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gingerrachelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
My first J California Cooper and it was well worth the wait. These stories were sad and often painful but full of hope and even joy. The voices of the main characters all sound similar but not in a bad way. It's like if you went to a particular neighborhood in a particular city. If you speak to the people in that neighborhood they would have similarities in the way they spoke, they would have similar experiences. That's what this collection felt like and I loved it. I appreciated that she wrote about women over 25 and so complexly. Women who wanted more than just the things we're told to want. Women who found love outside of romance. It felt good to read these stories even through the bad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
"But I didn't want to live again like he could afford! I wanted what <i>I</i>could afford! Then, on the other hand, I could afford him...for me. And wasn't that what I had worked for? For me?" ('About Love and Money', 149)
"Her face was an old face, not from lack of innocence but a lack of carefree childhood and that special joy of living, given almost alone, to children." ('Sisters of the Rain', 2)
SOME SOUL TO KEEP is a quiet, didactic collection of five short stories that share similar themes and story structure about southern Black women. Cooper's voice is always distinctive but this collection reminded me why I needed to take a break from trying to read her entire body of work in one year, her stories had started to all sound the same to me. This collection is a mix of bitter and sweet, most of the stories starting off with a young Black girl suffering from a tremendous loss and eventually finding her way in the world. These almost read as novellas so it makes sense that Cooper next decides to publish a novel as it feels like that's what she's working up to, these stories are more mid length than short. The stories emphasize the importance of independence, love, education and eventual comeuppance for those who've done you wrong. They're told in Cooper's signature folksy and all knowing style. There's some valuable lessons within and some great one liners that made me laugh. Read these to appreciate Cooper's voice and her contributions to the short story format and Black literature.
"Her face was an old face, not from lack of innocence but a lack of carefree childhood and that special joy of living, given almost alone, to children." ('Sisters of the Rain', 2)
SOME SOUL TO KEEP is a quiet, didactic collection of five short stories that share similar themes and story structure about southern Black women. Cooper's voice is always distinctive but this collection reminded me why I needed to take a break from trying to read her entire body of work in one year, her stories had started to all sound the same to me. This collection is a mix of bitter and sweet, most of the stories starting off with a young Black girl suffering from a tremendous loss and eventually finding her way in the world. These almost read as novellas so it makes sense that Cooper next decides to publish a novel as it feels like that's what she's working up to, these stories are more mid length than short. The stories emphasize the importance of independence, love, education and eventual comeuppance for those who've done you wrong. They're told in Cooper's signature folksy and all knowing style. There's some valuable lessons within and some great one liners that made me laugh. Read these to appreciate Cooper's voice and her contributions to the short story format and Black literature.
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