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A review by arisbookcorner
The Living Is Easy by Dorothy West
4.0
Whereas The Wedding brings up many topics of discussion, the issues discussed in The Living Is Easy, are much more subtle. You have to read between the lines, look at the character's actions because their words are usually false. I have to admit, Cleo drove me nuts. She was so SELFISH. I can understand wanting your family to be near you since she hasn't seen them in many years, but the ways she goes about bringing her sisters to Boston is horrible. Cleo is manipulative, greedy, cruel and yet, she has her soft moments that hint at an inner kindess. The moments are rare and far between though. Worse than Cleo were her spineless sisters. Cleo really isn't that powerful, she is only able to manipulative those who are weaker than her, so she's not as impressive. She doesn't understand the concepts of saving money (thinking her husband's money will last forever) and she is stuck on color. Light color. Her dark daugther, Judy, is repulsive to her. Cleo herself is very light as is most of Boston's elite. Yet for all her faults, Cleo does have the right idea, she just goes about in a twisted way. She wants to teach her daughter and the children of her sisters to be proud Black children, they are second to no white people. "You're four little children. That's all you have to call yourselves. if you think you're different, you'll just act different, and people will treat you differently. Just remember that brains are the only thing that counts. And brains are not black or white. [...:] If she let her heart go, it would flood with pity because they were little colored children. And what would she use then to bolster their pride?" pg. 221-222
This novel provides a fascinating look at life in Boston for the Black elite. Some members tried to pass, they were usually successful because the rich Black Bostonian community would not tell their secret. It's infuriating but many of them looked down on Southern Black people. If you had no money and weren't a member of the Old Families of Boston, you were considered to be nothing. Issues of class and race intersect as does family. Cleo doesn't think she loves her husband, but she takes him for granted. I wish the novel had explored the relationships of Cleo's sisters better (especially Victor, Lily's husband. He seemed like a fine man until Cleo came along). The worst part is, Cleo ruins the lives of her sistes and her husband and daughter, but they don't blame her. The Living Is Easy quite clearly demonstrates that the living is not easy and it does so in a vivid, page turning way.
PS A sweet exchange between Serena and Robert as Serena prepares to leave her husband, Robert and the girls' father for Boston to visit Cleo. Robert: "'I can't read but a little bit. I never went to school.'
She said with tenderness, 'There'll be love in my letters, won't there? All you have to do is watch for it to spill out the envelope, and hold your heart ready to catch it.
'You won't go off and forget to come back?'
'When I forget God's in the sky, I'll forget to come back to you. And there's no way to live and breathe in this world without knowing God's on high.'" pg. 163
This novel provides a fascinating look at life in Boston for the Black elite. Some members tried to pass, they were usually successful because the rich Black Bostonian community would not tell their secret. It's infuriating but many of them looked down on Southern Black people. If you had no money and weren't a member of the Old Families of Boston, you were considered to be nothing. Issues of class and race intersect as does family. Cleo doesn't think she loves her husband, but she takes him for granted. I wish the novel had explored the relationships of Cleo's sisters better (especially Victor, Lily's husband. He seemed like a fine man until Cleo came along). The worst part is, Cleo ruins the lives of her sistes and her husband and daughter, but they don't blame her. The Living Is Easy quite clearly demonstrates that the living is not easy and it does so in a vivid, page turning way.
PS A sweet exchange between Serena and Robert as Serena prepares to leave her husband, Robert and the girls' father for Boston to visit Cleo. Robert: "'I can't read but a little bit. I never went to school.'
She said with tenderness, 'There'll be love in my letters, won't there? All you have to do is watch for it to spill out the envelope, and hold your heart ready to catch it.
'You won't go off and forget to come back?'
'When I forget God's in the sky, I'll forget to come back to you. And there's no way to live and breathe in this world without knowing God's on high.'" pg. 163