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cmrbwa's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
joyful24's review
5.0
Talk about a mind blower. As many times as i had read The Women of Brewster Place only once or twice had i thought about the Men. There presence was felt drastically by all the women, sometimes so much that they consumed the stories of each chapter, but there was no mention about where they were or what they were doing. Talk about shock and awe when i turned the pages of this book. Amazing!
black_girl_reading's review
3.0
Is it possible for a book to be both a mere shadow of it’s predecessor and also totally heavy handed? Because The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor had nothing on it’s sister tome. This book, a sequel of sorts, follows the same time frame as the women of bp, but tells the story of the projects through vignettes about the men. Idk if Naylor was heavily criticized for her depictions of men in the first book, but she certainly softened up some unlikeable characters, and undid a lot of their impact by offering different perspectives of them in this one (and this from a person who LIVES to understand how experiences shape behaviours and how hurt ppl hurt ppl). Reading the women felt like a spotlight into individuals, reading the men felt like a coles notes on various “types”. And some of the artistic liberties make this book even worse, like a character rising from the dead to be the unifying voice in the story... no. Also her depictions I’d queer and trans characters were deeply fucked. I took some satisfaction in having the first book tie into the second - it’s nice to see a fuller picture- but this book was clearly a late afterthought (written long after the first) and was unable to pick up the same momentum and the same gentle hand of the women, and in the end I’d prefer if these characters hadn’t been fleshed out at all. As an aside, I don’t know who hurt the library sticker placement person, but wow.
suzea's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
readwithtoni's review
4.0
Wow. Pairing Women of Brewster Place and Men of Brewster Place was such a great reading experience.
adt's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
rlgreen91's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's a bit hard to gauge how I feel about The Men of Brewster Place without comparing it to The Women of Brewster Place. The latter felt familiar in so many different ways. However, there were parts of The Men of Brewster Place that felt inaccessible - that all I could really do was observe, but not truly understand. But maybe this is due to being a Black woman, and that if I were a Black man, I might have felt the same but in reverse.
Overall, I did enjoy the book - like her previous works, Naylor filled this one with lots of nuggets about human nature and how people in particular groups understand and relate to one another and people outside of the group. I thought the section towards the end of understanding how Black men cry inside was especially poignant. It should be a thought-provoking start to a discussion of how dangerous it is to teach boys that to be a man requires them to suppress certain emotions like sadness and anguish.
Here's where we'll get into a bit of a spoiler:I was honestly confused by the characterization of Ben. I know that in the foreword, Naylor mentioned that she had resurrected Ben to serve as a "Greek chorus" of sorts, but it didn't feel like Ben was written as an observer from beyond the grave. Rather, it felt like Ben was written as if he were still living and interacting with the other characters, just talking about them in the third person as a sort of intro. Now that I think about it, Ben seemed to operate the same way as the narrator in Bailey's Cafe, whose primary role in the novel was to introduce us to other characters. But it's clear in Bailey's Cafe that the narrator isn't meant to be a "Greek chorus" or an observer from beyond the grave, but someone interacting with the character in (sort of) real life. That's the way Ben came across to me, which seemed at odds with the fact that The Men of Brewster Place takes place after his death.
But overall, I did enjoy The Men of Brewster Place. Someone call up Denzel and tell him we need a miniseries of this one too, haha.
Overall, I did enjoy the book - like her previous works, Naylor filled this one with lots of nuggets about human nature and how people in particular groups understand and relate to one another and people outside of the group. I thought the section towards the end of understanding how Black men cry inside was especially poignant. It should be a thought-provoking start to a discussion of how dangerous it is to teach boys that to be a man requires them to suppress certain emotions like sadness and anguish.
Here's where we'll get into a bit of a spoiler:
But overall, I did enjoy The Men of Brewster Place. Someone call up Denzel and tell him we need a miniseries of this one too, haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death of parent
audreylee's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ms Naylor took me back to Brewster Place. To understand and forgive and hope for the men I had judged too harshly in “The Women of Brewster Place”. The characters and atmosphere are lush as bits of each man’s life, each man’s pain, are spilled out over the pages and streets of Brewster Place.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Alcoholism
staceyechin's review
3.0
2.5. If you are coming to The Men of Brewster Place because you loved The Women of Brewster Place and want more… just go back and read The Women of Brewster Place again instead. And if you are coming to it without having read The Women of Brewster Place… what are you doing?!? Get you a copy of The Women of Brewster Place now!
nikhaulebereading's review
5.0
This book is as emotionally striking, if not more, than The Women of Brewster Place. Both beautiful books within their own right, Naylor does a wonderful job of reminding the audience that blackness and masculinity are multifaceted and all in need of being acknowledged. She tells the story, the story of the most gruesome characters, in a way that forces one to be more empathetic to someone that had fallen victim to their circumstances. Quick read and worth every page.