A review by competencefantasy
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.75

It's immediately obvious that this ( Deesha Philyaw ) is immensely skilled at the short story form in general and cultural imagery in particular. For example, I simultaneously will never look at peach cobbler again and have been craving it for a week. When that same imagery popped up in a later story, the part of me that love structural connections was out of my seat cheering. This is a very sexual work, focusing not just on the particular couple but on the societal ripples that come out from the breaking of sexual norms. There's also a focus on family, both found and born, and how that changes and adapts. I'm not sure how I feel about the juxtaposition of LGBT+ and sleeping with people who are unfaithful to their partners, which seems kind of unavoidable given what big themes they are, but still is something I'm going to need to sit with for a bit. Overall, it's great. Give it a try
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