3.5 stars

A loving tribute to a most unusual childhood and mother. Bridgett Davis grew up in Detroit and her mother Fannie was a study in contrasts. She was generous in deed but not necessarily in words. She was smart and driven and hard-working, but extravagant. Unlike many black residents of Detroit in those times, their family had a fairly lush lifestyle -- beautifully decorated homes in good neighborhoods, designer clothes and new cars. But the family secret was that this lifestyle was financed by Fannie's career as an illegal numbers runner.

One of the most interesting parts of the book described how difficult it was for a black citizen to actually buy a house during the 60s and 70s. They had to go through a treacherous charade of buying through a shadow purchaser who was white -- with no safeguards against their pseudo bankers embezzling their money, and no recourse if they did.

But Fannie managed to buy a beautiful home and also generously helped support or help out various family members and neighbors through her illegal gambling profits. She was savvy and worked hard and managed to keep her real occupation secret from most of her family and friends.

Thanks to Net Galley and to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good, quick read. I would recommend it to others and would be interested in reading more by her.

The World According to Fannie Davis by Bridgett M. Davis is an extraordinary & moving novel. I had the please to read Daddy Was a Number Runner by Louise Meriwether and this novel is a lovely complement to my understanding of life in Detroit in the 60's & 70’s. A beautifully written tribute/memoir of her Mother, Davis takes us on a journey from the Great Migration to Chicago and shares with us how her mother sustained her family by running numbers. This is one I highly recommend this read. Thank you, Netgalley & Little Brown, for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bridgett Davis combines memoir with history and social commentary in The World According to Fannie Davis. The reader not only learns about her coming of age with pressure to keep family secrets and her mother’s successful, but often tortured life, but also abou the history of Numbers in the African American community. Davis ties Numbers to Hope, to the sustainability of a community, which is the perspective that was the most surprising and intriguing about this book. Davis is a talented writer, and this book is filled with researched facts as much as it is tender moments of growth for both Bridgett and her mother.

In 1958, a woman named Fannie Davis borrowed $100 to run a Numbers business out of her apartment on Delaware St. in Detroit, Michigan. She wore many hats: bookie, banker, wife, mother of five, grandmother of one, and numbers runner. She ran her illegal-to-legitimate business for 34 years. This true story is an example of black woman making a way out of no way.

I don't know much about "the numbers" other than it being a natural part of my life. I thought everyone's family played and tracked the lottery. Yellow legal pads, wide-ruled composition notebooks, dog-eared pages and multi-colored ballpoint pens were common around the kitchen table. Making daily trips to the store to "put numbers in" was routine. But it wasn't until I read the advance copy of The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers that I realized this was a unique lifestyle.

The best person to write about her mother's life in the Detroit numbers was Bridgett M. Davis. As the youngest daughter, she saw the system up front and personal. She witnessed the highs and lows of street lottery life. And she explained it in a way that anyone could understand. While reading, I ran a couple passages by Chickadee, whom I consider a seasoned Numbers guru. Bridgett's telling of the Detroit Numbers is very accurate, I am told. Even the unfamiliar will be fascinated and educated about street numbers, legal lottery and racial justice.

Not only does My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers tell the true story of gambling, but also of a successful black businesswoman. Fannie Davis provided a good life for her family by taking others' bets on 3-digit numbers. She was part of the enterprise! Detroit Numbers was a black-owned and black-controlled business.

The World According to Fannie Davis would be perfect for a book club discussion. It makes me smile while reading a book that mentions city streets, neighborhoods, local trends and places. For example, Bridgett attended the same prestigious high school as I did (Cass Tech) and had a part-time job at Winkelmann's (my favorite department store back-in-the-day at Eastland Mall). Writing details about the setting builds rapport with the reader. Another reason I am looking forward to discussing it with a local bookheart over brunch. No doubt it will be an interesting chat.

Happy Pub Day, Bridgett M. Davis. The World According to Fannie Davis is available today. Totally recommendable!

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

LiteraryMarie

I don't gamble. I don't buy raffle tickets or lottery tickets or visit the casinos. To me, it's throwing money away. I harbor no dreams of "hitting it big." I don't find it intriguing and it doesn't sound like fun. Then, I'm not motivated by money, although I never had much either.

That made me standoffish about Bridgett M. Davis' memoir about her mother who for 34 years was a numbers runner working out of her Detroit home. But...it's Detroit...and I had to at least take a look at this book.

The book is a paen to Fannie Davis who used her wits and charisma--and a lot of hard work--to ensure that her children had a comfortable home and a good life.

The Davis family had moved to Detroit for the same reason as my family did: the dream of a job in the auto industry. Davis loved her father, but with frail health no regular work, he was unable to support his family.

Fannie didn't want her kids growing up in a vermin-ridden slum house. So, Davis's mom had a choice: work in the home of a white person, for little pay, and away from her own family all day, or get creative.

She got creative. And built a business.

This memoir offers a good understanding of Detroit in the 1950s and 1960s, filled with specifics and local color. One learns the history of the numbers in the African American community and how it works.

Davis talks about the secretiveness about her mom's work, how the legal lottery impacted the numbers, and her desire to get away from Detroit for college and work.

Above all, Fannie Davis shines as her daughter paints a larger-than-life image of her mom.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The world according to Fannie Davis brings to life an important part of U.S. and African American history through a loving tribute to the author’s mother, a fascinating woman who ran a successful numbers operation for 35 years in Detroit against all odds (pun intended). I came away from this novel educated and touched, as well as blown away by the author and her mother's resillience in the face of challenges and tragedies. The topic was interesting and the author’s brilliant writing and superb pacing ensured that the read was enjoyable. A great book keeps you mulling it over after the last page and this one did that for me. I recommend it as a book club selection. It will provide much to discuss in a group. Thank you netgalley and Little Brown for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.