Neighbors and Other Stories

by Diane Oliver

A bold and haunting debut story collection that follows various characters as they navigate the day-to-day perils of Jim Crow racism from Diane Oliver, a missing figure in the canon of twentieth-century African American literature, with an introduction by Tayari Jones

A remarkable talent far ahead of her time, Diane Oliver died in 1966 at the age of 22, leaving behind these crisply told and often chilling tales that explore race and racism in 1950s and 60s America. In this first and only collection by a masterful storyteller finally taking her rightful place in the canon, Oliver’s insightful stories reverberate into the present day.

There’s the nightmarish “The Closet on the Top Floor” in which Winifred, the first Black student at her newly integrated college, starts to physically disappear; “Mint Juleps not Served Here” where a couple living deep in a forest with their son go to bloody lengths to protect him; “Spiders Cry without Tears,” in which a couple, Meg and Walt, are confronted by prejudices and strains of interracial and extramarital love; and the high tension titular story that follows a nervous older sister the night before her little brother is set to desegregate his school.

These are incisive and intimate portraits of African American families in everyday moments of anxiety and crisis that look at how they use agency to navigate their predicaments. As much a social and historical document as it is a taut, engrossing collection,  Neighbors  is an exceptional literary feat from a crucial once-lost figure of letters.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction, African American, Race, Literary Fiction, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2024

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Born in 1943 to schoolteachers in Charlotte, N.C., Oliver, who was Black, attended segregated schools, university in Greensboro and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lived to see four of her stories published, including in The Sewanee Review and Negro Digest. A new collection, “Neighbors and Other Stories,” gathers these with 10 more

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

may diane oliver rest in peace.

i so appreciate that her stories were published and we get to read from an incredible voice, even if she was gone far too soon. these stories brilliantly explore race in america, and capture a searing image of a bygone era that is not in the distant past.

bottom line: i'm grateful these stories are finally being shared.

(thank you to the publisher for the e-arc)

[The Bibliophile Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going to be a long review but I must say whether you read the review or not, do read this book.

So A few months back, a book club friend asked me why do I even need Netgalley? Like what are the benefits? Those were the initial days when I started using Netgalley and even though I told her my reasons , I was not really able to convince her. Not fully.

This book - "Neighbors and other stories" and books like this are the reason why I started using Netgalley. Because of Netgalley I have read so many good books and found so many gems of authors and their brilliant books. And what is the best platform to get to know new and unknown, not so popular authors and their books , if not Netgalley?

Neighbors and other stories is an exception though coz I will tell you the story of the author. Diane Oliver was just 22 years old when she published her short stories. Sadly she left the world quite young as she died in an accident in 1966 at mere age of 22. She would have been a phenomenal writer. Although their stories are not really similar, it reminded me of a life lost too young Anne Frank , a loss both devastating and too young to be lost but a loss of literary world too.

Being an African American woman author Diane Oliver's stories ring with ugly truth and history of racism. All these short stories are brilliant but at the same time —mind numbing. It left me with an ache I would not be able to describe in words.

It comes with a brilliant introduction from Tayari Jones, another black American woman author. Normally I do not read introductions but I read this one and was profoundly impressed with it. Because I did not know anything about Diane Oliver. In tayari Jones' words “Imagine that the world as we know it is over. Now imagine the people of the future trying to sort out the wreckage. Well,that’s what books are for—to let the new people know what the hell happened.”


1. Neighbors

Neighbors starts with young Ellie working in the other parts of the town going home. She is worried about her brother Tommy and one can't help but wonder what he might have done. Was he involved in some crime? A theft? On the way, a neighbour muses ,“Hope he don’t mind being spit on though. Spitting ain’t like cutting. This was one of the most hard hitting of all the stories.

The dilemma of parents is so heart wrenching, if they should allow Tommy “He’s going
to be fighting them the rest of his life. He’s got to start sometime.” or should not “I keep trying,” he said to her,“to tell myself that
somebody’s got to be the first one and then I just think how quiet he’s been all week.”

It stands in stark contrast to the iconic image of Ruby Bridges in braids bravely integrating her elementary school at mere age of 6 surrounded by federal marshals. What it does not show the child sitting alone in her classroom, since the other parents removed their children in protest. Norman Rockwell recreated the moment in his painting The Problem We All Live With.

It is the story of a family the night before their first grader is set to integrate his new school, alone and the mother says to the father, “He’s our child. Whatever we do, we’re going to be the cause.”And in that moment, the issue at hand is more personal than political. Does what is best for the race outweighs their little boy's security and life?


2. The Closet on the Top Floor

In this story, in contrast to the parents of the first story, Winfred's parents have taken the exact opposite decision like Oliver wanted us to know the other side of the coin too with story of Winfred. Her mother had suggested drama but
Winifred didn’t see how she could play the maid’s part for four years. Sadly even after potential, she ends up marginalized, secluded and without any friends.


3. Before Twilight

This is story of a young girl Lenny, whose single mother looking after two kids asks Lenny to stay away from trouble but Lenny wants to do something for a cause. To make a difference. What she doesn't know is everything has a price.


4. Health Service

A poor woman who's husband has abandoned her and kids goes to a hospital traveling miles and miles on foot.


5. Mint Juleps Not Served Here

This is the darkest story of all. A black family stays in the deepest parts of the forest. The couple with their kid, apart from the man nobody even leaves the house.
If she had her way he would never meet any people of the other kind—at least not until he was old enough to understand that some colors were naturally evil.


6. Key to the City
A family is excited to move to the place where the man works. They have to collect money to get there and a surprise is waiting for them in the new city.
He loved them, he had to. After all, they were
his, but sometimes loving became a burden. And if he had met them at the bus station, perhaps they would have become that to him. But they were supposed to be a family, weren’t they? She was no longer certain.


7. The Visitor

This was quite different story, not related to racism but to family dynamics of a black family, one well to do other not so. A relationship between a stepdaughter with her stepmother.


8. Banago Kalt

This is story of three American girls who goes to Europe, Millie is black and Karen and Rita are white but the Europeans are most curious about Millie. one of the Swiss would want to know about her life in the United States. Was she in any danger of being lynched, they wanted to know. She felt so responsible trying to answer them because they respected her word as law. Treating good but different is also a kind of racism.


9. When the Apples Are Ripe

Doug is going to fight against racism, mom is proud, dad is angry and skeptical, Jonnie boy is just clueless. Their neighbour is white old lady Mrs Rilley who unexpectedly comes to their home with an unexpected gift.
“My grandfather was a man of his time. I think he would have respected you as a man of your time.”


10. Traffic jam

Libby works for a white family, of course she doesn't want to but has to because of kids and absent husband. She hates her job.
Sometimes she hated having to take things Mrs. Nelson gave her. Ever since she’d given Wicker that old blanket to keep him warmer when he had the flu, she thought she owned him. She always said she was taking care of him, hoping
he didn’t turn out like his father.

Imagine her distress when he husband shows up but with no guilt of being absent or any consideration for her or the kids.


11. "No Brown Sugar in Anybody’s Milk”

It's the story of Essie T who works for a white family. She is on the verge of getting fired when a mishap happens because of her, she tries to escape but it's there really an escape from life itself? The ending was pretty good.


12. Frozen Voices

By
giving woman the exalted position, the man takes away
her freedom. By treating her like a goddess, he forces
her to act like a goddess . . . but the man is then free to
act like a human being.

This reminded me of The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. The writing is similar to how Morrison has intertwined some poetic musings in between. This was different and definitely really good. A story of a tragedy of intertangled affairs of a woman named Jenny with multiple men? But then who takes the responsibility? Quite lyrical and in a totally unique style this story took my breath away.

By
giving woman the exalted position, the man takes away
her freedom. By treating her like a goddess, he forces
her to act like a goddess . . but the man is then free to
act like a human being.


13. Our Trip to the Nature Museum

A young black woman miss Spears teaches a class of black kids. Latonya is one bright girl and yet due to circumstances, she might not be making any difference in lives of these kids.
You never could tell with these people. One minute they were smiling at her and saying, “You’re right ma’am. She should have a bath every day.” And then they just might whip out a knife and stick it in her throat.


14. Spiders Cry Without Tears

This must be the most impactful story as it talks about the consequences of a white person being associated with a black person in 1960s. Meg works at a shop and there she gets a regular customer, a doctor Walt and they strike friendship.
For a moment her dislike was intense; and even now she still could not be certain he was colored. As long as those gray eyes watched
her she was uncomfortable. And a lot of them had such straight hair. They were like human chameleons disguised as normal people.

Their relationship is something she can not understand. Even after Walt being doctor and Meg being an unremarkable single mother, she and the world around her considers it a defamy.
Immediately she was ashamed; even after these six years, she thought of him in terms of color.. Throughout their relationship, Oliver shrewdly allows race to dominate Meg’s understanding of the relationship during their courtship. Meg even thinks that her life as mistress was much better than her life as a wife of a black man.

Diane Oliver has touched every nook and corner. If in one story a husband abandons his family, she has shown what happens if a husband decides to come back. In one story, parents allowed their kid to integrate in white school, in one they did not and yet the result was devastating. Oliver demonstrates a gorgeously layered understanding of the range of Black life in the south. Even if a black man earns his place in the society by getting a degree, by being a doctor yet he is reduced to his color only. Even money did not change the colour of his skin. His status did not make him fairer or better in the eyes of white privileged people.

Each story is intricate, every story raises a question one might not know answer to. What is wrong, what is right, does anybody even knew? This is a must read for everyone who would like to understand the repercussions of treating people differently.


Thank you very much netgalley and Grove Atlantic for this amazing ARC , I'm soon going to purchase this gem for my collection.

[Daniel Shindler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Oliver was a young writer who passed away in 1966 at age 22. During her short career, she had four stories published in her lifetime and two posthumously.These six stories and eight previously unpublished works have been combined to create a collection that calls attention to the talents of this artist.

She was a Southern Black writer rooted in an era when codified racism was beginning to be challenged as her teen years approached. The Supreme Court delivered its landmark decision in the 1954 case of Brown v the Board of Education of Topeka.This case repudiated the doctrine of separate but equal educational facilities. This decision gave momentum to an era that was marked by cautious optimism in the Black community that was tempered by the ever present violence of crushing racism.Diane Oliver was a child of this era and her collection embodies the ethos of a time that was reflective of a pivotal point in American history.

Miss Oliver’s stories focus on Black family dynamics during the era of the “Jim Crow” South.The collection gives voice to an array of circumstances confronting Black families during times of crisis and examines the coping mechanisms that help alleviate the accompanying stress.

The eponymous lead story “ Neighbors” captures the mood and tension of the start of the thrust for integration. The story portrays the courage and anxiety of one family whose young son is going to attend an all white school on the next day. The family is divided in their resolve to send their son forth to the school. Their division mirrors the ambivalence of the whole community and poses a number of personal and ethical questions.Specifically they wonder if it is ethically and morally right to designate a primary school child as the standard bearer of a historic moment while knowing that he will be subject to vituperation and isolation during the school day? The familial uncertainty personalizes the courage and sacrifices made during this time.

Each story expands and modifies an ethical question and encompasses a diversity of class and circumstance in the community while it coped with survival in the Jim Crow South. Ms Oliver has a good ear for dialogue and rhythm that highlight the role of hope, the methods of engagement with White society and the prejudices of color and class in the Black community itself.

There is much to absorb in this portrait of the time and place that Billie Holiday captured in her plaintive song “ Strange Fruit.” As I read the collection, I was appreciative of Diane Oliver’s budding artistry.At the same time, I felt diminished because her untimely death deprived the public of her perspective on the turbulent years that followed the era in which she lived.

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really a shame that Oliver's life was cut so short because these stories were written in such that they were almost impossible to date and it really feels like she would have grown to be a literary giant with the caliber she was bringing at the young age she was. A couple of the stories flirt with horror so for my horror readers out there you might want to give this one a shot.

4.5 rounded up.

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite collecting stories dating from the 1960s, Neighbors and Other Stories possesses a remarkable immediacy, its stories achieve a timeless quality that makes them feel as though they were written nowadays. Set against the backdrop of the 50s and 60s, these stories explore race and racism during Jim Crow America. The seemingly humdrum settings in many of these stories belie their disconcerting nature. Several stories are quietly sinister, evoking an unease reminiscent of the work of Shirley Jackson and Nella Larsen.

Given their subject matter, these stories are often harrowing. Yet, Oliver maintains a distance almost that allows her to delve into the unsettling undercurrents of humanity. The title story, ‘Neighbor’, stands out as the most emotionally engaging piece in the collection. It takes place over the course of a single night, one filled with apprehension and danger for a Black family whose son is set to be one of the first Black students at a newly integrated school. Faced with threats from white nationalists, the parents grapple with guilt for potentially endangering their son or subjecting him to violence.

The following story explores a similar scenario, except this time it revolves around a Black college student. ‘Mint Juleps Not Served Here’ very much brought to mind Jackson’s work, as it is a perfectly unnerving story following the lengths to which a Black couple is willing to go to protect their son and themselves from the white gaze. While the story is characterized from the get-go by an uneasy atmosphere, the crescendo of disquiet accompanying the back-and-forth between the mother and a white stranger proved strikingly effective. In ‘Banago Kalt’ three American girls travel to Switzerland, and here the Black girl finds herself the object of curiosity, and feels both extremely alienated by the locals yet strangely hypnotized by their bizarre questions and behaviors. This story’s exploration of racism outside of America very much reminded me of Larson’s Quicksand. any stories also delve into the banality of marriage, focusing on women resentful or exhausted by the monotony of domestic life. From petty jealousies to outright hatred, Oliver doesn’t shy away from portraying the full spectrum of human emotions. Quite a few stories feature adults who are not in the least bit keen on children, and their coldness brought to mind the short stories by Taeko Kono (which, to be fair, are far more overt). Anxieties around being known, boxed in, preoccupy many of the characters, and I appreciated Oliver’s varied approach to this theme to be compelling. I also thought that unlike many other authors, Oliver is able to depict children who sound like actual children.

There were however a couple of stories that failed to register their presence, lessening the impact of the other stories in the collection. One story in particular, came across as little other than an exercise in style. I found it to be annoying and repetitive, its experimental nature a gimmick.

Still, this makes for a gripping collection, one that is permeated by ambivalence. Oliver’s social commentary is incisive, her storytelling simultaneously subtle and frank.

[BookOfCinz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read collection that a writer who went too soon

I remember hearing about this collection from an Editor, they told me about Diane Evans, how she died having only published a few stories but this collection will feature stories never released to the public and I am so happy I got to read it.

The introduction was done by Tayari Jones who called this collection a capsule, its like getting a peak into what life was like in the 1960s in the South and I totally agree. In this collection Evans writes brilliantly about a period we may know about but in such a real and tender way.

This is what a collection of short stories should read like. Every story felt complete, and completely different. The characters were all well developed and felt so real that for days after reading the collection I could not shake them.

Please read this collection.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I keep trying," he said to her, "to tell myself that somebody's got to be the first one . . ."

As a little boy plays quietly in his room, his family frets over the fact that the next day that sweet youngster will be the first black child to set foot in a segregated school.

Diane Oliver delved deeply into what it was like to be the first: the first to walk into a school while ignoring a jeering crowd, the first to boldly sit at a restricted lunch counter, the first young woman to attend an all-white university.

"She had a difficult time trying to think of something in which to major . . . She was fairly adept in biology, but the department scheduled field trips throughout the year. And even if the motels were supposedly integrated, she hated to be involved in testing them, so she had to major in something that didn't involve people or embarrassing scenes."

So much to consider before taking that first move . . .

Oliver was quite the chronicler of the black life in America during the tumultuous fifties and sixties, but her writing encompasses much more than that. With strong characters, and genre bending themes, this young author was set to go far. She died in a motorcycle accident in 1966, her life and promising career cut short. In 2022, her sister discovered eight unpublished stories that were collected here with the few that were published in magazines and anthologies before her death. Her work offers a strong voice, and a unique perspective.

"Sometimes Meetrie didn't believe her when she told the children about the food the Nelsons had for breakfast. Talking about bacon and waffles made Meetrie's eyes shine. 'For real?' she would ask, pulling her top pigtail. 'For real?'

And sometimes when she was pouring those cornflakes into the four cups and stretching the powdered milk with more water than the welfare lady ever intended, she didn't believe herself."

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for the ARC.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of these short stories died in 1966 at the age of 22. At that time, only 4 of her stories had been published. Although they were excellent, it took until now for someone to track down her unpublished stories and publish them all in this collection. Her work showed a lot of promise, and it is a great loss that we did not get to see how her work progressed.

The stories are of their time, but also timeless. Her characters are well-developed, the situations are realistic and she was also very good with dialog. The protagonists are chiefly southern Black women.

My favorite story was “Neighbors” about the conflicted feelings of a family that is about to send their young son to integrate an all white school. “The Closet on the Top Floor” also deals with the pressures of being the only black face in a white environment. In “Mint Juleps Not Served Here”, a family goes to great lengths to escape. The ending reminded me of Patricia Highsmith. In “Banago Kalt”, a young woman is treated as an exotic specimen when she visits Switzerland. The only story that really didn’t appeal to me was “Frozen Voices”, a structurally experimental work that went on too long.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

This collection of posthumously published short stories has a delightful introduction by Tayari Jones. I thought if Tayari Jones rates it and I rate Tayari Jones as a storyteller then it's bound to be good. Instincts are spot on.

Quite a lot of the stories deal with race issues but by no means all. What strikes me reading this is how accurately Diane Oliver wrote human nature. Her characters are wholly believable.

Of course you'll have your favourites and I have mine. The title story, Neighbours (I'm English, forgive me the spelling) is a piece of work that feels like a story I've always wanted to read. It centres around a family whose very young son is due to attend his first day at an integrated school. He will be the first black boy to do so. Of course there is uproar on both sides of the fence but this story deals with the parents and older sister's feelings as the night wears on. It asks the question: if it is imperative that someone be first, should it be a very young boy who will suffer the most awful abuse? The story really hypes up the tension that any family going through this must have felt.

Other stories deal with families and step-families, fitting in, friendship, the civil rights movement, fractured love between all variety of people.

My absolute favourite is one of those stories that floor you at the conclusion and was published before Oliver's death. Mint Juleps Not Served Here felt like it might have been written by Shirley Jackson. Although, I confess, I almost cheered at the denouement. (Read it, you'll see what I mean).

I knocked a half star off because there was one quite long story, the style of which I didn't get on with at all. Otherwise it was a fascinating read.

Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Grove Press for the advance review copy.

[Darryl Suite · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 // If you don’t know the backstory of how this collection came about, here we go: Diane Oliver was only 22 when she died in 1966. If I’m remembering correctly, only four of her stories were published while she was alive. The rest were never published and her legacy faded into obscurity. Tayari Jones, who wrote the introduction even mentions that in all of her years studying African-American Literature, she had not once heard of Oliver, neither from her peers or her professors. How could that be? This collection is designed to bring Oliver back into the public eye. She is now canon. Considered a force who was gone too soon. And believe me, I get it because these stories are so damn good. It’s like being in a time capsule, a slice of life from that era, yet the way they were written feels surprisingly modern.

Initially I raced through the first three stories. I loved the first, wasn’t wild about the second, was entranced by the third. From this point, I decided to slow myself down. Although most of these stories revolve around the racial turmoil and calamities of being black in 1960s America, the approaches are various and multifaceted. There are other themes besides the one forementioned: love, lust, parenting, xenophobia. We get a mother who has to wait at a crammed clinic with all of her kids because there is no one else to look after them. We get a young woman travelling to Europe and what it feels like to be gawked at because she is the first black person they’ve ever seen. We get two drastically different stories on the desegregation of schools: one who’s about to embark on this journey and one who is already in the middle of it.

As I mentioned before, some stories take on stylistic changes. The fifth story literally made my jaw drop because it morphed into something that I was not at all expecting, something quite macabre. Let’s talk more about that, shall we?

My absolute favorite stories were the 5th and 12th stories. But pretty much every story in the collection has something lasting to offer, but these two were the ones that changed the game. Both took the collection to new heights; both highlighted that Oliver had tricks up her sleeve.

The fifth story “Mint Juleps Not Served Here” is about a family who lives in the forest away from the rest of civilization. The mother is caught off guard when a visitor arrives. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Woof.

The 12th story “Frozen Voices” revolves around an affair and the damage it inflicts on all those involved. Oliver does this thing where phrases and pieces of dialogue are repeated over and over, but with each repetition a new piece of information is revealed. It’s exquisitely written and it comes off as quite postmodern. This is one of those stories you need to read slow, not only to help you pick up on every piece of information, but also for you to luxuriate in the radiance of the prose. Gahhh, I think this is my favorite one.

It’s insane to think that if this collection didn’t come along, Oliver’s work may have never seen the light of day. We would never be exposed to her brilliance. I would’ve never got to read “Mint Juleps…” and now one of my fave stories of all-time “Frozen Voices.”

If Oliver was writing gorgeous emotionally complex stories like this at age 22, what could she have given us at 30? 40? 55? It would’ve been amazing to see how her writing changed throughout the decades and on the newer plights the future decades had to throw at all of us. But you know what? I’m not going to do this. Let me cherish what we do have. A stunning collection that gives us an illuminating look at the past, but also resonates in the present, and now that Oliver’s name is back to the forefront, the future will already have deep appreciation for her work.

I was truly astounded by this collection. I used to do this thing where I would send one of my best friends a short story each week and we’d then talk about it. This collection made me decide to resurrect that tradition. Powerful stuff.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and great work. Had this young lady survived she would have been the toast of the literary world. The title story will absolutely twist your heart and her talent will be immediately evident. I highly recommend this short story collection. Thanks to Grove Press and Edelweiss for an advanced DRC. Book drops 2/13/2024. Mark your calendars!

[LeserinLu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diane Olivers Kurzgeschichtenband "Nachbarn" ist eine Sammlung von Geschichten, die nicht nur die sozialen Umstände ihrer Zeit einfangen, sondern auch zeitlose Fragen über Identität und Vorurteile aufwerfen. Mit einem einfühlsamen und empathischen Schreibstil zeigt Oliver die Welt verschiedener Charaktere, vor allem Frauen, die mit den Herausforderungen und Konflikten der amerikanischen Gesellschaft der 50er und 60er Jahre konfrontiert sind. Die Autorin zeigt eine bemerkenswerte Vielfalt an Perspektiven und schafft es dabei, die komplexen Dynamiken zwischen Rasse, Klasse und Geschlecht zu erkunden.

Jede Geschichte in "Nachbarn" zeichnet sich durch genaue und einfühlsame Beobachtungen aus, die Empathie für unterschiedlichste Situationen ermöglichen. Von der Entscheidung einer Familie, ihren Sohn auf eine weiße Schule zu schicken, bis hin zu einem Paar, das durch rassistische Übergriffe zur Flucht in den Wald getrieben wird, werden die Leserinnen und Leser mit einer Bandbreite von menschlichen Erfahrungen konfrontiert.

Besonders bemerkenswert ist, dass diese Sammlung von Geschichten von einer Autorin stammt, die erst Anfang 20 war. Diane Oliver zeigt eine reife Herangehensweise an ihre Themen, die weit über ihr Alter hinausgeht. "Nachbarn" ist nicht nur eine eindringliche Darstellung der amerikanischen Geschichte, sondern gewährt Einblicke in die menschliche Natur und unsere Beziehungen zueinander.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these wonderful, sophisticated and insightful stories, it's clear that the literary world lost a star in the making when Diane Oliver died in a tragic motorcycle accident in 1966 at the age of 22. These stories, set in the South during the Civil Rights Movement, read like they were written by someone with decades of lived experience to pull from. Only four of these stories were published during Oliver's lifetime, but they all have a lot to say about life for Black people in the waning days of the Jim Crow South.

We are very lucky to have this collection available now; it's mind-boggling to wonder what Oliver might have accomplished had she lived into old age.

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories by the late Diane Oliver were really good. It tells the stories of people living their normal lives in a time of national and sectional upheaval. Oliver's characters are richly written. Six of the stories really drew me in:

1. "Neighbors" is about a family preparing and deciding whether to send their son to integrate the all-white elementary school. It gives the reader a perspective that is rarely discussed in the history of the school desegregation period.

2. "Before Twilight" is about a group of friends who integrate a lunch counter and what happens next. Another story that tells a side we rarely hear, what happens when civil disobedience occurs and there are no cameras around.

3. "Mint Juleps Not Served Here" is about a Black family who live in the woods and gets visited by an unwelcomed visitor. Definitely a good premise for a thriller movie.

4. "When the Apples Are Ripe" one of Oliver's stories where her main characters are white. This one is about a white family and their neighbor Mrs. Gilley. One of the sons is interested in being involved in the movement and Mrs. Gilley is intrigued by it. A story about how the younger generation can shape the older generation.

5. "Frozen Voices", I think this might be the best story in the collection. It's about love, affairs, and killings, and is written in a stream-of-conscious, poetic fashion. I was intrigued and I need to read it again. I also got Toni Morrison vibes from it.

6. "Spiders Cry Without Tears", the last story is about an interracial relationship between a white woman and a Black man that could pass for white. It was almost like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" but if the doctor looked like Anthony Hopkins (a la The Human Stain). The story was told from the white woman's point of view which made it unique and made me think of how different it would have been if it was told from the Black male's perspective. I almost wish this one could have been a novel or novella.

Overall, Oliver wrote some amazing short stories, I just wish that her tragic death had not occurred and that we had more work from her. If you like short stories and historical fiction, this one is for you!!!

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable talent many years of her time, Diane Oliver died in a motorcycle accident in 1966 at the young age of 22, having only lived to see four of her stories published. Thank goodness, someone tracked down and published her other stories, which explore issues of Jim Crow laws, poverty, racism which permeated life in 1950s and 1960s in the South. Her characters are well-developed and the situations realistic, with the protagonists usually Black women. It is a shame that her promising and insightful storytelling did not progress to allow her the fame achieved by other authors.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't recall any other work that succeeded so well in illustrating what it meant to be Black in 1960s America. The stories are incredibly evocative and you are completely transported to the time.

Incredible to think the author was only 22 when she wrote these stories.

The audio works really well.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the two stories about the beginning of integration and the characters navigating the issue of being in spaces where they aren’t welcome. In “The Closet on the Top Floor” we watch the main character become mentally exhausted from the day-to-day micro aggressions and living in a hostile environment with her dorm mates in college. She’s completely isolated being the “guinea pig” and leaves college emotionally drained and traumatized.

In “Neighbors” a black family is terrorized by anti-integration groups. They grapple with the decision of potentially letting their son be the first black student to attend an all-white school in their town.

Is this really what we want our son to experience? To be exposed to such ugliness? Being targeted by racists and subjecting our child to hateful vitriol for a movement that we’re told will benefit us and our community.

This is reminiscent of MLK: “I fear I may have integrated my people into a burning house,” which I think conveys the unforeseen reality of black people at the time being present in places where they aren’t wanted; the true dichotomy on the issue(s) of integration.

[Antonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk about this collection of short stories and all I can say is that her writing feels like what I’ve been searching for in contemporary novels. She places you in the rooms with the characters and its beyond being a fly on the wall, you suspect they might turn and ask your opinion pretty soon. She’s so talented and I’ll just be patiently waiting for someone to discover more by her…

[Lulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written, thought provoking collection of short stories. I had never heard of this author prior to receiving a copy of this book. Tragically, she died at the young age of 22 in 1966; how I wish she had more time to gift us with more stories.

[esmereadsalot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having finished this brilliant, bold, finely crafted collection, I felt at once a profound sense of gratitude and grief: reading Diane Oliver's stories feels much like being suddenly bestowed with a real, rare gift; in her untimely and premature death there is, too, the sense that a great talent was snatched away before it had the opportunity to realise its full potential.

Every story in the collection is sharp, and deft, and practically faultless - each sentence is expertly constructed (like all the best writers, the experience of reading Oliver's work is less like reading, per se, and more like visualising; seeing the world through the eyes of the characters themselves). Taken in combination, her stories provide a comprehensive study of what might be called "the Black experience" - in the sense that Oliver illustrates just how impossible it is to distill the richly varied, complicated lives of African Americans into a single "experience" at all. The titular story, as well as the one directly following it, offer haunting visions of the hidden cost of racial integration - the intergenerational and internalised traumas that affect those who put their lives on the line in the name of progress - and Oliver demonstrates a particular flair for representations of domestic and familial distress.

It is, however, in her more unusual and experimental work (playing particularly with form and genre) that her genius is really brought to light. 'Mint Juleps Not Served Here' is a delightfully dark, yet subtle take on the traditional horror story, while 'Frozen Voices' is the kind of fearless writing that takes your breath away - a piece of fiction that rivals the very best of the 20th century canon; here, it does not feel unreasonable to favourably compare Oliver to Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, or Zora Neale Hurston.

Thank you to @netgalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC ebook!

[kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finishing this short story collection and realizing Diane Oliver was only 22 when she died was absolutely mind-blowing. So much range, so much deeply human understanding, so much variety, what a shame this much talent left the world so young.

Usually when reading a book of short stories I get the gist at some point and the writing style sort of blends one into the other but here? Each title had me sit up and get excited because they were all so captivating and different.

My favorites were The Closet on the Top Floor, Mint Juleps not Served Here, Banago Kalt, Our Trip to the Nature Museum, and I especially loved Health Service and Traffic Jam. Libby’s character made me crumble. I remember a scene in Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi where one of the character’s mother has no access to childcare so she leaves her toddler alone all day while she works and he cries himself to sleep on a mattress on the floor. I felt the same reading about Libby going to work and having to leave her baby on the porch so the lady watching him can bring him in later. I felt the same listening to They were her Property and the way enslaved Black women were expected to work immediately after giving birth. And I felt the same recently seeing the degrading responses to that photo of a young Black woman holding her child on her hip while working behind some fast food counter. Sick and mad.

The Closet on the Top Floor and Mint Juleps not Served Here really stood out for me for their style and just impeccable pace and tone.

Sadly, Frozen Voices was pretty long and just didn’t work for me, hence the 4.5 rating. Otherwise, beautiful collection that I warmly recommend and thank you to Grove for giving me this advance copy.

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a reprint of a 1960s era collection of short stories written by a young author whose career (and life) was cut short due to unfortunate circumstances. Times were challenging and turbulent and the author captured the African American experience when facing school integration, interracial dating, the battle against second-class citizenship, and many of the macro- and microaggressions that marginalized groups and those adjacent to them faced on a daily basis. This is a solid offering steeped in reality and the struggles in humanity.

Thanks to the publisher, Grove Press, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

[Ulla Scharfenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die 14 Kurzgeschichten von Diane Oliver spiegeln das Leben Schwarzer Menschen in den USA der frühen 1960er wieder: facettenreich, bewegend und literarisch meisterhaft.

In einer Geschichte ist eine Familie unsicher, ob sie ihr Kind als einziges Schwarzes auf eine Schule für weiße Kinder schicken soll, in einer anderen begleiten wir eine junge Frau, die als Teil einer Bürgerrechtsgruppe an einem Sit-In in einem Diner teilnimmt. Es geht um eine Gruppe junger Afroamerikanerinnen, die an einem Austauschprogramm in die Schweiz teilnehmen, um eine weiße Floristin, die sich in einen Schwarzen Mann verliebt, eine Lehrerin in einem Armenviertel, einen Femizid und um eine Familie, die sich im Wald vor den Behörden versteckt.

Diane Oliver (1943-1966) wurde nur 22 Jahre alt und nur vier ihrer Kurzgeschichten wurden zu ihren Lebzeiten veröffentlicht. Es ist ein großes Glück, dass ihr Werk nun einem breiten Publikum zugänglich ist, denn es ist gleichermaßen historisches Zeugnis und brandaktuell.

[Royce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet and subtle are the only words that come to my mind after reading this very good collection of stories. The writing requires a sort of patience, until one arrives at the point that the story concludes, then the effects of everything being told are felt. I feel fortunate to be able to read Diane Oliver’s writing, yet sad that this is all we have left, because she died far too young.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly i wanted to like this more, but it just made me realize short story collections are not my cup of tea. i found it hard to stay engaged, which is why it took me almost a year to finish 200 pgs. this may have been lost on me, but there are some real gems in here, and anyone who enjoys short stories would definitely have a better time. i do encourage anyone interested to look into the backstory of the author, who died in 1966 at age 22, and how these stories were found and finally shared :)

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the ebook!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of these short stories were truly time-capsules, evoking such a sense of time and place. Author Diane Oliver wrote these pieces chronicling Black American life under Jim Crow racism in the early 1960s, only publishing three stories before she died in an accident in 1966. This posthumous collection includes those as well as others shared by her family decades later.

It is devastating that we lost her so early in her career, because if these were her early works? We are all worse for missing out on what would have come as she gained experience. Like any collection I liked some more than others, but the raw talent here is undeniable, and the range of style is fascinating.

The book definitely feels like a forebear in many ways to my favorite short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. I would take a college course entirely based around these two collections in conversation, I want to talk about them!

I recommend Neighbors and Other Stories if you like short stories, historical fiction, or want a glimpse of other lived experiences.

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich hatte schon vor dem Lesen der Sammlung gewusst, dass die Autorin mit nicht mal 23 Jahren gestorben war, und bei fast jeder Geschichte konnte ich es nicht fassen. Klar: die literarische Bandbreite in ihrer Experimentierfreude ließen sich ebenso wie der subtil eingewobene Furor dem Alter zuschreiben, aber auf diesem Niveau?

Klare Leseempfehlung

[Bobbieshiann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The news of Diane Oliver's passing at 22, before her career could even begin, is deeply saddening. However, knowing that her work is still being discussed in 2024 reassures us that she would have continued to produce remarkable literature. We can still enjoy her short story collection, Neighbors and Other Stories, which explores the everyday lives of Black families across different social classes. The stories draw you in as they delve into themes of wealth, poverty, and the emotional and physical well-being of Black families. From a young boy whose family must decide if he will be the first in his neighborhood to attend a desegregated school, to a teenage girl navigating her first sit-in while grappling with the emotional fallout of her crush wanting to continue the fight, each character's perspective is vividly rendered. As we immerse ourselves in their experiences, we witness the complexities of Black female lives in the 1960s, with no clear resolution in sight but rich in authenticity.

[Nana · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I researched books by BIPOC Authors due to be released in 2024, a book that kept showing up on most of the lists I came across was Neighbors and other Stories by an author I had never heard of called Diane Oliver, who died aged 22 in a motorcycle accident just a month away from graduating from the Iowa Writers Workshop.

I love short stories so I added her book to my must read of 2024, so imagine my utter delight and surprise when it also became my first approved ARC!!!! And my goodness what a treat this book was!!!

Neighbors and other stories is an anthology of short stories delving into the complexities of Jim Crow Era 1950/60s America. Her writing has a chilling / terrifying effect to it, creating an intense atmosphere of tension and dread, which she skilfully uses to convey the daily anxiety and fear experienced by Black Americans living in the south in America. Her writing had me captivated from start to finish. In the tradition of the finest short-story writers, shes able to convey so much in so few / little words.

Take the nightmarish journey of “The Closet on the Top Floor,” where Winifred, the first Black student in her newly integrated college, mysteriously starts to fade away. Or venture into “Mint Juleps not Served Here,” where a family living deep in the woods takes drastic measures to protect their son. There’s also “Spiders Cry without Tears,” confronting interracial and extramarital love, and the high-tension titular story following an anxious older sister on the eve of her brother’s school desegregation.

Her stories still sadly reverberate today.
She's a wonderful talent who deserves to be celebrated and I hope through this book lots of readers discover her work. Wow what a talent.

Highly Recommend

Thanks NetGalley and Faber for sending me an ARC of this gem.

[Tatyana Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounding up

Okay, so I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this. I really like some of the stories and I do LOVE that several of them went in a direction that I wasn't expecting. It started off as I was thinking, slice of life stories during the controversial school integration time and young black folks trying to fight back against segregation. But several of the stories went in weird directions that I appreciate and was not at all expecting. I did find myself a little bored by a few, but overall I really enjoyed the collection.