by Deesha Philyaw
Not what I expected, but good all the same. I'd expected stories of people and their lives, intertwined with their churches and all the conflicts between posture and reality--like maybe a story about a deacon's wife by day/hoyden by night. Or stories of churchgoing followed by the "letting down the hair" afterward.
Although there were a few churchy themes running through the narratives, that part was mostly off the page and mentioned, then discarded. In a few stories the ladies' writing have issues with their highly religious mothers who disapproves of their lifestyles. But that's not the point, and they themselves have left the church.
in one narrative I don't think the church is ever mentioned. The narrator is a woman who likes to take on male lovers and she is telling them how and how not to behave in order to please her in bed. Are we to assume that in her "other life" she's a church lady? If so, I didn't get it.
One very long story is about a girl's growing up with a mother who denies her needs for growth, love and approval. The mother entertains the preacher on Monday nights and makes a "special" peach cobbler for him, but neither herself or the girl get to share it. Later, she and the preacher retire to the bedroom for some vigorous humping, but the matter of her own religion is never discussed.
It ended up being a fascinating story, probably my favorite. Almost "worth the price of the book."
But despite the misnaming of the book, it was great and had some very good storytelling--Yeah!
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