Genre: Black and African American Women’s Fiction
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
Books can be purchased online and at local libraries.
Book Blurb
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church’s double standards and their own needs and passions.
There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who has a crush on the preacher’s wife. At forty-two, Lyra realizes that her discomfort with her own body stands between her and a new love. As Y2K looms, Caroletta’s “same time next year” arrangement with her childhood best friend is tenuous. A serial mistress lays down the ground rules for her married lovers. In the dark shadows of a hospice parking lot, grieving strangers find comfort in each other.
With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be.
Book Review
I picked up this book from my school’s library because I was curious about the book title. I read this book in two sittings despite my busy schedule and I have many thoughts about this book.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies has 9 short stories in the collection and each story stands independently of each other. My favourite short stories are Peach Cobbler and Not-Daniel. I was curious to know what happened to the characters after following up the plot.
I must commend the author’s attempt at suspense and captivating plot. Some characters had an invisible pull that makes the reader eager to flip page after page. I agree that some stories were not my type but the good ones were there to rescue me.
Overall, this is a remarkable book and the first book that addressed reality without sugar-coating it. It has various themes such as love, sex, selfishness, hardships, betrayal etc. It is a book that I would rate 4 stars.
I borrowed a paperback copy of this book from my school’s library, opinions expressed in this review are mine.
Author’s Bio
Deesha Philyaw’s collection of short stories about Black women, sex, and the Black church, THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES is forthcoming from West Virginia University Press in September 2020. Her work has been listed as Notable in the Best American Essays series, and her writing on race, parenting, gender, and culture has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The Rumpus, Brevity, dead housekeeping, Apogee Journal, Catapult, Cheat River Review, TueNight, ESPN’s The Undefeated and The Baltimore Review; Essence, Ebony, and Bitch magazines; and various anthologies. Deesha is a Fellow at the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction and a past Pushcart Prize nominee for essay writing in Full Grown People. Deesha is also the co-author of Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households After Divorce, written in collaboration with her ex-husband.
Learn more about Deesha’s work at deeshaphilyaw.com.
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