3 Review(s)

This book tells the story of a few women who are trying really hard to run their families. All of these women live in Brewster Place and are known to be “hard-edged, soft-centered, brutally demanding, and easily pleased”. Summary of the Book The Brewster Place used to be home to many Italian immigrants and poor Irish. Now, it is a rotting apartment that is a shelter for African-American families. This book records the difficult lives of the colored women and the problems they face. The short stories explore the lives of Mattie Michael, Etta Mae Johnson. Lucielia “Ciel” Turner, Melanie “Kiswana” Browne, Cora Lee, Lorraine, and Theresa. The book shows the courage, fear and anguish of these women who are struggling every day just to make a home. About Gloria Naylor Gloria Naylor is an American novelist. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in English from Brooklyn College, and a Master’s degree in American Studies from Yale University. The Women of Brewster Place is her debut novel and was published in 1982. It won the National Book Award in the category First Novel. The film was adapted into a film of the same name by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions. Gloria Naylor has taught writing and literature at several universities. Some of the colleges in which she taught are: George Washington University, New York University, Boston University, and Cornell University.