I am delighted to be on the tour for this read. Thanks to Pushkin Press for an early copy.
A fruitful collection of stories:
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.
There is fourteen-year-old Jael, who nurses a crush on the preacher's wife; the mother who bakes a sublime peach cobbler every Monday for her date with the married Pastor; and Eula and Caroletta, single childhood friends who seek solace in each other's arms every New Year's Eve.
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.
Bobs and Books honest review: A clever collection of stories.
So much variety and such strong themes beam off the page, creating vivid and visual images for the reader.
A mix of emotions and situations are featured, which as a collective makes this an even more powerful and influential read.
Each story, and lead character has its own shape, identity, and story to tell. I definitely can't pick a favourite as each one had something that stood out and seemed to have its own unique quality.
Its time to be daring, just like the women in this collection. Try it.