Bodies of Water

by Michelle Cliff

Caribbean writer Michelle Cliff, author of the highly acclaimed novel Free Enterprise, presents a brilliant collection of 10 short stories dealing with oppression and liberation. "Wonderfully rich and disturbing tales . . . a remarkable collection, a testimony to human endurance and the triumph of the spirit."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Michelle Cliff (born 2 November 1946) is a Jamaican-American author whose notable works include No Telephone to Heaven, Abeng and Free Enterprise.

Cliff also has written short stories, prose poems and works of literary criticism. Her works explore the various, complex identity problems that stem from post-colonialism, as well as the difficulty of establishing an authentic, individual identity despite race and gender constructs. Cliff is a lesbian who grew up in Jamaica.

Cliff was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1946 and moved with her family to New York City three years later. She was educated at Wagner College and the Warburg Institute at the University of London. She has held academic positions at several colleges including Trinity College and Emory University.

Cliff was a contributor to the Black feminist anthology Home Girls.

As of 1999, Cliff was living in Santa Cruz, California, with her partner, poet Adrienne Rich. The two were partners from 1976; Rich died in 2012.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelle Cliff ought to be better known. This is a really good collection of stories, the latter half of which are interconnected, almost like a novella. The best reflections on what it means to be an American that I've read in a while.

[Tracy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I was supposed to have read in college for one of my classes but never did. The stories are full of tragedy and grief, and only a little hope, and the interesting thing about reading them nearly 30 years after publication was how I had to put myself back in that time...Reagan in power, the AIDS crisis, what it must have been like for anyone with oppressed identities. I think I probably liked it better now as a fully grown adult with a sense of history than I would have then. I'll definitely continue thinking about it, but I don't know if I'd ever return to it.

[Alec Pearson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I discovered this book at a thrift store near my house, and was intrigued since it was relatively unknown. I typically do not read short story collections, but this was not one I found particularly enjoyable. The narrators constantly changed their thoughts mid-sentence, and the timelines got confusing in almost every story included. Most of the stories themselves I found convoluted without much meaning, with a shocking line at the end. However, the titular story I found to be a true highlight.

[Kiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Letting this one percolate a bit. Worth reading.