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A review by beverleefernandez
The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
4.0
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to avoid comparing The Women of Brewster Place vs The Men of Brewster Place. Luckily, I didn't pick up the same vibe from The Men as I did in The Women. The Men, I think is more apologetic and explanatory with a degree of proclamation of manhood. The men of Brewster Place shared the same living experiences as the women in a sense, as Ben puts it " I'm not about to argue was it harder for some than others: who's got it worse, the him with nothing or the her waiting on the other side to stretch that nothing- once again, for supper?"
Each man's point of view an explanation of sorts to The Women, though Ms. Naylor did not portray the men to be without fault. I personally did not care for CC or Rev Woods, mainly because I felt they operated from a sense of greed and entitlement. I wished Basil had at least spoken to Mattie before she passed away and that Eugene had found the courage to be honest with Ceil. I hoped Abshu would have found a way to balance his passion with preserving Brewster Place vs correcting Rev Woods...all of these things are hindsight. I think Ms. Naylor's depiction was honest and empathetic. No one's life is perfect and it doesn't necessarily go as expected. Knowing this doesn't justify the bad decisions made by the Men, it simply gives them humanity which is often denied by greater society.
Each man's point of view an explanation of sorts to The Women, though Ms. Naylor did not portray the men to be without fault. I personally did not care for CC or Rev Woods, mainly because I felt they operated from a sense of greed and entitlement. I wished Basil had at least spoken to Mattie before she passed away and that Eugene had found the courage to be honest with Ceil. I hoped Abshu would have found a way to balance his passion with preserving Brewster Place vs correcting Rev Woods...all of these things are hindsight. I think Ms. Naylor's depiction was honest and empathetic. No one's life is perfect and it doesn't necessarily go as expected. Knowing this doesn't justify the bad decisions made by the Men, it simply gives them humanity which is often denied by greater society.