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directorpurry's review
3.0
Overall rating: 3.2, but the standouts alone make it worth a read.
While there were a lot of misses, there were also a ton of hits in this collection. I was excited to read many authors who I haven't had the chance to enjoy yet, and several who I had before. I think the collection is skewed, with the most successful pieces hiding in the final chapter, but it is presented chronologically.
If nothing else, I'm glad to have read this just for the story "Spilled Salt." I highly, highly recommend anyone interested in female action in literature seek this one out.
"Talma Gordon" by Pauline E. Hawkins: 2.5 stars
This is kind of a weird one, ngl.
The Conjure-Man Dies (excerpt) by Rudolph Fischer: 3.5 stars
"The Shoemaker Murder" by William Stockton: 3 stars
"Summer Session" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson: 3.5 stars
"His Last Day" by Chester Himes: 4 stars
"On Saturday the Sirens Sound at Noon" by Ann Petry: 4 stars
"Corollary" by Hughes Allison: 3.5 stars
"The Man Who Killed a Shadow" by Richard Wright: 4.5 stars
Richard Wright is always a standout.
The Man Who Cried I Am (excerpt) by John A. Williams: 2 stars
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (excerpt) by Sam Greenlee: 3 stars
"Fearless" by Walter Mosley: 3.5 stars
"And Pray Nobody Sees You" by Anthony Haywood: 4.5 stars
This story is fun. Like, definitely the most fun story of the collection.
"Personal Woman" by Mike Phillips: 1.5 stars
Not for me...
"The Thirtieth Amendment" by Hugh Holton: 1 star
I know what he was shooting for, but boy this one missed the mark....
"Dead Man's Shadow" by Gary Phillips: 3 stars
"Death and the Point Spread" by Percy Spurlark Parker: 2.5 stars
Coffin & Co. (excerpt) by Njami Simon: 2 stars
"The Man Who Said I'm Not" by Eleanor Taylor Bland: 4 stars
"Spilled Salt" by Barbara Neely: 5 stars
This. This is the best story in the collection. A woman whose son is convicted of rape is released from prison; she deals with the trauma of being unable to remove a rapist from her life and the effects of spousal abuse from her ex-husband.
Tactful, thoughtful.... executed to perfection.
"Killing Color" by Charlotte Watson Sherman: 4 stars
"Tell Me Moore" by Aya De León: 4 stars
Night Songs (excerpt) by Penny Mickelbury: 4.5 stars
While there were a lot of misses, there were also a ton of hits in this collection. I was excited to read many authors who I haven't had the chance to enjoy yet, and several who I had before. I think the collection is skewed, with the most successful pieces hiding in the final chapter, but it is presented chronologically.
If nothing else, I'm glad to have read this just for the story "Spilled Salt." I highly, highly recommend anyone interested in female action in literature seek this one out.
"Talma Gordon" by Pauline E. Hawkins: 2.5 stars
This is kind of a weird one, ngl.
The Conjure-Man Dies (excerpt) by Rudolph Fischer: 3.5 stars
"The Shoemaker Murder" by William Stockton: 3 stars
"Summer Session" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson: 3.5 stars
"His Last Day" by Chester Himes: 4 stars
"On Saturday the Sirens Sound at Noon" by Ann Petry: 4 stars
"Corollary" by Hughes Allison: 3.5 stars
"The Man Who Killed a Shadow" by Richard Wright: 4.5 stars
Richard Wright is always a standout.
The Man Who Cried I Am (excerpt) by John A. Williams: 2 stars
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (excerpt) by Sam Greenlee: 3 stars
"Fearless" by Walter Mosley: 3.5 stars
"And Pray Nobody Sees You" by Anthony Haywood: 4.5 stars
This story is fun. Like, definitely the most fun story of the collection.
"Personal Woman" by Mike Phillips: 1.5 stars
Not for me...
"The Thirtieth Amendment" by Hugh Holton: 1 star
I know what he was shooting for, but boy this one missed the mark....
"Dead Man's Shadow" by Gary Phillips: 3 stars
"Death and the Point Spread" by Percy Spurlark Parker: 2.5 stars
Coffin & Co. (excerpt) by Njami Simon: 2 stars
"The Man Who Said I'm Not" by Eleanor Taylor Bland: 4 stars
"Spilled Salt" by Barbara Neely: 5 stars
This. This is the best story in the collection. A woman whose son is convicted of rape is released from prison; she deals with the trauma of being unable to remove a rapist from her life and the effects of spousal abuse from her ex-husband.
Tactful, thoughtful.... executed to perfection.
"Killing Color" by Charlotte Watson Sherman: 4 stars
"Tell Me Moore" by Aya De León: 4 stars
Night Songs (excerpt) by Penny Mickelbury: 4.5 stars
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