agmaynard's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5th star for its historical importance! Debut from the youngest member of the Harlem Renaissance; their luster began to fade. Excellent look at how women are “stuck” either domestically or in only a few other spheres in this time. And how class and colorism play their parts. Cleo is hard to like much of the time, so credit to West’s skills for keeping me in her corner, along with her family and associates. Criminal that this novel is not better known or taught. Check it out!!
sashahawkins's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
s_pywow's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
faithbowl's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
haleyashtonpowell's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes brilliant authors can make characters so unlikeable that the book itself becomes insufferable. This is how I felt about Cleo Judson, the protagonist (and villain?) of The Living Is Easy. Anyone can tell Dorothy West is a fantastic writer, but our being so close to Cleo throughout almost all the narration-- the only relief we get is certain parts with The Duchess, but I did not admire even her-- made me so angry that I would have stopped reading if this wasn't for ENG460G. A lot of African-American literature is spotted with angering characters, but usually their circumstances explain some of this or allow for a larger discussion of society or human behavior. To put it into plain terms, Cleo's just a bitch through and through. Just when you think you might come to understand her, she goes a step further and does another unthinkable, horrible thing to someone she claims to care about.
Perhaps I'll read The Wedding, the more famous of West's two novels, but I do not see myself willingly returning to The Living Is Easy in my lifetime. I'm giving it two stars not out of necessary approval, but because West is a good enough writer to make me feel all this very real anger.
Perhaps I'll read The Wedding, the more famous of West's two novels, but I do not see myself willingly returning to The Living Is Easy in my lifetime. I'm giving it two stars not out of necessary approval, but because West is a good enough writer to make me feel all this very real anger.
wy_woman's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Murder, Xenophobia, War, Stalking, and Abortion
kitnotmarlowe's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
reading reviews for the living is easy has my jaw on the floor because so many people are like 'this novel is difficult to read because the protagonist is Horrible and Callous and Unlikable and Insufferable i wanted it to be over as quickly as possible' and like. That Is The Point. cleo is supposed to be a nasty, manipulative, cruel snob, she destroys her family and for what by the end. idk how people go through life thinking that the protagonist or pov character of every work has to be morally upright and, even so, cleo does not end the novel with a leg up in the world. her pride and obsessions with colour, status, and control eat her alive by the end! she's an absolute tour-de-force of characterization. even while i condemned her actions, i still understood where her hunger was coming from. i don't have the book with me, so i cannot highlight specific passages, but this novel is sharply observed and written with a real spark to it. west has a talent for pulling the rug out from under your when you least expect it and delivers an emotional walloping. there's a short paragraph toward the end about cleo's father that made me whisper "oh no :(" out loud. however, the pace does stagnate a bit, and if cleo's sisters had more sense of character and relationships outside of those with her, the novel would have been stronger for it.
very grateful to the feminist press at cuny for reprinting this book, which i otherwise would not have encountered if someone i follow on twitter didn't recommend it. it's a real gem of a novel! dorothy west writes books which i don't necessarily love but i do find endlessly interesting. reading her biography gave me imposter syndrome.
very grateful to the feminist press at cuny for reprinting this book, which i otherwise would not have encountered if someone i follow on twitter didn't recommend it. it's a real gem of a novel! dorothy west writes books which i don't necessarily love but i do find endlessly interesting. reading her biography gave me imposter syndrome.
sammisaysread's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0