Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Set between the 1940s and the mid-1970s and tells the interconnected stories of African American women living in Brewster Place, a rundown apartment complex. The writing is powerful and gripping, with memorable characters whose journeys of self-discovery and survival form the heart of the story.
Raw, tough, and far from sentimental, the book explores themes of oppression, suffering, and female solidarity.
With its 192 pages, it’s a novella that lingers, and I believe the characters and their stories will stay with me for a long time. I am hoping to locate and watch the miniseries that was adapted in the 80's as well.
Raw, tough, and far from sentimental, the book explores themes of oppression, suffering, and female solidarity.
With its 192 pages, it’s a novella that lingers, and I believe the characters and their stories will stay with me for a long time. I am hoping to locate and watch the miniseries that was adapted in the 80's as well.
First published in 1982 (and winner of the National Book Award for best First Novel -a category that no longer exists for those awards), this short collection of stories about Af American women in a run down area of town (Memphis, Nashville - ??) is well worth revisiting once again.
When this first came out I worked in a literary, indie bookstore in Chicago, and we could not keep this title in stock we sold it so fast!
Reminds you of Sherwood Anderson's style - interrelated stories of denizens of a particular area. Characters appear in varying major and minor roles throughout. Given the strong characters, it is no surpise Oprah turned this into a miniseries.
A former Jehovah's Witness msssionary in the South, Naylor went back to school at an older age, and did so while she paid the bils as a telephone operator (a career her mother had engaged in as well). While she wrote a number of other books, none of them achieved the success or popularity of this, her first book.
But yes, a wonderful portrayal of "sisterhood" and support - the agony, and fun, of life.
If you're of a certain age, there is a good chance you read this back in the '80's. Really, go back and read it once more - it stands up very well. If you are younger, and did not read it "back when", this is very much a worthwhile novel to spend a few evenings with. Well written, enjoyable, informative - and still timely.
When this first came out I worked in a literary, indie bookstore in Chicago, and we could not keep this title in stock we sold it so fast!
Reminds you of Sherwood Anderson's style - interrelated stories of denizens of a particular area. Characters appear in varying major and minor roles throughout. Given the strong characters, it is no surpise Oprah turned this into a miniseries.
A former Jehovah's Witness msssionary in the South, Naylor went back to school at an older age, and did so while she paid the bils as a telephone operator (a career her mother had engaged in as well). While she wrote a number of other books, none of them achieved the success or popularity of this, her first book.
But yes, a wonderful portrayal of "sisterhood" and support - the agony, and fun, of life.
If you're of a certain age, there is a good chance you read this back in the '80's. Really, go back and read it once more - it stands up very well. If you are younger, and did not read it "back when", this is very much a worthwhile novel to spend a few evenings with. Well written, enjoyable, informative - and still timely.
I've been a fan of the movie and wanted to read the book to see what was left out or changed. I'm happy to see the movie was true to the book, not much was changed. The book added more depth to the stories of each of these women. I read it in one night. I definitely recommend this book.
If you haven't read it, this is your intersectional feminism homework assignment.
Like a freight train you can see coming toward you in the distance but you can't move out of the way. Yeah, it's like that.
One of the great feminist fiction works of the past 50 years. I was elated, saddened, thrilled by Naylor's memorable characters and powerful writing.
I've never read a book with so much violence and been so immersed in the characters that I cried and continued because I had to know what was going to happen to their lives. And the style of going through all of the generations was simply amazing.