Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Books (1983), Edition: Reprint, 192 pages
Description
The National Book Award-winning novel--and contemporary classic--that launched the brilliant career of Gloria Naylor "[A] shrewd and lyrical portrayal of many of the realities of black life . . . Miss Naylor bravely risks sentimentality and melodrama to write her compassion and outrage large, and she pulls it off triumphantly." --The New York Times Book Review In her heralded first novel, Gloria Naylor weaves together the stories of seven women living in Brewster Place, a bleak-inner city sanctuary, creating a powerful, moving portrait of the strengths, struggles, and hopes of black women in America. Vulnerable and resilient, openhanded and openhearted, these women forge their lives in a place that in turn threatens and protects--a common prison and a shared home. Naylor renders both loving and painful human experiences with simple eloquence and uncommon intuition. Adapted into a 1989 ABC miniseries starring Oprah Winfrey, The Women of Brewster Place is a touching and unforgettable read.… (more)
Media reviews
The Women of Brewster Place is, in one word, beautiful.
User reviews
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
I don't believe this stands up to the quality of the counter collection, The Men of Brewster Place, but nevertheless it is an engaging puzzle of women who all live in the same area. The variety of stories and voices here make this a quick and thoughtful read which I'd recommend to anyone, either as
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a somewhat broken novel or as a wonderfully woven together collection of short stories. It is something to enjoy and treasure. Show Less
LibraryThing member mpar319
This book was a very good book. I would recommend it for anyone to read. I loved how detailed the book was in its description of each character. It was so well descripted that I felt as if I knew each person in the book. The book is also very interesting it is very hard to put down the book in
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certain spots. All of the women described in the book are completely different, but they all live in the same area. I think by changing the focus of the character causes the reader to never be bored. But at the same time for some of the characters I wanted to know more about them and what happened to them. Show Less
LibraryThing member tzelman
Painful, eloquent, strongly anti-male. The difficulties of women living on a NYC slum street.
LibraryThing member g33kgrrl
This book tells the story of various female inhabitants of a specific housing area, after it had turned into housing for African Americans. The chapters are chronological, so the reader is taken along in time, and you see how the street evolves over time.
This was good, and I enjoyed reading it, but
This was good, and I enjoyed reading it, but
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to some extent I do think it showed its age - especially in the last chapter, which made me a bit uncomfortable thematically and very uncomfortable in the somewhat graphic description of sexual violence. Show Less
LibraryThing member chrisblocker
A gorgeous novel with compelling characters and several interesting plot lines. I enjoyed most how Naylor effectively utilized symbols which could very easily have been cliche.
LibraryThing member Schmerguls
The Women of Brewster Place, by Gloria Naylor (read 16 Oct 2016) (National Book Award for First Novel in 1983) Inever heard of theis book till its author died on 28 Sep 2016 but then decided to read it. It is a gritty account of slum life in a street called Brewster Place. Not much good happens
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there, though the main character. Mattie Michael is an appealing character and strives to hlep her family and friends. But there are jarring descriptions of a baby being bitten by a rat and similar events of urban slum life, including a almost unreadable account of a woman being raped multiple times. I found it a depressing book to read, though the writing is very vivid and gut -wrenching. And the end of the book is dreary and non-inspirimg. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beth.Clarke
One of the best short story collections I'v read. Each woman's story unfolds with vivid images while they persevere through their challenges. Exceptional writing. The characterization along with the imagery made each story extraordinary.
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
Why, oh, why must I believe everything I read? It sets grotesquely romantic expectations of my reality, causing me to behave like a total idiot in most situations. Case in point: I made the mistake of barreling through this book during my lunch breaks and 15-minute breaks. When I wasn't slumping in
I turned to this book purposefully after finishing East of Eden because, while it was wonderful as Steinbeck can't help but be, I had about had it with whiny men. I craved women. Strong women, three dimensional women. And I knew Gloria Naylor could deliver. My heart raced the entire time reading these stories, both for the passion and suspense. I went pages barely able to take a breath. I exhaled low moans with Lucielia and Lorraine. It made me wonder how I ever manage to move on--back to work, on to another book, overcoming a formidable challenge. Thank goodness I'm inclined to take fiction as gospel.
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my chair desperately attempting to stifle tears, I roamed the halls in a stupor, oblivious to what was going on around me. At one point, when a co-worker said, "Hey, Lindsay! What's up?" I caught myself about to mutter, "Uhhhh...rape" (which might have been kind of hilarious, if not without its repercussions).I turned to this book purposefully after finishing East of Eden because, while it was wonderful as Steinbeck can't help but be, I had about had it with whiny men. I craved women. Strong women, three dimensional women. And I knew Gloria Naylor could deliver. My heart raced the entire time reading these stories, both for the passion and suspense. I went pages barely able to take a breath. I exhaled low moans with Lucielia and Lorraine. It made me wonder how I ever manage to move on--back to work, on to another book, overcoming a formidable challenge. Thank goodness I'm inclined to take fiction as gospel.
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LibraryThing member m.belljackson
Stories of 7 women linked by the decent and forthright Mattie:
DAWN - 4 "double units" on a dead end street
{smell of vinegar douche in the street?}
Ben sits and drinks on garbage can.
MATTIE - why didn't her father ever figure out why she was afraid to tell him who the father was?
No clue from Basil
ETTA MAE - sure wish she had surprised us all = Mattie, the Rev, me, and her own self!
KISWANA BROWNE - annoying and selfish main character who changes and evolves the most despite this
this chapter's contrived dialogue and plot
LUCIELIA TURNER - frightening death of beloved baby - deserted by boyfriend who doesn't even come to funeral
CORA LEE - disturbing refusal to use birth control and help her doll/kids
TAKE TWO = sheer horror
THE BLOCK PARTY and DUSK = hmmmm
DAWN - 4 "double units" on a dead end street
{smell of vinegar douche in the street?}
Ben sits and drinks on garbage can.
MATTIE - why didn't her father ever figure out why she was afraid to tell him who the father was?
No clue from Basil
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about why he left or stayed away from his Mother.ETTA MAE - sure wish she had surprised us all = Mattie, the Rev, me, and her own self!
KISWANA BROWNE - annoying and selfish main character who changes and evolves the most despite this
this chapter's contrived dialogue and plot
LUCIELIA TURNER - frightening death of beloved baby - deserted by boyfriend who doesn't even come to funeral
CORA LEE - disturbing refusal to use birth control and help her doll/kids
TAKE TWO = sheer horror
THE BLOCK PARTY and DUSK = hmmmm
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LibraryThing member jelliclejule
The truth is ugly and disturbing, but humanity if beautiful. Written in sharp, lyrical prose, TWOBP cuts straight through the shallow perceptions made about poor, black women and forces you to experience their reality for 200 pages. I had to put this book down while reading many times. This is one
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of those novels whose words will inscribe themselves in your mind and walk with you down the streets. A necessary read for people of all races and genders, this book chronicles the lives of a diverse cast of black women in a segregated community with aching detail. Naylor chose to organize the novel into seven stories told by women from different backgrounds whose lives and distinct struggles all eventually intertwine on a street neglected by the city. Through this medium, Naylor comments on the intersection of race, class, and gender with characters who experience various other forms of oppression, like institutional racism in the justice system and homophobia, and issues of identity, like Black American vs. African Native heritage and femininity. As a bisexual woman, I found it painful to finish reading "The Two" because the lesbian protagonist endures such an accurate portrayal of misogynistic homophobia, but despite the anxiety it gave me, it was my favorite story in the collection--a powerful, graphic depiction of hate necessary to the transformation of the community. This feminist classic was especially eye-opening for me as a white reader, because no matter how many people I listen to or articles I read or classes I take, I will never fully understand the black experience because I don't live it. But when you read a book, you experience empathy in a wholly immersive environment that has the power to change even the most narrow perspectives, which is way this novel is an essential read for anyone of privileged background. I found myself first reassuring myself that the terrible acts committed against the characters are fiction, then stopping dead, because the fiction brought me closer to the truth than any news story or sociology class ever will. Brewster Place is in every city in America. These tragedies should not exist outside of fiction, but they do, every day. Read Naylor's work and discover empathy where there is hate, hope where there is oppression, and empowerment where there is community. Show Less
LibraryThing member IreneCole
In the 1980s which I still sometimes think was only 20 years ago, I watched the made for tv movie, Women Of Brewster Place. At the time, I paid no attention to the credits, had never heard of Gloria Naylor and had no idea the movie was made from a book. The movie was stuck in my mind all these
This book is the bittersweet tale of seven Black women who all eventually end up in the run down tenement building of Brewster Place, a building on a dead end street where joy and hopelessness share equal time. Crime is rampant in the alley and by the wall that cuts them off from the more upscale neighborhood. Set in the days when being a lesbian could cost you your job, having a baby could keep you from getting housing. It is beautifully written and sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful, but never boring. It claims to be short stories, but to me it's more like chapters on each individual woman, and Ben the janitor/caretaker is an important character as well. It's hard for me to talk about the book without talking about the movie. The book is more graphic in certain scenes that would have been too intense for tv in those days, and yet the movie stuck so close to the book as to even include most of the dialogue word for word. It's only near the ending of the book that the movie went a slightly different way. I guess I have to recommend both to you, I loved them equally.
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years and a couple of years ago I decided to go ahead and buy it to re-watch. I finally saw the credits and as the movie was still playing I immediately searched out and ordered a copy of the book. This weekend I finally sat down to read it and it has now sent me on a shopping spree to pick up more of Gloria Naylor's work.This book is the bittersweet tale of seven Black women who all eventually end up in the run down tenement building of Brewster Place, a building on a dead end street where joy and hopelessness share equal time. Crime is rampant in the alley and by the wall that cuts them off from the more upscale neighborhood. Set in the days when being a lesbian could cost you your job, having a baby could keep you from getting housing. It is beautifully written and sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful, but never boring. It claims to be short stories, but to me it's more like chapters on each individual woman, and Ben the janitor/caretaker is an important character as well. It's hard for me to talk about the book without talking about the movie. The book is more graphic in certain scenes that would have been too intense for tv in those days, and yet the movie stuck so close to the book as to even include most of the dialogue word for word. It's only near the ending of the book that the movie went a slightly different way. I guess I have to recommend both to you, I loved them equally.
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LibraryThing member BibliophageOnCoffee
I've been meaning to read this book for years and it did not disappoint! Beautiful writing and amazing character development. It's impressive how many issues are tackled in such a short book. Highly recommend.
Subjects
Awards
National Book Award (Finalist — First Novel — 1983)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction — 1982)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1982
Physical description
7.6 x 0.6 inches
ISBN
9780140066906