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Chargement... The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (original 2020; édition 2020)par Deesha Philyaw (Auteur)
Information sur l'oeuvreThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies par Deesha Philyaw (2020)
Chargement...
Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. I whipped through this book. The stories fly by. They are sweet, tender, and cruel. At first I thought it was a perpetuation of a certain indictment against men (black men) but at the end I think it is the mothers that come in for the most approbation. All (?) of the protagonists are childless. On purpose. Sad the way pain travels and can't really correct itself until some brave woman says—there’ll be no more of that. (4.5) This collection is so unique. I often feel the voices in short story collections can be indistinguishable or too similar for my brain to not try to thread the stories together as one. However, I love the way Philyaw leans heavily into distinct voices and personas of vastly different characters to thread them together with their desires. It made me want more of each story, and I think this was brilliant. Every story is dazzling. Sex, identity, religion, difficult mother daughter relationships, Publix potato salad and sweet tea, what more does anyone need? I listened to the audio, and I think it is particularly well suited to audio (and also the reader, Janina Edwards, is superb.) "Eula" is absolute perfection. Sexy, funny and sad and really physical. Such a sense of immediacy -- I feel like I am in that room with these two women in love. "Not Daniel was a perfect piece of microfiction - Charming and ribald in the space of 6 minutes. "Dear Sister", while less elegant than Eula, was sassy and smart and a compelling introduction to this complicated mess of a family that I 100% want to join. "Preach Cobbler" broke my heart into crumbs "Snowfall" broke what was left of my heart after reading Preach Cobbler; the damage bad religion can do almost outpaces the healing good love can bring. "How to Make Love to a Physicist" is the story that most touched me personally. I understand this woman who had absorbed the message that she does not deserve love, but I rooted for the man that wanted to show her different." "Jael" made me laugh and cry, not metaphorically. The surprises in a young girl's diary and the ugliness of fixed ideas of what a girl should be. Being sexually attractive to men and acting on that brings accolades and censure. Ignoring male attention brings the same. Men destroy women, and not wanting men is an abomination. It can all make a girl just a little crazy. "Instructions for Married Christian Husbands" was tightly crafted and really enjoyable, but this was the one woman in this book I didn't know. That might be a hole in my experience. The women I know who have divided sex from feeling haven't thought things out quite so fully as the MC in this story, "When Eddie Levert Comes" shows us a mother and daughter where there is love but no liking, a daughter longing for validation, taking on the work of caring for a mother with dementia, and finding that even in dementia only men matter. The prose is beautiful, at times bordering on poetry. That said, I wasn't able to get emotionally invested in most of the characters to any significant degree. Many of them just seem numb, which I think is intentional, but is difficult to get through as a reader. This is about a struggle between religion, God, society, family, love and lust, and yet it largely lacks emotion. 3.75 i'm not a fan of short stories collections bc they are always too short for me to engage but this one was surprising to me. there was only 2 stories i didnt like and the rest of them were like 4 stars on avrg. my fav one was Peach Cobbler, it made me very sad at times and i think i understood it the most. i liked the mentions of christianity and culture around church esp in the last story bc some of those topics were similar to what i experience everyday. one thing i wish was diffrient was the first two stories being longer coz i really liked them but they just kinda ended and i wanted more :( overall i think its a great collection and i think theres something in it for everyone. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Prix et récompensesDistinctionsListes notables
Fiction.
African American Fiction.
Literature.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions. There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who has a crush on the preacher's wife. At forty-two, Lyra realizes that her discomfort with her own body stands between her and a new love. As Y2K looms, Caroletta's "same time next year" arrangement with her childhood best friend is tenuous. A serial mistress lays down the ground rules for her married lovers. In the dark shadows of a hospice parking lot, grieving strangers find comfort in each other. With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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