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7th out of 40 books
—
17 voters
In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women
by
Alice Walker
Admirers of The Color Purple will find in these stories more evidence
of Walker’s power to depict black women—women who vary
greatly in background yet are bound together by what they share in
common.Taken as a whole, their stories form an enlightening,
disturbing view of life in the South.
of Walker’s power to depict black women—women who vary
greatly in background yet are bound together by what they share in
common.Taken as a whole, their stories form an enlightening,
disturbing view of life in the South.
Paperback, 156 pages
Published
May 17th 2004
by Mariner Books
(first published 1973)
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Although I did love the short stories & had a few favorites among them...I am just not one who likes more than one story compiled into one book, I tend to get really bored come the Second story and beyond...No matter how good all of the stories are.
Now, if I had owned the book..I may have taken the stories a little slower, but I rented this copy from the library and wanted to finish all of the stories before I took it back because I knew I probably wouldnt have gone back to get the book.
The...more
Now, if I had owned the book..I may have taken the stories a little slower, but I rented this copy from the library and wanted to finish all of the stories before I took it back because I knew I probably wouldnt have gone back to get the book.
The...more
(I read "Everyday Use," anthologized separately from this book. I'm going to mark this read for lack of having another way to add the story here.)
"Everyday Use" was interesting though not particularly moving to me. There is a lot to pull apart inside it: the limited narration of the poorly-educated and poorly-equipped mother, and the thematic contrasts between her adult daughters. The narration is good, and I liked it. The contrasts were less exciting.
Her daughter who's stayed home is sheltered...more
"Everyday Use" was interesting though not particularly moving to me. There is a lot to pull apart inside it: the limited narration of the poorly-educated and poorly-equipped mother, and the thematic contrasts between her adult daughters. The narration is good, and I liked it. The contrasts were less exciting.
Her daughter who's stayed home is sheltered...more
We were assigned “Everyday Use” to read in English class, but the URL the professor provided was broken so I went to the library and checked out this book. I enjoyed the story so much that I thought I’d give the rest of the book a try. I don’t normally read African-American and/or (what could be considered) feminist fiction, but I really liked this collection. Yes, it is about white/black relations and how women suffer, not just from the cruelty of the male sex, but from the world around them. T...more
This is a beautiful collection of short stories. "The Welcome Table," is a story I return to again and again. I have used it in my classes and find the students respond to it quite well.
(FROM JACKET)Readers of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" will find in these stories further evidence of her power to depict black women-women who vary greatly in background but are bound together by their vulnerability to life: Roselily, on her wedding day, surrounded by her four children, prays that a loveless marriage will bring her respectability; a young writer, exploited by both her lover and her husband, wreaks an ironic vengeance; a jealous wife, looking for her husband's mistress, finds...more
In Love and Trouble was a really great collection of short stories by Alice Walker. Walker does a good job expressing the struggles many Black women from the South face. She discusses issues such as gaining the respect her characters desire, fulfilling hard-to-achieve dreams, and obtaining life's necessities.
Of the thirteen stories, the one I enjoyed reading the most was "The Welcome Table", which was about an old woman who was physically thrown out of a white church by the white people who were...more
Of the thirteen stories, the one I enjoyed reading the most was "The Welcome Table", which was about an old woman who was physically thrown out of a white church by the white people who were...more
I really liked a lot of these stories, though my affection wasn't consistent for the entire collection. Walker certainly has a way with describing mundane things—THAT i always enjoyed.
There were, however, two stories i loved.
"To Hell with Dying:" Absolutely beautiful love story—just not in the way we often imagine.
"The Flowers:" A very short story that takes your breath away with its poignancy (and brevity).
There were, however, two stories i loved.
"To Hell with Dying:" Absolutely beautiful love story—just not in the way we often imagine.
"The Flowers:" A very short story that takes your breath away with its poignancy (and brevity).
i love alice walker so much and i was looking forward to this book of short stories. however, a lot of the stories were slow and boring. also, a lot of male-bashing. i mean i understand the idea of women being controlled by men, patriarchal societies, etc. however, there weren't any strong, good men in the entire book. one or two stories really moved me, but overall, it was just okay and nothing to brag about. i love alice walker, but not this book.
I've read "Everyday Use" over and over again in different classes and was eager to read more of Alice Walker's work. I'm so glad this slim collection came into my life. It was much darker than I expected, and some stories were even shocking and scary, but there are also moments of light and beauty. My favorite story was "Entertaining God", a story about a boy who steals a gorilla from the Bronx Zoo.
I'm not always in the mood for short story collections but I decided to give this book a try when I saw a couple copies in my local thrift store. Since Walker is an established poet, I assumed her stories would be rich with character description and emotional nuance. I wasn't wrong; Walker does a great job placing the reader in the middle of each scene. Out of the 13 stories, my favorite is "Everyday Use" because it is a fascinating clash of perspectives, challenging the reader to consider the t...more
I didn't have the time to read all the stories but this collection has one of my favorite short stories that I was able to track down again thanks to David W. "The Revenge of Hannah Kemhuff" tells the story of a woman wronged and now, near death, all she wants is revenge. It is one of those short stories where every word is perfect, and it will stay with you for a long time.
My copy doesn't say anything about short stories on the front, so I didn't realize what I was getting into until "chapter 2." There were a few misses, but overall the stories were very well done. I particularly enjoyed "Really, Doesn't Crime Pay?" and Her Sweet Jerome. I was not wild about Strong Horse Tea.
I read this book awhile ago and I must admit Alice Walker can ge a good storyteller. This is I believe her second book of short stories. I've enjoyed most of her work but I have recognize she can get preachy at times.
I enjoyed this book, it was by the same author, (Alice Walker) of the book The Color Purple which I also read. Instead of being just one story based only on one women it is based on many different stories and its very interesting because you get different perspectives of how these women confronted their problems.
This collection of stories reminded me of why I liked reading Alice Walker's works. None of the stories were boring or predictable. All had lessons to be learned!!
Some of the stories were pretty good. It took me a while to get through this collection and that's not usually how I read. If I'm intrigued, I can complete a book in a couple of hours. I expected more and Im a little disappointed.
There was one pretty good story in this collection. I am not a bigfan ofshort storiesunless they are exquisitely written. These weren't.
Dec 10, 2008
Jeremy
marked it as to-read
I loved the color purple, it trascends race, which so few authors can do. She got to what it really means to be human!!
A great collection of stories. Specifically "Rosalee" and "My Sweet Jerome".
Highly, highly recommended for everyone
it was alright........
Jan 05, 2013
Velvetink
marked it as to-read
ebook version
Nice collection of short stories, some I liked more than others.
Outstanding.
I really liked The Welcome Table; Everyday Use; To Hell with Dying; and the Revenge of Hannah Kemhuff. Other notables to me were The Diary of an African Nun; Her Sweet Jerome; and Strong Horse Tea.
I would have liked to have been able to give this book a better rating but so many of the stories just put men in a bad place and a bad state of mind. I'm not saying I prefer to read only happy short stories (one of my favorite short story writers is Flannery O'Connor), but these particular ones just did not appeal to me. There were some exceptions, such as "The Welcome Table," but most of them just made anxious.
I really enjoyed this book, the first one I've read by Alice Walker. She's an excellent stylist, and the stories are quite powerful. My favorite two were "The Welcome Table" (depressing) and "To Hell with Dying" (uplifting), though every story engaged me, and it was interesting to see Walker's many perspectives on the lives of black women.
'Everyday Use' is one of my favorite stories of all time! Every time I read it, I can just hear Maggie's soft voice, and the smack of Dee's tone. Damn whipper snappers.
This is a book of short stories. There are really interesting ideas presented in this collection. The writing is very graceful, but I'll admit there were times when my attention wandered. But some of the stories were mesmerizing, and often the endings were unexpected.
I really loved these short stories, written from the perspective of women of color of different ages and social status. My favorite story was of an older woman obsessed about her bookworm husband's fidelity.
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Alice Walker (b. 1944), one of the United States’ preeminent writers, is an award-winning author of novels, stories, essays, and poetry. In 1983, Walker became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel The Color Purple, which also won the National Book Award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Meridian, The Temple of My Familiar, an...more
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Feb 05, 2012 09:43pm