Instruct: Classify a given review as either positive or negative.
Query: A frustrating novel

BEFORE AND AFTER, Rosellen Brown's previous novel, is a gripping and frightening portrayal of family ties. HALF A HEART also deals with issues of the binds of blood and genealogy, but it is so frustrating in its obviousness and its bleak view of the perceptions of contemporary society on race (from policemen to wealthy Texans to its central character, a young black girl) that the novel is almost unreadable. Brown just doesn't tackle issues of race, economics, religion or education with any sort of poise. Her characters develop into horrific cliches, even as the novel, in its portrayal of a southern Jewish woman who had to abandon her black baby, at least on the surface, seems to transcend such banality. A long awaited novel that is a complete and utter disappointment. I concur with a previous reviewer who suggests Sue Miller's WHILE I WAS GONE instead, a novel that has its own problems (plot being one of them), but has an emotional weight that bears at least an ounce of truth.