that you can stand up and take care of yourself and change your life."

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