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hollyd19's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies is a collection of short stories that spotlights Black women of various ages as they push against prescribed narratives & wrestle with purpose, sexuality, and worth. One endorsement described the collection as “cheeky and insightful” and I second that. I can’t say every story was for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed How to Make Love to a Physicist, Peach Cobbler, Snowfall, and Instructions for Married Christian Men. The stories are rich, artistically diverse, and deeply human.
I was surprised (perhaps I shouldn’t have been, given the word ‘secrets’ in the title) by how heavily sex factored in nearly all the stories. It was never gratuitous or explicit, but it did play a much larger role than I had expected. Additionally, I had the impression that the collection would be more... fun? Honestly, for the most part I found it fairly bleak. That’s not to say it wasn’t tender and at times funny, but most stories left me feeling rather melancholy. Each woman featured faces some significant strain — emotionally, relationally, etc — and I would have loved at least one story to be robustly joyful (the closest is How To Make Love to a Physicist). Finally, there is ample mention of church life & culture, but I wouldn’t define any of the protagonists as “church ladies.” They are all church-lady-adjacent, but perhaps that was Philyaw’s chosen device: a window into the lives of church ladies from those who are in some way outside the fold.
I was surprised (perhaps I shouldn’t have been, given the word ‘secrets’ in the title) by how heavily sex factored in nearly all the stories. It was never gratuitous or explicit, but it did play a much larger role than I had expected. Additionally, I had the impression that the collection would be more... fun? Honestly, for the most part I found it fairly bleak. That’s not to say it wasn’t tender and at times funny, but most stories left me feeling rather melancholy. Each woman featured faces some significant strain — emotionally, relationally, etc — and I would have loved at least one story to be robustly joyful (the closest is How To Make Love to a Physicist). Finally, there is ample mention of church life & culture, but I wouldn’t define any of the protagonists as “church ladies.” They are all church-lady-adjacent, but perhaps that was Philyaw’s chosen device: a window into the lives of church ladies from those who are in some way outside the fold.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual content, and Racism
Minor: Murder
gm_vak's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
jayjm94's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Body shaming, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Dementia
plumdrop6's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
competencefantasy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It's immediately obvious that this ( Deesha Philyaw ) is immensely skilled at the short story form in general and cultural imagery in particular. For example, I simultaneously will never look at peach cobbler again and have been craving it for a week. When that same imagery popped up in a later story, the part of me that love structural connections was out of my seat cheering. This is a very sexual work, focusing not just on the particular couple but on the societal ripples that come out from the breaking of sexual norms. There's also a focus on family, both found and born, and how that changes and adapts. I'm not sure how I feel about the juxtaposition of LGBT+ and sleeping with people who are unfaithful to their partners, which seems kind of unavoidable given what big themes they are, but still is something I'm going to need to sit with for a bit. Overall, it's great. Give it a try
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Homophobia, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
gracefulbooks's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I want to start this by saying I am a white Christian woman. So I can not speak to the accuracy of some of the experiences written in this book but I can feel some relation with the stories because of my faith and those in my life.
I just want to say I am completely floored by this collection of short stories. I rarely ever find myself so fully enjoying short stories because I'm just not used to having to fall for characters or a plot within a couple of pages. It's just not my speed by Philyaw has changed that-because I legit fell for so many of the stories within this book.
First of all, I listened to this on audiobook, and Janina Edwards has such a soothing voice and she's incredibly versatile. I'd love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her. I fell in love with her talent.
Also, I want to say that I also really enjoyed the versatility within this collection of short stories. I feel like Philyaw really worked to make each story have its own sort of style and it really worked. None of the stories felt completely the same whether it was the plot, the style, or the characters. She managed to take these short stories that spanned only a couple of pages each and give them life.
I will also say she managed to make me cry about two times because of one particular short story which I did not think was possible given how I have such a hard time with short stories BUT Philyaw did it. She worked a miracle. I really really highly recommend this collection of short stories.
I just want to say I am completely floored by this collection of short stories. I rarely ever find myself so fully enjoying short stories because I'm just not used to having to fall for characters or a plot within a couple of pages. It's just not my speed by Philyaw has changed that-because I legit fell for so many of the stories within this book.
First of all, I listened to this on audiobook, and Janina Edwards has such a soothing voice and she's incredibly versatile. I'd love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her. I fell in love with her talent.
Also, I want to say that I also really enjoyed the versatility within this collection of short stories. I feel like Philyaw really worked to make each story have its own sort of style and it really worked. None of the stories felt completely the same whether it was the plot, the style, or the characters. She managed to take these short stories that spanned only a couple of pages each and give them life.
I will also say she managed to make me cry about two times because of one particular short story which I did not think was possible given how I have such a hard time with short stories BUT Philyaw did it. She worked a miracle. I really really highly recommend this collection of short stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Homophobia
books_and_mags's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism
sarahaf712's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Body shaming
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Dementia
Minor: Abortion, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Terminal illness
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