A review by rodiom
The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
5.0
I currently have the lovely privilege (and honor) of accessing Gloria Naylor’s archives at Lehigh University. I’m taking a course on her work and archives, and together we read Women of Brewster Place.
My love for this novel is definitely championed by the respect and admiration I have for Gloria Naylor, but also the experience of reading her work alongside a classroom of diverse female students. My professor is also incredibly passionate about Naylor’s work, and when you have teachers who care, there’s nothing more inspiring.
Now on my thoughts and opinions… Women of Brewster Place is an incredibly rich, layered, and in my opinion politically emotional text. The female characters of this novel, were flawed, human, complex, and for me it felt as if they themselves breathed the same air I did. They just felt so real. Written in multiple different POVS, each chapter follows a different woman (all who live in the same residential building), and their stories are interwoven and build upon each other’s to reach a climactic and also hopeful end.
This story unapologetically bares the flaws and triumphs of humanity wide open. It makes us question institutional and structural oppression that impedes on these women’s ability to dream and flourish. Mostly, it evaluates the most humane experiences of grief, guilt, abuse, love, and desire. This book honors the diverse magnitude of Black Women’s lives, and I believe it should be required reading for all.
Also, it’s just so beautifully written, so poetic, and incredibly immersive. Though each story is tangibly short, there is so much depth, so much to explore, that I could loose myself in the lives and chapters of each character for a millennium.
My love for this novel is definitely championed by the respect and admiration I have for Gloria Naylor, but also the experience of reading her work alongside a classroom of diverse female students. My professor is also incredibly passionate about Naylor’s work, and when you have teachers who care, there’s nothing more inspiring.
Now on my thoughts and opinions… Women of Brewster Place is an incredibly rich, layered, and in my opinion politically emotional text. The female characters of this novel, were flawed, human, complex, and for me it felt as if they themselves breathed the same air I did. They just felt so real. Written in multiple different POVS, each chapter follows a different woman (all who live in the same residential building), and their stories are interwoven and build upon each other’s to reach a climactic and also hopeful end.
This story unapologetically bares the flaws and triumphs of humanity wide open. It makes us question institutional and structural oppression that impedes on these women’s ability to dream and flourish. Mostly, it evaluates the most humane experiences of grief, guilt, abuse, love, and desire. This book honors the diverse magnitude of Black Women’s lives, and I believe it should be required reading for all.
Also, it’s just so beautifully written, so poetic, and incredibly immersive. Though each story is tangibly short, there is so much depth, so much to explore, that I could loose myself in the lives and chapters of each character for a millennium.