The Women of Brewster Place

The Women of Brewster Place is a hard story about hard lives--the lives of a group of African-American women who live in poverty on a dead-end street. Despite hardships, their transcendent hope and humor lead them onward as the listener is led onward by Lynne Thigpen's hypnotic reading. Thigpen's languid, resonating voice so perfectly embellishes Naylor's characters that we can hardly imagine reading the book. Though the plot is sometimes difficult to follow in audio, this shortcoming is insignificant so lulled and caressed are we by Thigpen's melodic overtones which create an atmosphere of survival amid decay and degeneration. R.B.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

May 1, 1994
This new, slightly abridged audio version of The Women of Brewster Place is a good rendition of Naylor's 1982 debut novel, which won a National Book Award. Tonya Pinkins reads and presents the characters very well, catching the lyricism of each woman's story; the range of emotions is a demanding task, and Pinkins responds creatively and sensitively. The recording length captures the essence of Naylor's seven stories, but for those who know the book, this abridgment doesn't fully capture the power of the whole or the full devastation and pride of Naylor's characters. The program will have to be repackaged as the original box won't withstand much handling. This is appropriate for budget-pressed libraries that can't afford the unabridged version (Audio Reviews, LJ 11/15/93).-Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.